ANCA Chairman Urges Biden Administration Reset of U.S. Policy on Armenia & Artsakh

-- “Left unchecked, Azerbaijan and our NATO 'ally' Turkey will continue to deploy the full force of their combined military capabilities to complete the Armenian Genocide.” – Raffi Hamparian, ANCA Chairman

December 15, 2021

WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is calling on the Biden Administration to condemn Azerbaijan’s aggression, halt all U.S. military aid to Baku, and enforce sanctions against Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and other senior members of his regime as part of an overall reset of U.S. policy towards Armenia, Artsakh and the broader Caucasus region.

“Left unchecked, Azerbaijan and our NATO ‘ally’ Turkey will continue to deploy the full force of their combined military capabilities to complete the Armenian Genocide, the planned, systematic destruction of the world’s first Christian nation – a proud country of just three million people struggling to survive on the frontier of world freedom,” stated ANCA Chairman Raffi Hamparian, in a December 14, 2021, letter to President Biden, shared with Senate and House Committees on Foreign Relations, Armed Services, and Appropriations.

Hamparian’s correspondence to the White House sets forth that the first step in a U.S. – Caucasus policy reset is ending the Administration’s “patently false ‘both-sides’ narrative by clearly and consistently calling out Azerbaijan as the belligerent that launched the September 2020 attack on Artsakh.” Hamparian went on to note the key criteria for a policy reset on Armenia and Artsakh, including:

— withdrawing the waiver of Section 907 restrictions on U.S. aid to Azerbaijan

— providing $100 million in direct aid to assist the over 100,000 Artsakh Armenians ethnically cleansed by Azerbaijan

— imposing Global Magnitsky sanctions on Azerbaijani leaders for war crimes committed during the 2020 Artsakh and Armenia attacks

— condemning Azerbaijan’s illegal detention of Armenian POWs

— conducting an investigation of Turkey’s hiring of Syrian mercenaries and use of illegal munitions against Artsakh and Armenia civilians.

— Denouncing Turkey’s material military backing of Azerbaijan’s ethnic-cleansing of Artsakh and ongoing Azerbaijani aggression against Armenia

— Actively countering Turkey’s attempts to arm-twist Armenia into “normalizing” bilateral ties at the expense of Artsakh’s independence or justice for the Armenian Genocide.

The text of the ANCA Chairman’s correspondence to the White House is provided below and the pdf is available at:
https://www.anca.org/assets/pdf/121421_ANCA_BidenLetter.pdf

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TEXT OF ANCA CHAIRMAN RAFFI HAMPARIAN’S LETTER TO PRESIDENT BIDEN

December 14, 2021

The Honorable Joseph Biden
President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Biden:

I am writing to request that your Administration reset our country’s policies with respect to Armenia and Artsakh – starting with a condemnation of Azerbaijan’s aggression, a halt to all U.S. military aid to Baku, and the enforcement of sanctions against Ilham Aliyev and other senior members of his regime.

Resetting U.S. policy requires that your Administration abandon its patently false “both-sides” narrative by clearly and consistently calling out Azerbaijan as the belligerent that launched the September 2020 attack on Artsakh and that continues to attack, invade, and occupy Armenia. Even as Azerbaijan’s President loudly boasts of having initiated this offensive, your Administration continues – against all evidence – to provide him with moral and political cover, using artificial narratives that falsely blame Armenia and Azerbaijan equally for violence across the region. A principled stand on this score must be followed by policies that contribute to sustained regional peace, and that are, more broadly, consistent with your own calls for centering human rights and democracy in our nation’s foreign policy. Among the highest priority policies for such a reset are the following:

— Withdrawing your Presidential waiver of Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act, fully enforcing this statute, and ceasing any and all U.S. military or security assistance to Azerbaijan, including Section 333 (Capacity Building), Foreign Military Financing, and International Military Education and Training – on the basis of Section 502B(a)(1) of the Foreign Assistance Act, the Leahy Laws, Section 907, and other provisions of U.S. law.

— Providing at least $100,000,000 in immediate, direct U.S. humanitarian aid to the more than 100,000 Armenians ethnically cleansed by Azerbaijan from their Artsakh homeland, helping these families rebuild their lives and resettle in safety upon their indigenous Armenian homeland.

— Directing the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control to enforce Global Magnitsky sanctions against senior Azerbaijani officials guilty of committing war crimes against Artsakh and Armenia, among them President Ilham Aliyev, Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov, and former Chief of the General Staff Sadikov Najmeddin Huseynoglu.

— Condemning Azerbaijan’s illegal detention and documented abuse of Armenian prisoners of war, demanding their immediate and unconditional release, under the Third Geneva Convention and other instruments of international law. This call should be unilateral, publicly and prominently highlighting the fact that Azerbaijan is the only party to the conflict to hold prisoners of war.

— Conducting a comprehensive investigation – consistent with the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 – regarding Turkey’s recruitment of Syrian terrorist mercenaries, Azerbaijan’s use of illegal cluster bombs and white phosphorous, and potential violations of U.S. arms export and other laws related to the discovery of U.S. parts in the Turkish drones deployed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh.

— Denouncing Turkey’s material military backing of Azerbaijan’s ethnic-cleansing of Artsakh and ongoing Azerbaijani aggression against Armenia

— Actively countering Turkey’s attempts to arm-twist Armenia into “normalizing” bilateral ties at the expense of Artsakh’s independence or justice for the Armenian Genocide.

Left unchecked, Azerbaijan and our NATO “ally” Turkey will continue to deploy the full force of their combined military capabilities to complete the Armenian Genocide, the planned, systematic destruction of the world’s first Christian nation – a proud country of just three million people struggling to survive on the frontier of world freedom.

We would welcome the opportunity to meet in person and discuss each of these points in greater detail.

Sincerely,

Raffi H. Hamparian
ANCA Chairman

Cc: U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs
U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services
U.S. House Committee on Armed Services
U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations
U.S. House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations
Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues