WASHINGTON, DC — The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) has initiated an online action portal – anca.org/stopaliyev – where supporters of Karabakh peace can contact US government officials to take immediate action to stop President Aliyev’s latest deadly anti-Armenian attacks.

Grassroots action is directed to President Obama, Vice-President Biden, Congressional leaders and the OSCE Minsk Group’s Karabakh negotiators to publicly and unequivocally condemn Azerbaijani aggression and take concrete steps to ensure a lasting peace in the region which respects the right to self-determination and freedom of the people of Nagorno Karabakh. “Unless stopped, President Aliyev will act upon his oft-stated threats to start a full-scale Caucasus war – one that will visit vast death and destruction upon all the peoples of the region, very likely leading to a wider and even more dangerous conflict,” stresses the message to U.S. officials.

The letter campaign is paired with a social media effort urging US leaders to #StopAliyev.

On April 2nd, Azerbaijani forces launched a wide-scale attack along the full-length of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic border, specifically targeting civilian populations with heavy artillery, mortar and gunfire. One Armenian child has been killed with reports of additional wounded.

The violence comes just days after President Aliyev met with U.S. Vice-President Biden and Secretary of State Kerry during the international nuclear summit held in Washington, DC. ANCA Executive Director described Aliyev’s warm reception in Washington as giving a “green light” for these latest anti-Armenian attacks.

“Vice President Biden, in personally meeting Azerbaijani President Aliyev in this manner – without any public challenge to his escalating regional aggression and worsening domestic repression – openly emboldened his belligerence while actively undermining American efforts to keep the peace and reach a negotiated settlement,” said Hamparian. “Secretary Kerry in his public remarks with President Aliyev, regretfully, made no mention at all of any American concerns regarding President Aliyev’s threats and acts of violence or his crackdown on domestic dissent. There has, as well, been no mention, in the public record, of the life-saving Royce-Engel peace proposals that the State Department has publicly supported.”

The Armenian Weekly’s coverage of the latest attacks is available here: http://armenianweekly.com/2016/04/02/azerbaijan-launches-wide-scale-attack-on-nkr/

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