Category: 2020

U.S. Recognition of Artsakh is ‘not on the table,’ says NSA Chief Robert O’Brien

BY ARA KHACHATOURIAN

United States National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien on Friday said that Azerbaijan was hesitant about an “unconditional” ceasefire in Karabakh and acknowledged Turkey’s involvement in the current war waged by Azerbaijan against Artsakh, saying Ankara’s role in a mediation is a “non-starter” for the U.S.

“Both sides must retain the ceasefire and both sides must go to the negotiation table without preconditions. This is particularly true of the Azerbaijanis who have been most hesitant about unconditional ceasefire,” said O’Brien who met with leaders of the Armenian-American community at an event organized by Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger at the LA Arboretum on Friday.

“The United States is deeply concerned about the escalation of violence between Azerbaijan and Artsakh, especially in light of reports of strikes in areas of significant civilian populations,” said O’Brien. “The President has called on both sides to fully observe their obligations under international humanitarian laws including the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure.”

“We are deeply troubled by Azerbaijan’s refusal to honor three separate ceasefire agreements in recent weeks and the continued campaign to spread misinformation to deflect their egregious actions,” said Supervisor Kathryn Barger, Chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. “I am grateful to National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien and United States Senator Mike Lee for engaging with our grassroots organizations and faith leaders who have done a tremendous job raising awareness on this pressing issue for the Armenian community.”

“Azerbaijan has used its oil money that it has gained over the last several years to buy more advanced weapons and they have technical and advisory support from Turkey,” O’Brien said, effectively announcing that the Trump Administration, which has called on “third parties” to stay out of the Karabakh conflict is aware of Ankara’s direct involvement against Artsakh.

“Despite Turkish denials that they made to me personally, there are credible reports that Turkey has deployed fighters from Syria’s opposition, the Syrian National Army,” added O’Brien in a tacit acknowledgement of what has widely announced about the Ankara-backed jihadists fighting alongside Azerbaijan’s soldier. Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev last week told Fox News that those claims were “fake news.”

O’Brien, who was speaking while the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Jeyhun Bayramov were meeting in Geneva with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, discussed the deployment of peacekeepers or ceasefire observers, categorically ruling out a role for Turkey in that process.

“Any armed peacekeeping force should not involve Minsk Group Co-chair countries, including the U.S., or neighboring countries,” explained O’Brien.

“Any sort of Turkish mediation or peacekeeping role is not acceptable for the U.S., as well as Armenia, We believe both sides should accept Scandinavian peacekeepers and we are working with the Scandinavian governments to put together a peacekeeping force that could be deployed in the region to keep the ceasefire,” said the NSA chief.

Despite acknowledging Ankara’s involvement in the military aggression against Artsakh, as well as the the presence of mercenaries in combat, O’Brien, in response to a question, did not commit to any punitive action against Turkey or Azerbaijan, such as sanctions or halting of military sales. He instead said the Administration was “looking into options.”

O’Brien also told the gathering that U.S. recognition of Artsakh was “not on the table,” adding that the U.S. is taking a neutral role, despite the fact that it is one of three co-chairing countries of the OSCE Minsk Group, along with Russia and France.

Soon after the end of the meeting Armenian National Committee of America called on O’Brien to take decisive unilateral actions to stop Azerbaijani war crimes.

“Armenian American voters – casting their ballots in a closely contested Presidential race – deserve to know if President Trump is taking actions – all well within his Executive Branch powers – to recognize the independence of the Artsakh Republic, deny approval for new arms exports to Turkey, suspend the U.S. military aid program to Azerbaijan, and withdraw the Administration’s Section 907 waiver,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.

ANCA National Board member Levon Kirakosian, who attended the meeting said that it was important to hold such meetings because they provided an opportunity for the Armenian community to express its concerns about Azerbaijan’s aggression and Turkey’s involvement, saying the more these matters are emphasized the more they may resonate at the White House.

As an example Kirakosian cited the withdrawal of the waiver of Section 907 was one of the issues that O’Brien said the administration was not considering as an option, but having heard the concerns of the Armenian community, the national security chief had pledged to “look into it.”

ANCA-Western Region Board chair Nora Hovsepian, who also attended the gathering, voiced concern about O’Brien’s insistence that the U.S. stay “neutral,” despite its co-chairing role in the Minsk Group.

“Our message to the ambassador [O’Brien], and through him the Administration, is that the U.S. should not take a neutral role,” said Hovsepian. “On the contrary, the United States should take the side of Armenia as the country that is being attacked.”

“We are deeply troubled by Azerbaijan’s refusal to honor three separate ceasefire agreements in recent weeks and the continued campaign to spread misinformation to deflect their egregious actions,” said Supervisor Barger in her opening remarks. “I am grateful to National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien and United States Senator Mike Lee for engaging with our grassroots organizations and faith leaders who have done a tremendous job raising awareness on this pressing issue for the Armenian community.”

She later expressed hope that having heard the concerns of the Armenian community, O’Brien and the Trump Administration will take decisive steps to bring an end to the fighting.

Barger visited Armenia as part of an ANCA-WR delegation last year.

Also speaking was Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah, who praised Armenians for their resilience and unity in pursuit of national interests.

Also attending the meeting alongside Kirakosian and Hovsepian were Michelle Kezirian from the Armenian Assembly, Talin Yacoubian from the AGBU, Western Primate Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Western Prelate Bishop Torkom Donoyan, Bishop Mikael Mouradian from the Armenian Catholic Eparchy, Reverend Berj Djambazian from the Armenian Evangelical Union of North America, Maria Mehranian from Armenia Fund, and Aram Ordubegian of Arent Fox.

Based on an urgent inspection of materials provided by the fact-finding mission of the Human Rights Defender’s Office of Artsakh, authorities have confirmed that Azerbaijan has deployed and has used phosphorus projectiles, reported Armenia’s Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan in a Facebook post.

“Azerbaijan is using, as the current data confirms, Phsophorus munitions over Nagorno Karabakh setting fires to the forests which are next to civilian communities,” said Tatoyan in his post.

The Artsakh Human Rights Defender, Artak Beglaryan said that many civilian hide in the forests at daytime and nighttime to escape and shelter from Azerbaijani military attacks.

These munitions which have been proven to cause environmental havoc, are now being used against the civilian population of Artsakh by the Azerbaijani military, explained Beglaryan.

[see video]

“These phosphorus munitions are weapons which use one of the common allotropes of the chemical element phosphorus. White phosphorus is used in smoke, illumination and incendiary munitions, and is commonly the burning element of tracer ammunition,” Beglaryan wrote on Twitter.

White phosphorus munitions can be used on battlefields to make smoke screens, generate illumination, mark targets or burn bunkers and buildings. The use of white phosphorous against civilians is banned by the Geneva Convention.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Saturday dispatched a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, outlining in detail the challenged created by Azerbaijan military aggression against Artsakh.

In the letter Pashinyan has specifically stressed the issue of foreign terrorists being transferred from the Middle East and being engaged in military operations against Nagorno-Karabakh.

Given evidence of breaches against the territory of Armenia in order to bring military operations close the border of the Republic of Armenia, Armenia’s prime minister requested that the Russian president immediately begin discussions to determine the scope and size of assistance Russia can provide to Armenia to safeguard its security on the basis of the alliance between Armenia and Russia, as well as Article 2 of the August 27, 1997 “Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance” agreement.

The International Association of Genocide Scholars on Saturday issued a statement warning of an imminent genocide in Artsakh committed by Azerbaijan and Turkey. Below is the text of the announcement.

Since September 27, 2020, Azerbaijan, backed by Turkey, initiated a large-scale, unprovoked war against the Republic of Artsakh and the Republic of Armenia. Over the last days Azerbaijani forces have intentionally been attacking civilians and civilian infrastructures, and they have heavily shelled Stepanakert, Shushi, Mardakert, Hadrut, and other settlements with cluster munitions and other weapons prohibited by international humanitarian laws.

The Shushi Holy Savior (Ghazanchetsots) Cathedral, was severely damaged after two deliberate air raids conducted by the Azerbaijani military on October 8 and 9. This is not only a violation of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its two (1954 and 1999) Protocols, but also a part of policy of the cultural genocide that the Azerbaijani government has been implementing over the past 30 years by systematically destroying the Armenian historical heritage, including thousands of ancient Khachkars (carved cross stones) in the city of Djulfa (Nakhichevan). It is well established that cultural genocide is clear evidence of the existence of a special intent to commit genocide.

Furthermore, it is documented that Turkish armed forces and air forces directly participate in hostilities. Moreover, there are many impartial international media reports showing that during the current large-scale Azeri aggression against Artsakh, a substantial number of mercenaries identifying as jihadists from Syria and Libya, and likely also from Afghanistan and Pakistan, are hired and sent by Turkey to Azerbaijan to fight against Armenians . This also constitutes a violation of international law.

Direct Turkish involvement in the decades-long conflict is thus no longer a threat that Armenians in Artsakh, Armenia, and Turkey have had to fear, but a fact that threatens to annihilate Armenians in Artsakh and beyond. A recent statement issued by the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, read that they, Turkey, were going “to continue to fulfill the mission of their grandfathers, which was carried out a century ago in the Caucasus”. This constitutes a direct threat of continuing the Armenian genocide that began in 1915.

The statement does not stand alone. Turkey officially and continuously denies the Armenian genocide, but various officials, including the president, have repeatedly hinted that Turkey is ready to once more “give a lesson” to Armenians, and that the “deportation” of Armenians in 1915 was the most appropriate decision at the time . “Armenian” is a commonly-used curse word in Turkey, and “leftovers of the sword” is another derogatory term used in Turkish to refer to the survivors of the genocide, which Erdogan publicly used during a briefing in May 2020. These and many other examples all amount to tacit recognition and approval of the genocide; it is, in other words, hate speech that threatens a new genocide. The attacks against Armenian churches and other properties all around the world by the Turkish nationalists are on the rise. Lately, Armenians and other Christians in Istanbul were targeted and blamed for supposedly spreading coronavirus, and Armenians have also been harassed by pro-Azeri Turks since the beginning of the latest outbreak of war. The most high-profiled victim has been the Turkish-Armenian politician Garo Paylan from the pro-Kurdish HDP-party. And Erdogan’s government does not spare its Turkish or Kurdish intellectuals and ordinary citizens, prosecuting them for even the slightest imagined transgression.

The position of the Azerbaijani leadership and society is even more aggressive. For years, anti-Armenian discourse and propaganda have been part of official state policy. Every day, indoctrination is carried out from schools to state media that demonizes Armenians, presenting them as an absolute evil that should be deprived of the right to live in Artsakh and Armenia, including the capital Yerevan. In one of his many public speeches, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev himself spoke about a “hypocritical, global Armenian conspiracy with Western politicians, who are embroiled in corruption and bribery,” reminiscent of Adolf Hitler’s “global Jewish conspiracy” thesis, reiterated many times in Nazi speeches as a pretext and justification for the Holocaust.

It is therefore not merely rhetorical when on October 3, in the early phase of the current conflict, Armenia’s Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, in his address to the nation stated the following: “The objective of the Azerbaijani-Turkish bandits is not about claiming territory. Their objective is the Armenian people. Their objective is to continue their genocidal policy.” In fact, history, from the Armenian genocide to the last three decades of conflict, as well as current political statements, economic policies, sentiments of the societies and military actions by the Azerbaijani and Turkish leadership should warn us that genocide of the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, and perhaps even Armenia, is a very real possibility. All of this proves that Armenians can face slaughter if any Armenian territory is occupied, consequently recognizing of the independence of the Republic of Artsakh is the way to save Armenians of Artsakh from extermination now or in the near future.

And already a case can be made that there is conspiracy to commit genocide, direct and public incitement to commit genocide, and attempt to commit genocide, all of which are acts that, according to article 3 of 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, all states of the world are obliged to prevent and punish.

We, as members of the academic community, demand that the international community takes direct and serious action so that the Azerbaijani aggression immediately ceases, and that anti-Armenian state propaganda and hatred in Azerbaijan and Turkey ends. We appeal to the international community to raise their voices against xenophobia, aggression, and war, and for the prevention of new genocide.

– Kirk C Allison, MS, Health Humanities, Saint Scholastica College, USA

– Ruth Amir, Yezreel Valley College, Israel

– Eugene N. Anderson, Professor Emeritus, Anthropology, University of California, Riverside, USA

– Juan Pablo Artinian, Torcuato Di Tella University, Argentina

– Maral N. Attallah, Distinguished Lecturer, Dept. of Critical Race, Gender & Sexuality Studies, Humboldt State University, USA

– Yair Auron, Open University of Israel (Emeritus), Israel

– Vahagn Avedian, independent researcher, genocide, peace and conflict studies, Sweden

– Aris Babikian, former Citizenship Judge, Canada

– Peter Balakian, Rebar Professor of the Humanities, Colgate University, USA

– Jean-Philippe Belleau, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts Boston, USA

– Eldad Ben Aharon, Leiden University Institute for Area Studies, Netherlands

– Caroline Bennett, Member of the IAGS Advisory Board, Lecturer in Cultural Anthropology, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

– Sara Birjandian, Vancouver, BC, Canada

– Martin Bitschnau, “Society for the Documentation of Genocides [ger] (Völkermord.at – Gesellschaft für die Dokumentation von Völkermorden)”, Austria

– Matthias Bjørnlund, Danish Institute for Study Abroad, Denmark

– Nélida Elena Boulgourdjian, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina

– James Burnham Sedgwick, Associate Professor, Department of History and Classics, Acadia University, Nova Scotia, Canada

– Sara E. Brown, Member of the IAGS Advisory Board, Executive Director of the Center for Holocaust, Human Rights & Genocide Education, New Jersey, USA

– Israel W. Charny, Past President, International Association Genocide Scholars (IAGS), Executive Director, Institute on the Holocaust & Genocide, Jerusalem.

– Kasturi Chatterjee, Assistant Professor, FLAME University, India

– John Cox, UNC Charlotte, Associate Professor, Department of Global Studies, Director, Center for Holocaust, Genocide & Human Rights Studies, USA

– Don Cummings, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Professional Educator, Worcester (MA) Public Schools, USA

– Asya Darbinyan, Visiting Research Scholar, Clark University, USA

– Hilary Earl, Department of History, Nipissing University, Canada

– Joanne D. Eisen, Independence Institute, USA

– Kate W. English, Executive Director, EIHR: The Educators’ Institute for Human Rights, Washington, DC, USA

– Jenna Fagan, Lehigh University, USA

– Amy Fagin, Member IAGS Executive Board; Director: Beyond Genocide Centre for Prevention, New Salem, Massachusetts, USA

– Hervé Georgelin, Lecturer of History, University of Athens, Department of Turkish Studies and Modern Asian Studies, Greece

– Grace V. Giammona, ALM candidate in International Relations at Harvard University, USA

– Todd Gitlin, Columbia University, USA

– Patrick Hein, Lecturer of Politics, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Japan

– Tessa Hofmann, author and independent scholar of genocide studies, Berlin, Germany

– Raymond Kévorkian, president of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institut Foundation

– Suzanne Khardalian Holmquist, film director, Stockholm, Sweden

– Anahit Khosroeva, Institute of History, NAS, Armenia

– Péter Pál Kránitz, independent scholar, Hungary

– Theodosios Kyriakidis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

– Samantha Lakin, Advanced Doctoral Candidate, Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Clark University; Fulbright Scholar (Rwanda 2017-2018; Switzerland 2011-2012), USA

– Bård Larsen, Civita, Oslo, Norway

– John Liffiton, Director, Genocide Conference, Scottsdale Community College

– Robert Jay Lifton, Columbia University, USA

– Dominika Maria Macios, Polish Institute of World Art Studies, Poland

– Charikleia Magdalini Kefalidou, University of Caen, France

– Joseph Mai, Clemson University, USA

– Suren Manukyan, Member of the IAGS Advisory Board, Head, UNESCO Chair on Education and Prevention of Genocide and Other Atrocity Crimes at Yerevan State University; Armenian Genocide Museum & Institute, Armenia

– Armen T. Marsoobian, Philosophy Professor, First Vice President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT, USA

– Harutyun Marutyan, Director, Armenian genocide Museum & Institute, Armenia

– Alyssa Mathias, PhD Candidate, Department of Ethnomusicology, University of California, Los Angeles, USA

– Ibrahim Malazada, Visiting Research fellow at CRPSR, Coventry University, UK, Lecturer at Soran University, Kurdistan Region

– Arda Melkonian, Fuller Theological Seminary, USA

– Doris Melkonian, Fuller Theological Seminary, USA

– Éva Merenics, Independent Researcher, Hungary

– Michaela Moura-Koçoglu, Assistant Teaching Professor, Center for Women and Gender Studies, Florida International University, Miami, USA

– Stacey M. Mitchell, Georgia State University’s Perimeter College, USA

– Alexandra Morehead, Brown University, USA

– Luisa Morettin, NCI University London, UK

– Shepherd Mpofu, University of Limpopo, South Africa

– Adam Muller, Member of the IAGS Advisory Board, Professor and Director, Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Manitoba, Canada

– Jeanine Ntihirageza, Professor and Director of the Center for Genocide and Human Rights Research in Africa and the Diaspora, Northeastern Illinois University , Chicago, USA

– Darren O’Brien, University of Queensland, Australia

– Regina Paulose, International Criminal Law Attorney, USA

– Rubina Peroomian, UCLA, Genocide Studies, USA

– Jack Nusan Porter, Past Vice-President, International Association Genocide Scholars (IAGS), The Davis Center, Harvard University, USA

– Nancy L. Rosenblum, Department of Government, Harvard University, USA

– Kaziwa Salih, Queens’ University, Canada

– Jakob Seerup, Bornholms Museum, Denmark

– Marc I. Sherman, Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide, Jerusalem, Israel

– Greg Stanton, Founding President, Genocide Watch, USA

– Pamela Steiner, Harvard School of Public Health, USA

– Charles B. Strozier, The City University of New York Professor

– Paul Slovic, University of Oregon, USA

– Henry C. Theriault, President, International Association of Genocide Scholars, USA

– Steven A Usitalo, Professor of History, Chair of the Department of History and Social Sciences, Northern State University, USA

– Elisa von Joeden-Forgey, Past Vice-President, International Association Genocide Scholars (IAGS), Endowed Chair, Department of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Keene State College, USA

– Jenna Walmer, M.A. Candidate in Holocaust and Genocide Studies at West Chester University of Pennsylvania, USA

– Kerry Whigham, Assistant Professor of Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention, Binghamton University; Director of Research and Online Education, Auschwitz Institute for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities, USA

– Stephanie Wolfe, Weber State University, USA

– Hrag Yacoubian, University of British Columbia, Canada

– Eve Zucker, Research Affiliate, Council of Southeast Asian Studies, Yale University, USA