Category: 2022

ArmInfo. August 23 marks the 32nd anniversary of the Armenian Declaration of Independence. 

The text read, in particular: 

"The Supreme Council of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic

"Expressing the united will of the Armenian people;

"Aware of its historic responsibility for the destiny of the Armenian  people engaged in the realization of the aspirations of all Armenians  and the restoration of historical justice;

"Proceeding from the principles of the Universal Declaration on Human  Rights and the generally recognized norms of international law;

"Exercising the right of nations to free self-determination;

"Based on the December 1, 1989, joint decision of the Armenian SSR  Supreme Council and the Artsakh National Council on the  "Reunification of the Armenian SSR and the Mountainous Region of  Karabakh;

"Developing the democratic traditions of the independent Republic of  Armenia established on May 28, 1918." 

ArmInfo.In letters sent this week to Congressional leadership and rank and file members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Chairman Raffi Hamparian called for Congressional inquiries  into the Biden Administration's effective blockade on humanitarian  aid to Armenian families of Artsakh – an at-risk population facing  aggression, ethnic-cleansing, the obstruction of access to food,  water, fuel, and other vitally needed resources.

 Citing the "Azerbaijani government's ambition to see Artsakh's Armenians starved  out of existence," Hamparian underscored that "the Administration has  sent almost no humanitarian assistance at all to help Armenian  families living in Artsakh." "America must not be complicit in the  ethnic-cleansing of Artsakh by Azerbaijan," he stressed.  The ANCA  letter called on legislators to demand answers from the Biden  Administration – via Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S.  Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha  Power – to the following four questions:

What specific actions has the Biden Administration taken to help  at-risk Armenians living within Nagorno- Karabakh? (Please provide  programs, partners, budgets, deliverables and other relevant  information.)

What specific plans does the Biden Administration have to help  at-risk Armenians living within Nagorno- Karabakh? (Please provide  programs, partners, budgets, deliverables and other relevant  information.)

Has the Biden Administration conducted a needs assessment of the  humanitarian crisis facing the Armenian population of Artsakh?

What budget range does the Biden Administration consider sufficient  and appropriate to address the humanitarian crisis facing the  Armenian population of Artsakh?  The full text of the ANCA letter is  provided below.  

ANCA Chairman Raffi Hamparian's Letter to U.S. Senate and House   Members 

Dear Senator/Representative:  

I am writing to request that you investigate the Biden  Administration's refusal to provide meaningful levels of U.S.  humanitarian aid to the vulnerable Armenian population living in   Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh).  

As you know, the indigenous Armenians of Artsakh – victims of  ethnic-cleansing and an ongoing genocidal drive by Azerbaijan and  Turkey to drive them from their ancestral homeland – remain at-risk,  isolated and effectively blockaded, seeking to survive without  sufficient food, fuel, energy or other resources.  

The Biden Administration has provided some token aid to Armenians  driven from Artsakh into Armenia, and – as a result of Congressional  leadership -provided modest funding for de-mining and UXO clearance.   Consistent, however, with the Azerbaijani government's ambition to  see Artsakh's Armenians starved out of existence, the Administration  has sent almost no humanitarian assistance at all to help Armenian  families living in Artsakh.  

The Administration's aid blockade stands in sharp contrast to  established U.S. policy, which, since Federal Fiscal Year 1998, has  provided tens of millions of dollars of direct aid to Artsakh,  helping its peaceful inhabitants with maternal health care, clean  drinking water, and life-saving demining.  

In light of the escalating existential crisis facing the Armenian of  Artsakh, I call upon you to ask the Biden Administration – via  Secretary of State Antony Blinken and USAID Administrator Samantha  Power – the following four questions.

What specific actions has the Biden Administration taken to help  at-risk Armenians living within Nagorno- Karabakh? (Please provide  programs, partners, budgets, deliverables and other relevant  information.)

What specific plans does the Biden Administration have to help  at-risk Armenians living within Nagorno- Karabakh? (Please provide  programs, partners, budgets, deliverables and other relevant  information.)

Has the Biden Administration conducted a needs assessment of the  humanitarian crisis facing the Armenian population of Artsakh?

What budget range does the Biden Administration consider sufficient  and appropriate to address the humanitarian crisis facing the  Armenian population of Artsakh?

The survival of an ancient Christian nation on its indigenous  homeland is at stake. Congress needs to act now  - demanding answers  and delivering aid.

By all accounts, the Administration – under pressure from Azerbaijan  – has effectively cut off desperately needed U.S. humanitarian aid to  Artsakh. Without this aid, Azerbaijan will starve Artsakh's at-risk  Armenian population of food, water, and other life-sustaining  resources. America must not be complicit in the ethnic-cleansing of  Artsakh by Azerbaijan, an oil-rich regime that has received over  $164,000,000 in U.S. military aid. Very simply, this dictatorship  does not deserve a veto over U.S. humanitarian aid policy.

Please accept my thanks for your prompt attention to this ANCA  request. I look forward to hearing from you regarding the  Administration's response to your inquiries and would welcome the  opportunity to speak directly with you on this matter.  

Sincerely 

Raffi Hamparian Chairman Armenian National Committee of America

ArmInfo.The key to peace in the South Caucasus is a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan. According to the Anadolu agency, Turkish Foreign Minister  Mevlut Cavusoglu said this on the air of the Haber Global TV channel. 

Cavusoglu drew attention to efforts to normalize relations between  Turkey and Armenia. , the Turkish minister said.

At the same time, he stated that he considers the attempts to  perceive the dialogue between Ankara and Yerevan as isolated from the  contacts between Armenia and Azerbaijan as subjective.

He stressed that after two years the Armenian troops still have not  left the "territory of Azerbaijan". ,  the Turkish minister said.

ArmInfo.This morning, August 23, the heads of the five parliamentary forces of Artsakh met with the leadership of the Russian peacekeeping forces. This was reported  by the press service of the National Assembly of Artsakh.

According to the source, the reason for the meeting was the recent  statement of Minister-Counsellor of the Russian Embassy in Armenia  Maksim Seleznev, as well as another violation of the ceasefire by  Azerbaijan in early August and security issues. During the meeting,  officials of the peacekeeping forces of the Russian Federation  provided clarifications on the abovementioned issues. In particular,  it was noted that the tripartite declaration dated November 9, 2020  states that the new route linking Artsakh with Armenia will have the  same legal status as the current corridor, and all security  components will be preserved, ranging from 5- kilometer security zone  and ending with the deployment of checkpoints of the Russian  peacekeeping forces.

Referring to the latest developments, the command of the Russian  peacekeeping forces noted that they had drawn the necessary  conclusions regarding the August incidents, assuring that they would  make additional efforts to prevent such violations in the future and  ensure proper security for the Armenian population.