Category: 2023

It is Thursday morning, August 31. Our bags are packed, and we are ready to fly to Washington, D.C. for the AYF Olympics, the annual gathering of AYF members, alumni and families to enjoy back-to-back athletic events and dances and meet friends old and new. The 90-year-old tradition with humble beginnings, held over Labor Day weekend, has grown and flourished into a celebration of being Armenian.

These long weekends have a magic and allure that keep us coming back. There will be the inevitable sadness on Labor Day, when we return home exhausted to resume our everyday lives.   

Yet while I am excited to go to Washington this year along with my whole family, I find myself departing under a cloud of sadness. We all feel constant angst regarding what is happening to our people in Artsakh. It is Day 263 of the blockade – let’s call it what it is, a siege of 120,000 Armenians. No food or medical supplies are passing through the Berdzor (Lachin) Corridor. Armenia cannot send aid and has no military options to break the blockade. There is a pall over everyone as we wonder when Azerbaijan and Turkey might use their militaries to…I can’t even type the words.

I am going to D.C. to live it up while all this is happening halfway across the world. I feel conflicted, but life must go on. Folks I know went to Armenia this summer, for weddings or vacations. I saw their photos and videos of a thriving Yerevan just a few hours’ drive from the blockade. I cannot criticize – I am going to the Olympics for the same reason. Our churches held picnics this summer with music and dancing. We have to keep our communities vibrant and financially solvent.  

Our collective sadness is amplified by the fact that we Armenians have little power to end the blockade. Diplomacy without some military or economic leverage is not helpful. As we near the one-year mark of the blockade, countries around the world are urging the opening of the corridor and a peaceful solution. What is a peaceful solution – what Azerbaijan and Turkey want? What about the Armenians in the homeland? 

We have the humanitarian and moral high ground for sure, but this is another example of us using a paper ladle to get our fair share.  

It is easy to criticize Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. I hear it all the time – people are always telling me, “I do not support Pashinyan,” or worse, “He is a traitor.”  I wonder what I or any of the rest of us would or could do in his position?  I have yet to hear anyone propose a plan that might work in our favor. It is gut-wrenching to realize our national impotence.

The “SOS Artsakh!” protest is taking place on Friday, September 1 in front of the White House. I imagine it will be well attended, as it should be.  Will it have any impact?  Will U.S. President Joe Biden notice?  Will he change course and stop aid to Turkey and Azerbaijan? Sadly, probably not. A month or so ago, Turkey agreed to let Sweden into NATO, within a day of the approval of the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey. In the behind-the-scenes discussions that obviously let this exchange happen, would the U.S. have insisted the blockade be lifted? I assume not.

In a discussion with Pauline Getzoyan, editor of the Weekly, she said we have to protest. Our people in Artsakh see and appreciate it and feel fortified by the support. So, protest we will. We will do whatever we can to urge the U.S. to take a stronger stand to guarantee the territorial integrity of Armenia and the security of the Armenians in Artsakh. 

Life must go on, but it feels like one foot on a dock and one foot on the boat, and the boat is drifting…

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congressional Armenian Caucus co-chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Adam Schiff (D-CA) and David Valadao (R-CA) were joined by Representatives Brad Sherman (D-CA) and Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) in introducing a series of amendments to the Fiscal Year 2024 U.S. House Defense Appropriations Bill (H.R. 4365) to block U.S. military assistance to Azerbaijan, in the face of President Aliyev’s 260+ day genocidal blockade of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

“The Biden-Harris administration’s failure of leadership on Azerbaijan’s genocidal blockade of Artsakh underscores the urgent need for strong congressional leadership and strict legislative oversight,” said ANCA executive director Aram Hamparian. “We welcome each of these amendments – those in defense of Artsakh and also banning cluster bombs – and are working alongside a broad array of congressional allies and coalition partners to see them enacted into law.”

The ANCA is urging U.S. Representatives to cosponsor and support passage of four pro-Artsakh amendments, including:

– Amendment 258 (presented by Rep. Sherman) – Preventing the use of funds to provide military assistance to Azerbaijan.

– Amendment 263 (presented by Rep. Sherman) – Preventing the use of funds to provide military assistance to Azerbaijan for use against Armenia or Nagorno Karabakh (also known as Artsakh).

– Amendment 272 (led by Representatives Pallone, Bilirakis, Valadao, Schiff and Malliotakis) – Prohibiting military aid and security assistance to the defense, security and border forces of the government of Azerbaijan.

– Amendment 285 (led by Representatives Pallone, Schiff and Malliotakis) – Allocating $1 million to support Department of Defense activities and partnerships that will help peacefully resolve the illegal Azeri blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh and allow for the unimpeded movement of essential humanitarian assistance, including food and medication, and commercial activities through the Lachin Corridor.

The ANCA is also recommending support for two amendments that would prohibit the acquisition, use, transfer and sale of cluster munitions, citing the devastating consequences of Azerbaijan’s use of these weapons during the 2020 Artsakh war.  These amendments are:

– Amendment 59 (led by Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) and Sarah Jacobs (D-CA) – Prohibiting funding for the acquisition, use, transfer or sale of cluster munitions.

– Amendment 131 (led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Sarah Jacobs (D-CA) – Prohibiting funds made available by the bill from being used to transfer cluster munitions.

The amendments are currently under review by the House Rules Committee, which will determine their consideration by U.S. Representatives upon their return to session in mid-September.  Those ruled “in order” will be presented and voted upon during consideration of H.R. 4365.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) chairman Raffi Hamparian has called upon U.S. Senators to place a hold on all nominations to the State Department, blocking any new confirmations until President Biden takes decisive action to break Azerbaijan’s 260+ day blockade of Artsakh’s 120,000 indigenous Christian Armenians.

The ANCA’s call is backed up by a nationwide advocacy campaign, empowering Armenians and allied Americans from all fifty states to send letters urging their Senators to take this principled stand – in accord with U.S. interests and American values. The action portal is www.anca.org/hold.

The ANCA is asking that a hold on U.S. diplomatic nominees remain in place until the Biden administration has undertaken demonstrable steps to:

− Lead a United Nations Security Council Resolution condemning Azerbaijan’s blockade of Artsakh, sanctioning the Aliyev regime and putting in place mechanisms to open land transit via the Lachin (Berdzor) Corridor and to airlift supplies to Artsakh.

− Stop any new, current or pending U.S. military or security assistance to Azerbaijan and fully enforce Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act.

− Deliver emergency U.S. humanitarian assistance and longer-term development aid to the Armenian victims of Azerbaijani aggression in Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), including by means of a humanitarian airlift.

− Enforce statutory sanctions against Azerbaijani officials responsible for the genocidal blockade of Nagorno Karabakh.

The full text of the ANCA letter to senators is provided below.

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ANCA Letter to U.S. Senators Urging them to Hold Biden’s State Department Nominees

Dear Senator:

On behalf of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) and our activists and coalition allies, I am writing to ask you to immediately place a hold on all State Department nominees until the Biden Administration takes decisive action to break Azerbaijan’s 260+ day genocidal blockade of Nagorno Karabakh’s (Artsakh) indigenous Christian population. To date, the State Department has manifestly failed to meaningfully confront Azerbaijan, and our Department of Defense continues aiding and abetting the military of a country starving Armenians to death. This is immoral and inconsistent with both U.S. interests and American values.

Absent urgent and immediate American leadership, Azerbaijan will complete its genocide of Nagorno Karabakh, a crime already underway according to a landmark report issued recently by Luis Moreno Ocampo, the first prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. As you know, Azerbaijan has failed to abide by the binding provisional order issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that requires Azerbaijan to open the Lachin Corridor.

A hold on U.S. diplomatic nominees should remain in place until the Biden Administration has undertaken demonstrable steps to:

− Lead a United Nations Security Council Resolution condemning Azerbaijan’s blockade of Artsakh, sanctioning the Aliyev regime, and putting in place mechanisms to open land transit via the Lachin Corridor and to airlift supplies to Artsakh.

− Stop any new, current, or pending U.S. military or security assistance to Azerbaijan and fully enforce Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act.

− Deliver emergency U.S. humanitarian assistance and longer term development aid to the Armenian victims of Azerbaijani aggression in Nagorno Karabakh, including by means of a humanitarian airlift.

− Enforce statutory sanctions against Azerbaijani officials responsible for the genocidal blockade of Nagorno Karabakh.

Thank you, in advance, for your thoughtful consideration of the ANCA’s request that you immediately place a hold on all State Department nominees up and until that time when the Biden Administration has taken definitive and demonstrable steps to have Azerbaijan open the Lachin Corridor and avert a second Armenian Genocide.

For additional information regarding this urgent humanitarian crisis – please have your professional staff contact the ANCA’s Government Affairs Director Tereza Yerimyan at [email protected] or by phone at 323-807-4960.

Sincerely,

[signed]

Raffi Haig Hamparian
Chairman
Armenian National Committee of America

Arayik Harutyunyan

Arayik Harutyunyan has announced his decision to resign as the president of the Republic of Artsakh. 

Harutyunyan said the global “unstable geopolitical situation” and “Artsakh’s internal political and social environments” require flexibility and a change in approach in governance. “A change in the primary actors is needed in Artsakh, starting with me,” Harutyunyan said in a message posted on Facebook on August 31.

“My background and Azerbaijan’s attitude towards it are artificially creating a number of conditions generating significant problems with regard to our further steps and flexible policy. Besides, the defeat in the war and the resulting difficulties that emerged in the country reduced trust in the authorities and especially the president, which represents a very serious obstacle to further good governance,” Harutyunyan said.

Harutyunyan said he will present his official resignation to the Artsakh National Assembly on September 1. Artsakh State Minister Gurgen Nersisyan also resigned, and Secretary of the Security Council Samvel Sergey Shahramanyan has been appointed to replace him. 

Harutyunyan assumed the presidency in May of 2020. He served as president of Artsakh during the 44-day war waged by Azerbaijan in the fall of 2020, which resulted in Armenia’s defeat and the loss of the seven districts adjacent to Artsakh as well as a large part of Artsakh itself.

Rumors of Harutyunyan’s resignation had already been circulating in Armenian and Artsakh media. He recently enacted a constitutional amendment that would give the National Assembly the power to elect an interim president in case of his resignation. 

The former president has also faced pressure from other local politicians to step down. His decision comes days after former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan demanded his resignation.

In a Facebook address on August 19, Vardanyan said that Harutyunyan had promised to resign by the start of that week and several times previously. “Some of the eight people present at that meeting did not believe your word. Another part said, ‘Maybe he is telling the truth this time,’” Vardanyan said. 

Vardanyan’s video address came days after members of a state-controlled volunteer militia entered the Artsakh parliament in a show of support for Harutyunyan on August 16. They demanded a meeting with the head of the Artsakh parliament Davit Ishkhanyan and other parliamentarians, which did not take place. 

The militia was created during the 2020 war. It is made up of civilian volunteers and is under the control of the Artsakh Defense Ministry. The head of the militia Karen Matevosyan said that the militia was created to save Artsakh from “elimination” and did not intervene in domestic politics.

At the time, Ishkhanyan called for “vigilance and restraint.” “Steps taken by some people who have appeared on public platforms under the guise of false unification calls aimed at destroying the foundations of our statehood are unacceptable,” Ishkhanyan said in a statement, without specifying who he was referring to. 

Ishkhanyan, a member of the ARF Bureau and opposition parliamentarian, was elected the speaker of the Artsakh National Assembly in a secret ballot on August 7. He was nominated by the “Free Motherland-United Civic Alliance” ruling coalition led by Harutyunyan. 

Harutyunyan’s resignation comes nearly nine months into a devastating blockade imposed on Artsakh by Azerbaijan. Supplies of food, medicine and other basic necessities have dwindled, and international organizations and human rights groups have warned of a humanitarian crisis. 

Political analyst Tigran Grigoryan said that intense internal political developments have been unfolding in Artsakh over the past months against the backdrop of the blockade. He argued that different groups have emerged with diverging approaches to how to end the blockade and pursue negotiations with Azerbaijan, each of which have been vying for power. In an op-ed for CivilNet, Grigoryan argued that Vardanyan has united the opposition factions in the Artsakh parliament and the former presidents of Artsakh under one of these poles, with a differing stance on how to end the blockade than Harutyunyan.

Both the ruling leadership and opposition in Artsakh have been increasingly critical of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s administration since the 2020 Artsakh War, especially PM Pashinyan’s announcement that he is ready to recognize Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan.