Experts warned a bipartisan congressional human rights commission Wednesday that the United States must be careful to avoid complicity in what they said could be an ongoing “genocide” against 120,000 Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh whom Azerbaijan forces have deprived of food and other crucial supplies for months. 

The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission held a hearing on the ongoing blockade of the Lachin Corridor, which connects Armenians to Artsakh, a self-declared Armenian breakaway state internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan with a predominantly Christian population.

Azerbaijan sealed off the Lachin Corridor last December after regaining control of territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh after a six-week war with Armenia in 2020. Armenian forces had captured the territory in a conflict that ended in 1994. 

A Russia-brokered armistice left the region connected to Armenia only by the Lachin Corridor, where Russian peacekeepers were supposed to ensure free movement.

Commission co-chair Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., led the hearing, which featured expert testimony from Luis Moreno Ocampo, an Argentine lawyer who served as the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court from 2003 to 2012; and David Phillips, the director of Columbia University’s Artsakh Atrocities Project and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University.

As the U.S. government conducts negotiations, Smith said U.S. Congress must determine if what is happening against the Armenians is a genocide and what the government’s duty is to prevent it under the Genocide Convention, an international treaty. 

Smith highlighted Ocampo’s written testimony, which cautioned the U.S. for taking on a mediatory role, warning that accepting the existence of “genocide” as part of a negotiation is “complicity.” 

During the hearing, Smith pointed out that two empty chairs were reserved for the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), both of which did not respond to multiple invite requests. 

During his testimony, Ocampo clarified that one misconception people have is that an action must involve many deaths before it’s considered genocide. 

The witness noted that the Azerbaijani security forces’ blockade of the Lachin Corridor impedes access to food and other essentials, arguing that the intent to starve the Armenians is a genocidal action. 

“There are many different forms of genocide. One form requires zero victim,” he said. “Genocide, under Article 2-C, requires just to create the conditions to destroy the people. The crime is to create the conditions and blocking the Lachin Corridor with the life system for the Nagorno-Karabakh people is exacting the conditions.”

“The physical issue is intentions. Can we say President Ilham Aliyev or anyone else in the Azerbaijani state has genocidal intentions? My thing was if you follow different quotes, then something very clear, the facts speak for themselves,” he added.

“In December ’22, the blockade of the Lachin Corridor started by people not formally connected to the states. However, in January this year, Secretary of State [Antony] Blinken called President Aliyev, asking him to remove it. President Aliyev didn’t follow the request. In February, the International Court of Justice unanimously said to President Aliyev, ‘This is creating risk for life of the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh’ and ordered to open the Corridor. He did not follow. What he did instead was to create a security forces blockade.” 

In February, 15 judges from the International Court of Justice ordered Aliyev to remove the blockade, but the leader did not comply. 

Ocampo said that Aliyev’s actions send a “very clear signal” that he knows that the blockade puts lives at risk. According to Ocampo, this is a clear sign of Aliyev’s genocidal intentions, as ICJ was clear about the consequences of the blockade and its impact on the Armenians. 

“So when he is doing this now with security forces, obviously, he had intention to do that. That intention is confirmed because a few months later, he closed off all the traffic,” Ocampo said. “For me, at this stage, there is no doubt that genocidal intentions are there.”

In a report last month, Ocampo warned that there was a “reasonable basis to believe that a genocide is being committed,” suggesting that starvation was being used as an “invisible genocide weapon.” He called for the U.N. Security Council to intervene, which would be necessary because Azerbaijan is not a signatory to the statute that established the International Criminal Court.

Phillips agreed that Aliyev’s actions could constitute genocide against the Armenians and discussed how Azerbaijan security forces are firing on Armenian farmers, shortening their food supply and terrorizing them with psychological torture. 

In his testimony, Phillips argued that Aliyev has waged campaigns intended to dehumanize Armenian Christians. 

Regarding the steps that the U.S. should take to prevent these atrocities, Phillips recommends enforcing the sanctions described in Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, which restricts assistance to the government of Azerbaijan to prevent conflict with neighboring Armenia.

Phillips also cited the Global Magnitsky Act, which consists of targeted sanctions to combat human rights abuses and corruption. 

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of State announced that Blinken spoke with Aliyev about the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh earlier this month. 

“[Blinken] reiterated our call to reopen the Lachin Corridor to humanitarian, commercial, and passenger traffic while recognizing the importance of additional routes from Azerbaijan,” the statement read. “The Secretary underscored the need for a dialogue and compromise and the importance of building confidence between the parties. He pledged continued U.S. support to the peace process.” 

The bipartisan Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission was established by the House of Representatives in 2008 to promote and advocate for international human rights.

https://www.christianpost.com/news/experts-warn-of-genocidal-intent-against-armenian-christians.html

LONDON, Sept 7 (Reuters) – Armenia and Azerbaijan accused each other on Thursday of moving troops close to their joint border as tensions over the future of the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave rose even as the two countries said they remained committed to a peace process.

Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but run by ethnic Armenian authorities, is at the centre of a rancorous standoff, with Azerbaijan restricting movement along the only road to it from Armenia to thwart what it says is arms smuggling.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday accused Azerbaijan of conducting an “ongoing military build-up along the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh and the Armenia-Azerbaijan border”, according to Armenian state news agency Armenpress.

Armenia’s foreign ministry, which said Yerevan was not interested in military escalation and was ready to continue efforts to secure a peace deal, said the information had been confirmed by various sources.

Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry rejected the Armenian assertion in a statement which called on Yerevan to end what Baku called “military and political provocations.”

“These claims are…part of another fraudulent political manipulation,” the foreign ministry said.

Hikmet Hajiyev, foreign policy adviser to Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, told Reuters that Azerbaijan’s armed forces were conducting pre-planned drills in preparation for the autumn and winter.

“It’s part of the regular planning process,” said Hajiyev, accusing Armenia in turn of concentrating troops on the border and of purchasing new weaponry systems.

He said ethnic Armenian forces inside Nagorno-Karabakh had also come out of their regular barracks and deployed to front line positions in what he said was a high level of alertness.

Armenia did not comment on its own troop movements.

“Our strategy is about deterrence and deterring any armed or illegal military actions or provocations against Azerbaijan,” said Hajiyev.

Russia, which has maintained peacekeepers in the region since a 2020 war in which Azerbaijan seized back significant amounts of territory it had lost to Armenian forces in the 1990s, said on Thursday it was continuing to fulfil its role as a security guarantor in the South Caucasus.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov criticised Armenia’s decision to host a joint exercise involving 85 U.S. soldiers next week as unhelpful however.

“In this situation, holding such exercises does not contribute to stabilising the situation in any case and strengthening the atmosphere of mutual trust in the region,” Peskov said.

“But Russia continues to fulfil its functions as a guarantor of security, Russia continues scrupulous, consistent and constructive work with both Yerevan and Baku.”

The pathway to a peace deal in the South Caucasus has been long and fraught with challenges. Emotions run high within the nexus of Armenian-Azeri relations, with painful memories and distress on both sides. But from inside this torn relationship, one can see the openings (however small) and the opportunities (however faint) for creating a turnaround in the regional dynamics.

Establishing a stable, sustainable peace is certainly the order of the day. It would save lives and prevent tremendous suffering. It would also bring significant upsides for the future of both countries: a geo-economic peace dividend that boosts the South Caucasus and its surrounding regions. Peaceful regional integration would create new, flourishing transit routes and supply chains that connect Asia to Europe, promoting the resilience of the global economy. And it would unlock tremendous value from both countries, as well as neighbouring Georgia, accelerating the development of their respective strengths.

Instead, for the moment, the conflict drags on, affecting a number of countries and communities. It also raises the risk of a violent confrontation along the Armenia-Azerbaijan-Iran border, where a possible military escalation over control of Armenia’s southern region of Syunik could draw Tehran in, seeing as it lines northern Iran.

For more than three decades, Armenia and Azerbaijan have wrestled over the fate of Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region with a majority Armenian population that was assigned within Soviet Azerbaijan by the USSR in the 1920s.

The contested region Nagorno-Karabakh

A 2020 war between Azerbaijan and Armenia shifted the issue in favour of Baku, which had long been seeking to reclaim control of the region as a matter of national sovereignty. But that left an open question as to how the relationship between Azeri authorities and Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh would progress.

Fortunately, Baku and Yerevan began to take steps towards peace. The US, EU and Russia have all tried to move the initiative forward, hosting talks in different cities between Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. But the comprehensive deal they began to pursue now risks being derailed.

A dispute over the Lachin Corridor, the main road into Nagorno-Karabakh, has cut off vital supplies to an estimated 120,000 Armenians for more than eight months. Civilians, including about 30,000 children, are desperate for fresh food, fuel and medical goods. The International Committee of the Red Cross, among other leading voices, has described a dire lack of basic necessities, while UN experts warn that vulnerable populations are at risk of going hungry.

A humanitarian intervention urgently needs to be found, one that would stop the immediate suffering and prevent malnutrition levels that could very soon turn deadly. The solution could be a multinational aid delivery, co-ordinated with both Baku and Yerevan. There could be humanitarian air cargo flights to Ganja or cargo drone deliveries into Stepanakert and remote villages of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Creative solutions can be found once a principled compromise is reached – there simply needs to be a well-balanced diplomatic intervention that will give both sides a face-saving way to climb down from the current impasse.

The region needs a fresh approach to peacebuilding, with out-of-the-box ideas. Countries in the Global South could be crucial for providing a platform, with a climate of goodwill and understanding of both sides.

Diplomatic assistance from a trusted partner in the Arab and Muslim world would be a powerful positive force.

Azerbaijan has warm ties with countries in the Mena region, anchored in its membership in the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation. Armenians have a history of close friendship and integration with the Islamic world, encapsulated by a decree of the Prophet Mohammed in 626 AD that put the Armenian people and their church under his patronage and protection. Today, the Matenadaran museum in Yerevan houses a prestigious collection of Islamic manuscripts, including a copy of the Prophet’s Covenant with the Christians of the World.

The values of Islam – foremost, peace, compassion and care for humanity – create a unique diplomatic climate for potential reconciliation. They create a level of comfort and a safe space for both sides to be meaningfully heard. In that spirit, diplomats can help Armenia and Azerbaijan deescalate the current crisis, first by finding a point of compromise over urgent humanitarian needs. That will subsequently create the time and space required to find greater common ground.

“There are no real, fundamentally insurmountable problems between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” said Laurence Broers, an Associate Fellow with Chatham House focused on the South Caucasus. “With determination, intelligence and a sensible view you can overcome all of the obstacles.”

To achieve peace and stability, the two sides need to trust each other, with a facilitator that can help build that trust. Both sides will have to come to terms with their shared history. There is much to forgive and multitudes of grief that need to be transcended. An authentic, compassionate platform for dialogue could help Armenians and Azerbaijanis reconnect with their shared humanity.

“In the past, Armenians and Azerbaijanis had social norms of how to live together … they experienced happy and sad moments together,” Ahmad Alili, the director of a think tank in Baku, told me. They need to get together and talk.

Both sides have experienced the burden of war and share a will to live in safety and prosperity. If they can find the way to a peaceful co-existence, it will be transformative for the lives and livelihoods of millions of people. And it will set history in the positive direction we all want to see.

https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/comment/2023/09/07/nagorno-karabakh-pashinyan-baku-yerevan/

Anyone who has ever ridden understands the sense of partnership between human and horse. However, Carrie Schopf, Armenia’s sole international dressage rider, takes it a step further. Competing at the European Dressage Championships with her partner of five years, the chestnut gelding Saumur, Carrie likened their relationship to “more of a marriage”.

After scoring 67% in the grand prix test, Carrie explained that, however much she loves her horse, they hadn’t quite seen eye to eye in the Riesenbeck arena.

“Anyone who has been married or in a long-term relationship knows what that can be like,” says Carrie, 66.

“My horse really uses critical moments as a discussion point. I don’t have big expectations with him – some days he goes for a 73 and other days he has an issue with me. Today was an issue day, not a serious issue as we still scored over 67% but certainly an under-achieving day. But that’s OK! I ride for myself, and I enjoy it. I enjoy cheering for other riders who don’t ride for themselves. I don’t have a sponsor and I am an amateur.”

Carrie explains how she never wants to pressurise Saumur to perform perfectly, even though he’s not always as sharp as she’s hoping for, but they have fun.

“He just was going to underperform today,” she says. “My husband says I’m too soft. Perhaps sometimes I should be more assertive and say, ‘Today you cannot underperform’.

“But it’s a difficult balance. You love your horse and want to be really kind to him, but on the other hand you have to be a showman. And if your horse has a bad day, what am I going to do? I would have liked it if he wanted to give me a bit more, but I wasn’t going to scream at him! I can’t slam doors, tell him he’s going without dinner, tell him to get out of the house – all the things you can do in a marriage!” she jokes.

Although both of Carrie’s parents are Armenian, she was born in the US and is based “down the road” in Germany. After her European Dressage Championships test, she was heading off to ride her other grand prix horse, a mare.

“I find it interesting to compare the two,” said Carrie, who believes the mare might be her Olympic ride for 2024 – if she can control her hot side.

“Saumur is a gelding, though he was a real boy for a long time. Mares are so much more black and white, it’s yes or it’s no. My mare is opinionated, but I can talk with her in a whisper. I have a feeling that if I did raise my voice, she would raise her voice, and then I’d talk a bit louder, and she would talk a bit louder – and in the end we’d find a compromise. With Saumur, he just sulks. He says, ‘Why don’t you like me now?’.

Carrie was lying in 24th spot at the midway stage of the grand prix, out of 32 combinations to compete so far.

https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/dressage/european-dressage-championships-armenian-rider-carrie-schopf-837056

The actor-director Michael Goorjian explores the urge to reconnect with one’s roots in this movie about an American who moves to Soviet Armenia.

Director

Michael A. Goorjian

Writer

Michael A. Goorjian

Stars

Michael A. Goorjian, Hovik Keuchkerian, Nelli Uvarova, Mikhail Trukhin, Jean-Pierre Nshanian

Rating

Not Rated

Running Time

1h 55m

Genre

Drama