Tuesday, July 21 2020 13:03

ArmInfo. The Armenian Assembly  of America opposed the consideration by the US legislature of a  malicious amendment to the Law on National Defense, initiated by the  co-chairman of the US Congress Azerbaijan-Turkey Group, Steve Shabo.

The AAA message to ArmInfo notes that this amendment, included in the  package of amendments (in total, about 100 amendments) on amendments  to the National Defense Law (NDAA), requires a report on internally  displaced persons in Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and Azerbaijan since  1991, and puts the cart in front of the horse in relation to  Azerbaijan.

"First, there were internally displaced persons in Azerbaijan back in  Soviet times at the end of 1991.  Secondly, the people and government  of Nagorno-Karabakh acted on the basis of preventing another genocide  of the Armenian people, since in the period from 1988 to 1991 more  than 300,000 Armenians were deported from Azerbaijan, which were  accompanied by pogroms in Sumgait, Kirovabad and Baku.  Thirdly, the  amendment does not mention that Azerbaijan, despite its oil wealth,  did nothing to help its people, and instead, the Aliyev clan spent  millions to purchase apartments in different parts of the world, "the  AAA statement said.

Fourth, the AAA stressed, this amendment, if included in the final  bill, would seriously damage the US's credibility as a co-chair of  the OSCE Minsk Group working towards a peaceful settlement of the  Nagorno- Karabakh conflict.

The Organization also noted that this amendment ignores the fact that  as recently as last week Azerbaijan launched an aggression against  Armenia, which was accompanied by strikes against civil  infrastructures and the population, including kindergarten.

"The amendment also does not mention the fact that Azerbaijan  threatened to attack the Armenian nuclear power plant, or the fact  that Azerbaijan destroyed Christian churches, as well as completely  destroyed thousands of khachkars, protected by UNESCO, in the  centuries-old Armenian Christian cemetery.  The Armenian Assembly  strongly opposes this amendment, inspired by the Laundromat lobbyist.  This is incorrect and counterproductive and should not be included in  the final version of the document, "the AAA noted, expressing the  conviction that these actions are an attempt to revive the terrible  situation that reigns in Azerbaijan in the field of human rights.

At the same time, the Organization is convinced that it is impossible  to draw parallels between the situations in Nagorno-Karabakh and in  the other above-mentioned countries, if only because there are no  Russian troops in the NKR.

"Moreover, the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh are not an occupying  force. They are the indigenous population of the region, which in  1991-1994 was dragged into the war by Azerbaijan, and which  negatively affected the region and led to the displacement of a  significant part of the Armenian population.  Only by protecting  their lives and By creating a buffer zone, the Armenians managed to  end this conflict, which was backed up by a ceasefire agreement under  the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.  The assumption that  the self-governing people of Nagorno-Karabakh is under occupation is  an insulting notion. And it insults the value of freedom and  self-determination. " , - AAA emphasized.