Friday, August 26 2022 14:04

ArmInfo.Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone (D- NJ) and Nevada Congresswoman Dina Titus (D-NV) are launching a renewed drive to end the blockade on U.S. aid to Artsakh, asking legislators to co-sign a Congressional letter to  Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Agency for International  Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power to "take immediate  steps dedicating significant resources" to support the at-risk  Armenian population of Artsakh, reported the Armenian National  Committee of America (ANCA).

 "Let's be clear," said ANCA Government Affairs Director Tereza Yerimyan. "The decision to cut-off humanitarian aid programs in Artsakh was taken at the highest levels  of our government - consistent with a deeply flawed set of U.S.  policies that, on the ground, have the practical effect of aiding and  abetting Azerbaijan's drive to ethnically-cleanse the remaining  Armenians in Artsakh by denying at-risk families food, fuel, water  and other life-sustaining resources." In a "Dear Colleague" letter to  U.S. Representatives, Reps. Pallone and Titus stress that "to date,  USAID has only committed $5 million to the assistance of displaced  people of Artsakh who are currently in Armenia. This amount is not  sufficient to address this humanitarian crisis, and we are also  concerned that the individuals who remain in Artsakh have not  received any of this critical aid."  The letter calls on Secretary of  State Antony Blinken and USAID Administrator Samantha Power to:  1)  Increase direct aid to the people of Artsakh 2) Provide an update on  Biden Administration efforts to directly assist Artsakh 3) Conduct a  needs assessment on the humanitarian crisis in Artsakh The ANCA has  launched a national action portal - anca.org/ArtsakhAid - where  pro-Artsakh advocates can contact their legislators to cosign the  Pallone-Titus letter.  Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Jackie  Speier (D-CA), and House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff  (D-CA) have already announced their support for the initiative.   Earlier this week, ANCA Chairman Raffi Hamparian, in letters sent to  Congressional leadership and rank and file U.S. Senate and House  members, called for Congressional inquiries into the Biden  administration's effective blockade on humanitarian aid to Armenian  families of Artsakh.  "America must not be complicit in the  ethnic-cleansing of Artsakh by Azerbaijan," stressed Hamparian.  The  full text of the Pallone-Titus Congressional letter is available  below. 

Dear Secretary Blinken and Administrator Power:  We are deeply  concerned by the lack of meaningful humanitarian aid to the  vulnerable Armenian population in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and urge  you to take immediate steps dedicating significant resources to these  individuals.  The people of Artsakh continue to face severe hardships  caused both by the deadly 44-day war that Azerbaijani forces provoked  in 2020 and the ongoing aggressions committed against innocent  civilians.  The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has  acknowledged that over 90,000 refugees displaced to Armenia, the  majority of whom are women, children, and elderly, are suffering  through an acute humanitarian crisis.  The $5,000,000 in Fiscal Year  2021 funding that USAID has committed, and the assistance allocated  through the United Nations' Armenia Interagency Response Plan (IA-RP)  have been wholly insufficient to address this crisis. Many families  have bravely returned to their homes in Artsakh despite the ongoing  threat of violence from Azerbaijani troops and the food, shelter, and  energy insecurities they face. We are also extremely concerned that  the individuals who remain in Artsakh have not received any of the  previously allocated U.S. assistance.  Our country has historically  promoted peace in Artsakh through U.S. government-funded landmine and  unexploded ordnance clearance efforts. We have also supported  rebuilding through millions of dollars of direct aid for humanitarian  assistance initiatives like maternal health care and clean drinking  water projects.  The need for this assistance has only grown due to  Azerbaijan's indiscriminate bombing campaigns in 2020 and the ongoing  provocations by their troops which further endanger food, water,  energy, and other critical resources for these communities. It is  especially urgent because of Azerbaijan current attempts to close the  Lachin corridor, which is a vital route used for transportation and  communications between Artsakh and Armenia.  We strongly urge the  Department of State and USAID to significantly increase funding that  will directly assist the Armenian population in Nagorno-Karabakh,  including assistance for housing, food security, water and  sanitation, health care, rehabilitation, and demining and UXO  clearance services they need to safely rebuild their lives, homes,  and communities. We also urge you to take every action possible to  protect the historic and cultural Armenian sites in territory held by  Azerbaijan, which many reports indicate are currently under threat.   We request an update on the specific actions the Biden Administration  has taken to help at-risk Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh and  any planned actions moving forward, including information on  programs, partners, budgets, and deliverables. This update should  differentiate between which resources were allocated to the Republic  of Armenia to aid displaced people and the assistance allocated to  those still living in Nagorno-Karabakh Additionally, the most recent  publicly available report from USAID on Nagorno-Karabakh from  February 2021 is outdated and no longer provides the data that we  need to make sound policy decisions. We strongly urge you to conduct  an updated needs assessment on the humanitarian crisis and share it  with interested stakeholders as soon as possible.  We appreciate your  consideration of these requests and look forward to your timely  reply.