Thursday, November 17 2022 12:17

ArmInfo.  Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, referred to the humanitarian crisis in Artsakh, where Armenians face  daily violent threats by Azerbaijan.

Chairman Menendez further questioned the wisdom of the State Department's ongoing waiver of Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act during an SFRC hearing on  Wednesday, November 16, 2022, which assessed U.S. Policy in the South  Caucasus with Karen Donfried, Assistant Secretary of State for  European and Eurasian Affairs, and Ambassador Philip Reeker, Senior  Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations from the U.S. Department of State,  reported the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly). 

In his opening remarks, Chairman Menendez stated that the "people of  this region don't want to live under the threat of violence and they  don't want autocratic rule imposed on them by the barrel of a gun." 

He stressed that the Armenian people "deserve to live in peace and  they deserve freedom and security. And that means ensuring that a  peace deal does not lead to ethnic cleansing for the Armenian people  of Nagorno-Karabakh. It means tackling the needs of the humanitarian  crisis there. It means holding accountable those who order and carry  out the violence we've seen in this region." 

Addressing the root of the conflict in the region, Chairman Menendez  noted that "dictators with imperial aspirations have victimized those  living in the South Caucasus." 

He cited the Russian-backed aggression in Abkhazia and South Ossetia,  as well as Turkish-supported Azerbaijani aggression in Armenia and  Artsakh, where "disregard for human life has been clear," most  recently during the 44-day War on Artsakh in the Fall of 2020, when  Azerbaijan's unprovoked assault uprooted over 100,000 Armenians from  their homes in Artsakh, and resulted in the deaths of 6,500 people in  total. Chairman Menendez noted that the "Armenians in Artsakh still  face an acute humanitarian crisis, including threats of ethnic  cleansing, and chronic shortages of water, energy, health care, and  food."

Chairman Menendez has continuously pushed for robust humanitarian  assistance to help victims in Armenia and Artsakh. He admonished the  U.S. humanitarian response as being "insufficient," and expressed  outrage over its continued, annual provision of security assistance  to Azerbaijan."

How on Earth can the United States justify sending any kind of  support, security or otherwise, to a regime in Baku? It's  inexcusable. I personally think it's morally repugnant. And it makes  a mockery of the FREEDOM Support Act.

"Chairman Menendez continued: "Section 907 of this Act is meant to  ban security assistance to Azerbaijan until Azerbaijan is 'taking  demonstrable steps to cease all blockades and other offensive uses of  force against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.' And yet the Department  of State has waived Section 907 over and over again. It requested  $600,000 for Fiscal Year 22 to provide Azerbaijan with international  military education and training - a program meant to 'provide a  professional military education to countries selected by the  Secretary of State.'"

Expanding on the question of U.S. security assistance, Chairman  Menendez referenced the Government Accounting Office's (GAO) report,  publicly released earlier this year, which demonstrates that the  Department of State and Department of Defense failed to comply with  reporting requirements for reviewing U.S. assistance to the  government of Azerbaijan relative to Section 907's statutory  requirements.  Concluding his opening remarks, Chairman Menendez said  he "welcomes senior level U.S. engagement in this region" and has  "high hopes for a lasting peace."

During the hearing, in response to Assistant Secretary Donfried and  Ambassador Reeker's respective testimonies, Chairman Menendez stated  that their testimonies are "unresponsive to the concerns" that he  raised in his opening statement or in the past. He pressed Ambassador  Reeker about video footage that caught Azerbaijani forces "killing  unarmed Armenian soldiers in cold blood."

Ambassador Reeker replied that he has "seen a number of videos" and  that his "email box is filled with them.

"Chairman Menendez asked if he has made efforts to verify the videos  and if he has come across reports of Azerbaijani soldiers sexually  assaulting and mutilating an Armenian female soldier. In response,  Ambassador Reeker said that he has "seen many reports of atrocities,"  however, he stated he was "not familiar" with reports relating to  Azerbaijan's reported use of illegal weapons, including white  phosphorus, cluster bombs.

Chairman Menendez emphasized that the State Department "seems to be  looking the other way because of whatever interests we have with  Azerbaijan."

"My frustration with the State Department is that they always say  'well both sides should refrain.' But when there is an aggressor, we  should call out the aggressor...it's Azerbaijan. Yet we look the  other way and we waive Section 907." Addressing Assistant Secretary  Donfried specifically, Chairman Menendez asked how the State  Department continues to provide a waiver to Section 907, not only due  to the fact that the GAO study reaffirmed that the State Department  did not meet its reporting requirements, but also because of the  atrocities that the Aliyev regime wantonly commits.

In response, Assistant Secretary Donfried said that the State  Department is "working very hard to achieve a goal I think we share,  which is a sustainable peace in the South Caucasus...what we are  hearing from both [Armenia and Azerbaijan] is they believe there is  an historic opportunity for a sustainable peace in the region."  Regarding waiving Section 907, Assistant Secretary Donfried said the  State Department "welcomes the GAO's review of the Section 907 waiver  process" and that steps were taken to implement the GAO's  recommendations.

Chairman Menendez pressed that in the face of all of the facts, one  cannot justify a waiver to Section 907."Is it humanly possible to say  that Azerbaijan has not benefited itself from the assistance we have  given it in a way that gives it a clear edge against Armenia as it  relates to its military prowess? There's no way to say that. You  can't sit here with a straight face and say that."

Turning to specific actions the Biden Administration has taken to  directly help at-risk Armenians living in Artsakh, Chairman Menendez  emphasized that the humanitarian needs of the people in this conflict  are being "wholly underserved."

Ambassador Reeker acknowledged the "terrible humanitarian toll" from  the 2020 war and that the "State Department continues to work with  relevant agencies to evaluate needs in the region and identify how  best humanitarian assistance can be provided."

He noted that access to Artsakh is "extremely limited" and "not  currently possible for U.S. government personnel to access the area  and conduct needs assessments or monitor programs." The U.S.,  however, has provided funding for humanitarian demining operations,  including the allotment of $2 million. Chairman Menendez remarked  that this is "wholly unresponsive in terms of health care, food  security, water. I can't believe we don't have an answer." Further in  the hearing, Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) emphasized "Turkey's  historic role backing Azerbaijan" in relation to the country's role  in the South Caucasus region.

He stated that the U.S. relationship with Azerbaijan is due to its  "increasing role as a supplier of energy to neighbors and into  Europe" and that the U.S. has gotten the "balance wrong when it comes  to promoting human rights and democracy in countries that have large  oil reservoirs." Also during the hearing, Senators Ed Markey (D-MA)  and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) rightly questioned the judgement of the  U.S.  Departments of State and Defense in advocating for continued  U.S. security assistance to the Aliyev regime in Azerbaijan.

In his closing statement, Chairman Menendez said the hearing was  "disappointing," while pointing out to Assistant Secretary Donfried  that while the State Department is urging Azerbaijan to observe human  rights, the U.S. continues to give the country "direct assistance  that can hurt Armenia."

He emphasized that "one side is the aggressor" and the [U.S.] "has  done nothing to verify the videos and the evidence of cluster  munitions, of white phosphorus, which are illegal."Addressing  Assistant Secretary Donfried and Ambassador Reeker, Senator Menendez  said it is "totally unacceptable" that they can't respond with  specificity what kind of humanitarian assistance the U.S. is  providing to the victims.