Friday, September 22 2023 10:17

ArmInfo.Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez introduced legislation  today to revoke the President's authority to waive Section 907 of the  FREEDOM Support Act and enact U.S. sanctions against President Ilham  Aliyev and other senior Azerbaijani officials, reported the Armenian  National Committee of America (ANCA).

The measure condemns Azerbaijan's ethnic cleansing of Artsakh and calls upon Azerbaijan to  lift its blockade, allow the delivery of U.S. and international  humanitarian assistance, and release all Armenian POWs, in addition  to authorizing multi-year appropriations of direct U.S. humanitarian  aid to Artsakh and for energy, science, and military programs in  Armenia. "Congress is leading where our President has so clearly  failed - in standing up to Azerbaijan, sanctioning Aliyev and sending  humanitarian aid to Artsakh," said ANCA Executive Director Aram  Hamparian. 

"We encourage the broad-based and growing bipartisan support for  revoking the President's statutory authority to suspend Section 907,  and look forward to seeing this provision enacted into law." Joining  Senator Menendez as early cosponsors of the "Supporting Armenians  Against Azerbaijani Act" are Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Chris Van  Hollen (D-MD), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and  Gary Peters (D-MD).

Authorizations for spending in Senator Menendez's measure are as  follows: -- A one-time authorization to appropriate to the United  States Agency for International Development, for fiscal year 2024,  $30,000,000 to provide humanitarian assistance to groups in Armenia  and Nagorno-Karabakh impacted by the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War,  Azerbaijan's September 2022 attack on Armenia, and Azerbaijan's  blockade of the Lachin Corridor. -- A one-time authorization to  appropriate $10,000,000 for the Department of State for fiscal year  2024 for Foreign Military Financing program assistance for the  Republic of Armenia. -- A three-year authorization to appropriate  $650,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2026 to carry out  activities to support the energy sector of the Republic of Armenia.  -- A five-year authorization to appropriate $50,000,000 for each of  fiscal years 2024 through 2028 for activities promoting U.S.-Armenian  cooperation on science and technology. The text of the bill is  available at:  https://anca.org/assets/pdf/092123_Menendez_AzerbaijanSanctionsBill.pdf 

Upon introduction of the bill earlier today, Chairman Menendez and  Senate cosponsors stressed the urgency of holding Azerbaijan  accountable for their blockade and escalating aggression against the  120,000 indigenous Artsakh Armenian population. "President Aliyev has  repeatedly shown he will stop at nothing to eradicate Armenians in  Nagorno-Karabakh and threaten his neighbors. This urgent bipartisan  legislation both solidifies our collective support for Armenians and  sends a clear message to the people of Nagorno-Karabakh that the  United States will not stand idly by while the Aliyev regime carries  out its brutal campaigns of starvation and military action,"  explained Chairman Menendez. 

"The Azeri government and President Aliyev used first a blockade and  then an attack to force their will upon Nagorno-Karabakh.  Armenians  suffered the first genocide of the 20th century, which opened the  door for many of the horrors in this century.  This is the latest  episode of the use of force to resolve things which should be done  diplomatically," said Senator Cassidy. 

"Azerbaijan's renewed attacks on Nagorno-Karabakh are unacceptable.  The US and international community must act to end the blockade, halt  Azerbaijan's aggression against Armenians and hold those responsible  accountable. This legislation sends a clear signal that we will not  stand idly by in the face of these attacks," noted Senator Van  Hollen. 

"We cannot stand idly by as Azerbaijan takes escalatory steps to  ethnically cleanse Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. We must swiftly  pass this legislation to provide immediate support to Armenians in  Nagorno-Karabakh and to ensure the Azerbaijani regime is held  accountable for its grave human rights violations and unprovoked acts  of aggression on Armenians in the region. I will continue to work to  create the conditions for lasting peace in the region," stressed  Senator Padilla. "America can't stand idly by as brutal violence  perpetrated by the authoritarian regime in Azerbaijan raises the  specter of genocide in Nagorno-Karabakh. This legislation imposes  stiff sanctions that will help hold the Azerbaijani government  accountable for its clear human rights violations, while authorizing  much-needed humanitarian assistance to Nagorno-Karabakh and the  people of Armenia," noted Senator Whitehouse.  Senate Foreign  Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-NJ) is leading a Senate  bill to hold Azerbaijan calling for the repeal of the waiver of  Section 907 restrictions on US aid to Azerbaijan and sanctions on  Azerbaijani leaders for war crimes.