Tuesday, October 3 2023 12:37

ArmInfo.Congressional pressure on the Biden Administration to end U.S. complicity in  Azerbaijan's ethnic cleansing of Artsakh's 120,000 indigenous Armenian Christians increased this week with seventy-five U.S. House members calling on the Administration to impose sanctions on  Azerbaijan and enforce Section 907 restrictions on U.S. military aid to the genocidal Aliyev regime, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). 

"President Biden materially enabled and morally emboldened  Azerbaijani dictator Ilham Aliyev to genocide Artsakh: He repeatedly  waived Section 907, sending military aid to Azerbaijan; both- sided  genocide, knowing Azerbaijan was the aggressor; operated zero US aid  programs in Artsakh for the past three years, and; made no mention of  Azerbaijan's aggression - as it was happening - during his UN General  Assembly speech," said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the  ANCA. 

"This was not some innocent error of ignorance, indifference, or  inaction - but rather the result of President Biden - as a matter of  U.S. policy developed and implemented over multiple years and over  broad-based Congressional objections - standing on the wrong side of  the Artsakh Genocide." In this latest Congressional letter led, by  Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), a  bipartisan group of lawmakers condemned Azerbaijan's "unprovoked  military offensive" and "cruel nine-month blockade" of Artsakh, which  "left the region's Armenian population with no option but to flee,  fearing for their future under Azerbaijan's brutal authoritarian  rule." The U.S. Representatives stated, "It is clear that our  country's response to this crisis has not been commensurate with the  scale of the devastation. We believe the United States must make  clear to Azerbaijan that its unprovoked aggression against Artsakh is  unacceptable and will be met with an appropriate response." 

The lawmakers noted that "this preventable humanitarian disaster is  unfolding on our watch," despite efforts of atrocities prevention  scholars sounding the alarm about the Artsakh genocide.  The  lawmakers suggested three specific actions the Biden Administration  must take "to bring an end to this needless suffering and ensure  Azerbaijan faces consequences for engaging in ethnic cleansing." 

Those actions include: 1) Enforce Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support  Act, a provision of current law that prohibits U.S. military aid to  Azerbaijan, and impose targeted sanctions on Azerbaijani officials  under the Global Magnitsky Act to make clear to Azerbaijan that its  aggression will not be tolerated. 

2) Provide robust humanitarian assistance to support Artsakh's  displaced population and rally the international community to do the  same by leading the establishment of an international humanitarian  relief operation. 

3) Take all actions necessary to ensure the safe evacuation of  Artsakh's population to Armenia, including through the immediate  deployment of observers to the Lachin Corridor, as well as direct  engagement with Azerbaijani authorities to secure amnesty for  Artsakh's local leaders. 

The full text of the Congressional letter is available at:   https://anca.org/assets/pdf/100223_EshooPelosi_Sanctions.pdf