Rep. Pallone: \u201cThe people of Artsakh have to be able to go back to Artsakh\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nRep. Frank Pallone started off the evening\u2019s Congressional remarks stressing the Artsakh people\u2019s right of return, explaining, \u201cHow that manifests itself, how we get to that point, we can certainly talk and try to find a pathway, but it has to be done.\u201d Rep. Pallone went on to clarify, \u201cAnd I\u2019m not just talking about reparations. I\u2019m talking about actually being able to go back and have a life, a secure life in Artsakh. When we meet with the State Department and our leaders here in the United States, we stress that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senator Markey concurred, pledging, \u201cI will continue to work to bolster the will, the rights, the freedoms of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, including their right to return to their homeland.\u201d Commenting on Azerbaijan\u2019s escalating aggression against Armenia and Artsakh, Senator Markey was adamant: \u201cI say no to changing Armenia\u2019s constitution. I say no to surrendering sovereign Armenian lands. I say no to the ethnic cleansing of the historic Armenian Nagorno Karabakh.\u201d Senator Markey is co-author with Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) of bipartisan legislation (S.Res.540) calling for a report on Azerbaijan\u2019s human rights practices pursuant to Section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rep. Chu, who was blacklisted by Azerbaijan for visiting Artsakh, pledged, \u201cWe will do what we can to make sure that there\u2019s justice for the people of Artsakh and that one day they can return.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several members of Congress highlighted the importance of passing the supplemental aid package passed by the Senate and currently under consideration in the House of Representatives to expand U.S. aid to survivors of the Artsakh genocide. Rep. Costa announced his efforts to include language in the \u201cDefending Our Borders, Defending Our Democracies Act,\u201d to expand Artsakh refugee aid. He noted the importance of holding Azerbaijan accountable for its crimes by cutting aid to Azerbaijan. \u201cWe must send a clear message to the government of Azerbaijan and our allies around the globe that the United States stands with the people of Armenia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rep. Amo, who joined Rep. Bill Lawler (R-NY) in co-authoring legislation (H.R.7288) that would cut security assistance to Azerbaijan, stressed, \u201cWe cannot allow the government of Azerbaijan to get a free pass for their brutal military aggression and blockades against the people of Nagorno Karabakh.\u201d The Senate version of the legislation (S. 3000), led by Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), was adopted by unanimous consent last November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fellow Rhode Island U.S. Representative Seth Magaziner was among several Congressional leaders pressing the need to send U.S. military assistance to Armenia. \u201cWe have to get Armenia the support that it needs to defend itself because, make no mistake about it, Artsakh was just the first step in, unfortunately, a devious larger plan that Aliyev and the Azerbaijanis have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe displacement of [Artsakh\u2019s] 120,000 people cannot go without comment, cannot be left to stand,\u201d stated Rep. Schneider, who praised the ANC of Illinois & the Illinois Armenian community for speaking with moral clarity in defending Artsakh and Armenia sovereignty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Elisa von Joeden-Forgey: \u201cArmenians in the world are undergoing another genocide\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nIn keynote remarks offered at the Capitol Hill program, the Lemkin Institute\u2019s Dr. Elisa von Joeden-Forgey delivered a stark warning about Azerbaijan\u2019s ongoing genocide targeting Armenians, referring to it as the \u201cSecond Armenian Genocide.\u201d She underscored the threat to Armenian sovereignty, both within the South Caucasus and beyond, including regions such as Jerusalem\u2019s Armenian Quarter. \u201cWe have to be clear: The greatest threat faced today by Armenians in the Republic of Armenia and beyond is that they are up against a state \u2013 the Republic of Azerbaijan \u2013 whose President is actively claiming Armenian territory as historically Azerbaijani, who has suggested that Armenians are not indigenous to the region but rather recent immigrants, and who harbors clearly genocidal Armenophobia, which he has made sure is deeply imbricated in all of Azerbaijan\u2019s institutions, including schools, think tanks, the military, and the press,\u201d stated Dr. von Joeden-Forgey<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She condemned the international community\u2019s past inaction and called for a robust genocide prevention strategy in the South Caucasus, including the withdrawal of support for Azerbaijan and recognition of Artsakh Armenians\u2019 right to self-determination. \u201cWestern nations must apply real pressure against Azerbaijan by withdrawing military, economic, and diplomatic support and threatening it with legal action,\u201d stated Dr. von Joeden-Forgey<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Karnig Kerkonian, Esq.: \u201cAllowing Azerbaijan\u2019s occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh to persist, simply cements genocide and rewards genocidal intent.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nIn his address, international lawyer Karnig Kerkonian, Esq. emphasized the magnitude of the catastrophe unfolding in Armenian history, stressing the painful truth behind the atrocities committed against the Artsakh Armenians. \u201cIt\u2019s not never again at all. One nation, two genocides, one century. It\u2019s a national catastrophe of epic proportion,\u201d stated Kerkonian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He denounced the false narrative propagated by policymakers in Washington and Brussels, which advocated for the integration of Artsakh Armenians into Azerbaijan while ignoring the genocidal intent behind Azerbaijan\u2019s actions. He criticized the complicity of international actors in enabling Azerbaijan\u2019s campaign of ethnic cleansing and destruction, calling the ongoing occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijan as a perpetuation of the genocide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kerkonian challenged the notion of peace treaties with genocidal regimes as ineffective in ending genocides, emphasizing the need for decisive measures to halt Azerbaijan\u2019s campaign of destruction. \u201cEnough is enough. We must stop fueling a petty genocidal thug from destroying what is left of the Armenian people,\u201d stated Kerkonian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He advocated for the establishment of an international peacekeeping mission to ensure the Artsakh Armenians\u2019 right to return to their indigenous homeland with security and dignity, rejecting any compromise that would subject them to further oppression and violence under Azerbaijani control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gev Iskajyan Shares an Artsakh Mother\u2019s Poignant Request: \u201cDon\u2019t Stop Fighting\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nConcluding the evening, ANC Artsakh\u2019s Gev Iskajyan \u2013 the latest addition to the ANCA\u2019s national team \u2013 delivered powerful remarks highlighting the resilience and spirit of Artsakh Armenians. Iskajyan, who lived in Artsakh during Azerbaijan\u2019s 10-month brutal blockade and subsequent September 2023 genocidal actions, shared a poignant encounter with a mother and her children, emphasizing the unwavering determination of her simple request: \u201cDon\u2019t stop fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is that spirit that I see in the eyes of the advocates that have gathered this week and in the eyes of the allies and U.S. Representatives and Senators and their staffers that I\u2019ve seen,\u201d stated Iskajyan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He described the evening not as a commemoration or a vigil, but a call to action. \u201cIt is this work, this call to action, that I\u2019m sure is going to make sure that our sun rises again; it\u2019s going to make sure that our spring blooms again; and it\u2019s going to make sure that the Armenian nation rises again. It is the people in this room; it is the collective power that you hold. So to our allies and to our advocates, I say gear up, and to all our opponents, I say good luck.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This week\u2019s two-day advocacy \u201cfly-in\u201d was organized by the ANCA Eastern Region and Western Region. ANCA advocates called for concrete U.S. leadership to sanction Azerbaijan for its genocide of Artsakh\u2019s 150,000 indigenous Armenians, expand aid to survivors of this crime, and support a mechanism for their safe and dignified return to their Artsakh homes as part of a broad range of pro-Armenian policy priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
#####<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Capitol Hill Event Calls for Reversing the Artsakh Genocide March 13, 2024 WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 Armenian American community leaders and coalition partners capped two full days on Capitol Hill \u2013 featuring more than one hundred constituent-led Congressional meetings \u2013 with a Congressional rally for the safe return of Armenians to their indigenous Artsakh homeland, reported the […]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2379,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,45,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-en","category-news-en","category-home_slide"],"acf":[],"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":false,"source_text":false,"source_url":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsakhforum.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsakhforum.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsakhforum.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsakhforum.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsakhforum.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2378"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/artsakhforum.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2378\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2380,"href":"https:\/\/artsakhforum.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2378\/revisions\/2380"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsakhforum.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsakhforum.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsakhforum.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsakhforum.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}