Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA) joins Reps. Schiff and Sherman in Condemning Latest Azerbaijani Murder of Armenian Soldier Hrant Poghosyan
WASHINGTON—Members of Congress continue to express alarm at Azerbaijan’s most recent military attack across the Armenian border, which have made Armenian soldier Hrant Poghosyan Azerbaijan’s latest casualty, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
The response, to date, from the Obama Administration and OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, currently travelling in the Caucasus region, has been delayed, muted and off-target, limited only to generic references to border violence “undermin[ing] prospects for peace.”
“Our Administration, which is represented as a Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, should be clear in condemning the murder of Hrant Poghosyan, breaking, as it must, from its pattern of pretend parity in response to each and every new Azerbaijani attack,” said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. “The OSCE Minsk Group’s artificial even-handedness is inexcusable, and only emboldens Baku, which has made a cruel and dangerous habit of cross-border killings during visits by international mediators.”
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Central Valley Congressman Jim Costa (D-CA) noted that he was “appalled to learn of yet another murder of an Armenian soldier in an unprovoked attack by Azerbaijani troops against Armenian forces. This tragic bloodshed follows the Azerbaijani government’s heroic treatment of Ramil Safarov – the Azerbaijani military officer who savagely killed an Armenian solider. Azerbaijan, its military, and the perpetrator of this heinous crime must be held accountable for their actions and brought to justice.”
Costa’s comments follow statements issued earlier this week by the Congressmen Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Brad Sherman (D-CA) condemning the attack.
“Azerbaijan has yet again shown that it is not serious about establishing peaceful relations with Armenia and Artsakh. Despite the request for a ceasefire during the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Azeri forces have killed an Armenian solider, Hrant Poghosyan. The shooting was unprovoked and Armenian forces have respected the request for a ceasefire,” explained Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA)
Rep. Schiff echoed those concerns and called attention to Azerbaijan’s ongoing use of violence to resolve the Karbakah conflict. “One need only look at the sick display of adulation that greeted Ramil Safarov—the Azerbaijani military officer who beheaded an Armenian colleague during a NATO Partnership for Peace exercise—to see how the Azeri government has glorified this violence. Rather than prison, Safarov was paraded through the streets and given a new house and a promotion. Baku’s newest murderer will not be brought to justice until the international community insists on an end to these atrocities.”
On December 19th, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs issued a press release referencing, in general terms, the border violence that led to Poghosyan’s murder. According to the release, “the Co-Chairs noted that recent violence on the border undermines prospects for peace. They encouraged the sides to refrain from further actions that could increase tensions, and to work to maintain an atmosphere conducive to progress at the negotiating table.” The complete press release is available at: http://www.osce.org/mg/109865
On December 15th, Armenian soldier Hrant Poghosyan was shot by Azerbaijani snipers while serving at defensive positions near his home town of Berd, located in the Tavoush region. The killing coincided with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs visit with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
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OSCE Minsk Group chairs have no intention to remove Sultan Aliev from his honorable oily post. Both Russian oil company and Western oil diggers have a common stake with Sultan Aliev wealth. Removing sniper, means end of Sultan’s dictatorial regime, where he keep his Sheikdom people at bay, and uniting them with his anti Armenian barking on daily bases and ordering his well paid propagandist and activists to increase, anti Armenian slogans in Western world, in order to make his stressful unhappy Sultanate herds at bay and hide the truth of Artsakhi dependent from them!!
Armenia and Artsakhi border security forces have only one choice, in order to reduce unnecessary casualties among Armenian defenders, destroy demoralized terrorist hideouts and kill as many as tatar-turks they can…this is the only lesson that Axerbaijan will learn!!
The truth of the matter here, is that this crooked OSCE Minsk Group, persistently misses the mark over Azerbaijani aggression. Even back in August of 2012, when that coward Azeri murderer, Ramil Safarov, ended up being handed back over to Azerbaijan from Hungary, and was given heroic treatment by his dog master, President Aliyev, what was the reaction of the OSCE Minsk group? Their reaction was nothing. They just looked the other way. These deceitful hypocrites, who comprise the OSCE Minsk Group, have no interest in human rights issues. They have no interest in justice. Their only priority is to preserve their economic interests in the South Caucasus. For Russia, who is allied with Armenia, their desire is to have the Karabakh conflict continue on, so that Armenia will continue to depend heavily on them. As for the United States and France, they have strong economic interests in Azerbaijan, obviously because of its abundance of oil, so it’s quite apparent who they’re siding with. My suggestion is Armenia should discontinue attending these worthless OSCE Minsk Group meetings. It’s a total waste of time, and Armenia has absolutely nothing to gain from these pointless meetings. In the meantime, the Armenian military commanders over on the border with Azerbaijan, need to have their soldiers fire back at those Azeri cowards on the other side of the border. Hey, if a Azeri/Turk shoots a bullet at me, he or she will have twenty bullets sprayed back at them.