WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian National Committee of America is pressing the Biden administration to airlift emergency assistance to Artsakh and immediately sanction the genocidal Aliyev regime, as Azerbaijan’s blockade of the only road connecting the 120,000 indigenous Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) to the outside world enters its second month.
“President Biden keeps arming and abetting Azerbaijan, even as this violent, oil-rich dictatorship seeks to starve the Armenian families of Artsakh,” said ANCA executive director Aram Hamparian. “He can and must reverse course, averting a preventable humanitarian catastrophe – by immediately cutting off all US military assistance to Azerbaijan and airlifting emergency aid to Artsakh.”
The ANCA action platform urges pro-Artsakh and human rights advocates to contact Vice President Kamala Harris, USAID Administrator Samantha Power and Congress to take concrete action to address Azerbaijan’s genocidal actions.
Since December 11th, Azerbaijan has blocked the Lachin Corridor – the sole road linking Artsakh to Armenia, leaving the 120,000 Armenian population without access to food, medical supplies, fuel and other vital humanitarian goods at the onset of winter in freezing conditions. Food, medicine and electricity are being rationed throughout the country.
In a tweet issued on the 31st day of the Azerbaijan blockade, Congressional Armenian Caucus co-chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ) stated:
“Aliyev continues to lie to the international community about the month-long blockade of the Lachin Corridor. There is clear evidence it’s causing a humanitarian crisis in Artsakh by blocking critical food and medical supplies from getting to civilians. It’s also disturbing that the only time Aliyev celebrates ‘free speech’ is when it is used to threaten the lives of Armenians. I have worked with my Armenian Caucus colleagues to push the State Department and other world leaders to take serious action to end this man-made disaster. 120,000 innocent lives could be at risk in the coming days. We cannot stand idly by as this very real disaster unfolds before our eyes. I will continue to do everything I can to ensure the US uses every diplomatic tool possible to bring this cruel blockade to an end.”
California Congresswoman Linda Sanchez noted, “Since December, Azerbaijan has blocked the only road connecting #Artsakh with Armenia—leaving thousands without access to food, health care, and other necessities. These actions are inhumane & unacceptable. I join my colleagues in calling for an immediate end to the blockade.”
Over the past month, dozens of US Congressmembers have issued statements and public remarks warning of the risk of humanitarian crisis and urging the Biden administration to take immediate action to hold Azerbaijan accountable for its aggression. Hamparian was joined by ANCA Government Affairs director Tereza Yerimyan and local ANCA advocates in meeting with Senate and House members on the opening days of the new Congressional session to raise awareness about the blockade and secure immediate action.
On December 21st, 29 members of Congress co-signed a letter circulated by Representative Adam Schiff to President Biden urging his administration to use all tools at its disposal to lift the blockade and hold Azerbaijan accountable by immediately suspending military aid to Baku. That same week, the ANCA hosted an hour-long Congressional briefing on the blockade, where Rep. Pallone and over 50 Congressional offices were joined by Artsakh’s Human Rights Ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan, advisor to the State Minister of Artsakh Artak Beglaryan and the Armenian National Committee of Artsakh’s Gev Iskajyan.
On the presidential campaign trail, Biden strongly criticized the Trump administration for providing over $120 million in military assistance to Azerbaijan immediately prior to the invasion of Artsakh in September 2020. Since assuming office, however, the Biden administration has twice reauthorized military assistance to Azerbaijan – despite Azerbaijan’s refusal to release all remaining prisoners of war, its continued destruction of Armenian cultural heritage and its escalating encroachments along the line of contact with Artsakh and the Republic of Armenia itself.
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lachin corridor belongs to the kurds of Red Kurdistan that was dissolved by Stalin , you can ask their help to resolve the crisis .