Former ICC Prosecutor, Human Rights Expert Call On Biden Administration To Stop Genocide By Azerbaijan In Nagorno Karabakh During House Hearing
The Tom Lantos Congressional Human Rights Commission held an emergency hearing on September 6 to discuss the pressing humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Luis Moreno Ocampo, founding Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), warned that Genocide is occurring in Nagorno Karabakh and the United States may be complicit if it does not take action against Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin Corridor. Referring to U.S.-mediated peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Ocampo said, ‘The negotiation is between a genocider and his victims. You cannot arrange a negotiation between Hitler and the people in Auschwitz. It’s not a negotiation.’
David Phillips, Director of Columbia University’s ‘Artsakh Atrocities’ Project, also testified at the hearing, presenting evidence of ongoing atrocities by Azerbaijani officials against Nagorno-Karabakh’s population and characterizing Azerbaijan’s ‘genocidal intent.’
Senator Bob Menendez Delivers Powerful, Fact-Based Speech Demanding Azerbaijan End its Blockade Of The Lachin Corridor
The Foreign Relations Committee Chair Vows to Hold Azerbaijani Officials Accountable for War Crimes
‘To the men organizing and carrying out this brutal campaign, we will hold you accountable for your crimes, even if it takes a lifetime – you will pay a price, you will face justice – and I certainly will not rest until you do so,’ Menendez said in the U.S. Senate.
Los Angeles City Officials Name Republic of Artsakh Square Given Azerbaijan’s Genocidal Blockade
‘America stands for sovereignty and democracy and self-determination. It’s the basic core value on which our nation was founded. The people of Artsakh declared their independence from the Soviet Union, and since then they have demonstrated their commitment to democracy. And throughout that time they have been under threat by the dictator of Azerbaijan. The former prosecutor of the ICC, Luis Moreno Ocampo, has declared that genocide is occurring right now in Artsakh,’ said Council President Krekorian.
Azerbaijan Detains 3 Karabakh Students as they Try to Enter Armenia
Three citizens of Nagorno Karabakh were detained by Azerbaijani security forces while traveling to Armenia through the Lachin corridor. Update: On September 7, the Azerbaijani side returned the young men.
Another Karabakh man, Vagif Khachatrian, was arrested at the Azerbaijani checkpoint in late July while being evacuated by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to Armenia. Nagorno-Karabakh’s leadership rejected the “false” accusations and demanded Khachatrian’s immediate release.
NAGORNO-KARABAKH UNDER SIEGE
In the past week, Azerbaijan has violated the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh over 4 times, including cases of opening gunfire at farmers.
CNN: ‘We are Starving to Death’. Residents of Nagorno-Karabakh Fear for Future under Blockade
As food, medicine, water and fuel are prevented from entering the territory, local supplies are dwindling. According to the administration for the Artsakh Republic, dairy products, cereal, fish, chicken, cooking oil, sugar, salt, fruit and vegetables, as well as fuel and hygiene products, are unavailable inside the territory.
BBC Interview With Serj Tankian, Artak Beglaryan On Nagorno-Karabakh Humanitarian Crisis
BBC interview with Armenian-American musician, System of a Down frontman, Serj Tankian and former Nagorno Karabakh ombudsman Artak Beglaryan sheds light on the Nagorno-Karabakh humanitarian crisis. Tankian raised concerns about Azerbaijan’s alleged bribery of European legislators through “Caviar Diplomacy” and their maximalist leverage from oil supplies. Beglaryan highlighted the geopolitical subtext of the conflict, where Nagorno-Karabakhis became collateral victims amid tensions between Russia and the West.
The Telegraph: Armenians Are Facing Genocide in Nagorno-Karabakh. The World Must Not Sit Idly By
Time is running out – not only to save lives but to honor the possibility of a dependable moral commitment in international affairs. The Lachin Corridor crisis is not the only current threat to such a possibility, as we know all too well. But it is one that can and should be resolved without delay. Lives are at stake; but so is the principle of justice and security for the vulnerable.
Former U.N. Genocide Prevention Official Warns Of Risk Of ‘Serious Bodily Or Mental Harm to Members Of The Group’ In Karabakh
The humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh has been discussed at the UN in the context of the risks of atrocity crimes and the preventive mechanisms. In his presentation, Professor Juan Mendez briefed the delegations on the origins of the mandate of the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and the entrusted tasks, such as bringing the matters to the attention of the UN Security Council through the UN Secretary-General.
Lemkin Institute On Situation in Karabakh: It is Genocide, The World Must Act Boldly And Swiftly
‘We have released an emergency draft of the report due to the dire circumstances of the blockade and Azerbaijan’s military buildup along the borders of Artsakh and Armenia.’
The Economist: An Armenian Enclave Inside Azerbaijan is on the Point of Starvation
After more than eight months of an ever-tightening blockade, the humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh has turned catastrophic. Bread, a staple for many people, is rationed to one loaf per family per day. Critical medicines have run out; there is so little fuel that many patients cannot get to a doctor anyway.
The Tip of the Iceberg: Understanding Azerbaijan’s Blockade Of The Lachin Corridor As Part Of a Wider Genocidal Campaign Against Ethnic Armenians
The University Network for Human Rights sent a submission to the U.N. Office on Genocide Prevention, analyzing the Armenian ethnic cleansing and the threat of genocide in Nagorno-Karabakh, and called for a strong response:
‘We conclude that the Azerbaijani government, at the highest levels, has condoned, encouraged, facilitated the commission of or directly perpetrated the most egregious forms of violence against Armenians. Together, the abuses we documented suggest a well-organized, comprehensive campaign to empty Nagorno-Karabakh and parts of Armenia of Armenians.’
In the past week, Azerbaijan has violated the ceasefire in Armenia over 14 times, using mortars and UAVs.
Putin’s Hybrid Warfare In The South Caucasus And How The West Took The Bait
At a time when Russian influence and popularity are at an alltime low in the region, the Western world, whether it’s the European Union or the United States, has not taken concrete steps to deter aggression. Armenia is now more threatened than ever, and this leads into Putin’s playbook. The Kremlin can force Armenians to accept vassalage because no one else has willingly come to their aid. Akin to the Berlin Airlift, the U.S. could drop supplies into the Nagorno Karabakh region and threaten to withhold aid to Azerbaijan if a famine ensues. Instead, lukewarm messages have only exacerbated the blockade.
Freedom House President Expresses Concern Over Military Tensions In Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict
‘We are deeply concerned by reports that the Azerbaijani military is massing equipment along the Armenian border. We condemn any plans to attack the sovereign territory of Armenia and urge mediating parties to work toward preventing any further violation of Armenia’s borders.’
EU Calls On Armenia, Azerbaijan To Avoid Further Incidents, Recommit To Dialogue
‘The European Union (EU) is following with great concern the continued restrictions on free movement along the Lachin corridor and the serious humanitarian and security consequences affecting the Karabakh Armenians,’ noted in the statement by the EU Delegation to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France.
EU Monitoring Mission In Armenia Eye Witnesses Increased Tensions, Crossfire At Border Areas With Azerbaijan
Last several days, the E.U. monitoring mission in Armenia (EUMA) eye witnessed, with concern, the increased tensions and crossfire at the Armenia-Azerbaijan border areas.
Armenians Face A Second Genocide. Will the World Intervene?
‘The reality is that Azerbaijani forces have been continuously violating the human rights and sovereignty of Armenians within and along the border of Nagorno-Karabakh since the 44-Day war in 2020. Azerbaijani forces have continued to torture, displace, extrajudicially kill, and forcibly ‘disappear’ ethnic Armenian soldiers and civilians, both inside of Nagorno-Karabakh and in sovereign Armenia, in violation of the ceasefire agreement and international law.’
Slow and Silent Genocide: Please Pray For Artsakh’s Endangered Armenian Christians
‘The Armenian Christians chose to be independent of the Muslim, Turkish-oriented Azerbaijanis. Unsurprisingly, the horrific memory of the Armenian genocide in the early 20th century is never far from their minds. Meanwhile, the enclave is surrounded by Azeri Muslims, some of whom are radically opposed to Christian believers.
No matter how many times world leaders call for the Azeris to withdraw from the Christian enclave, nothing changes, and the deaths continuously rise. Meanwhile, the U.S. government continues to offer statements that imply moral equivalency, which are both dishonest and harmful.’
Rabbis’ Refusal To Consider Renewed Armenian Genocide Shameful
‘As for genocide, what other term might the rabbis suggest for the eradication not only of a people but also any physical evidence of their existence? There was a reason why Adolf Hitler cited the Armenian Genocide as inspiration. The Rabbinical Center of Europe has embarrassed itself. Rather than make empty statements, perhaps the rabbis should try to visit Artsakh.’
Anatomy Of Genocide: How The State Department Inadvertently Green-Lighted War On Armenians
‘While U.S. President Joe Biden fulfilled his campaign promise to recognize the Armenian Genocide, he soiled that recognition by allowing further military sales to Azerbaijan. This convinced Aliyev that he could get away with murder. Indeed, Azerbaijani aggression against not only Artsakh, but also Armenia proper, grew in direct proportion to Blinken and his team’s moral equivalence and inability to call out Azerbaijani aggression as the source of the problem. State Department officials from Blinken on down based their pronouncements less on moral clarity and more on ‘Chicken Kiev.’