The ancient Armenian land of Artsakh also known as Nagorno-Karabakh after the Armenian Genocide of the last century by the decision of the Russian Bolsheviks headed by Stalin was included in the Azerbaijan Soviet Republic. However, after the collapse of the USSR, on a full democratic basis with well-known historical and legal rights, Artsakh has been de facto an independent democratic state in accordance with the Montevideo Convention for more than 30 years, having representation in several countries, including the USA, France, Russia, Lebanon, Australia, and Armenia. 

However, today the people of Artsakh have left their homeland to secure their rights and security under the threat of genocide and ethnic cleansing created because of military aggression and blockade operations by Azerbaijan. In a matter of days, from the people of Artsakh were deprived of their internationally recognized right to self-determination, and the governing bodies of their state established based on democratic principles are now in exile, and some of their representatives are in Azerbaijani prisons. Moreover, Azerbaijan itself stubbornly proves day by day that the people of Artsakh cannot live in Azerbaijan.      

“Murder of an Armenian is not considered a crime in Azerbaijan” 

     А murderer - a national hero - On August 31, 2012, Armenia, the region, and Europe as a whole were shocked: six years after the verdict, the murderer of an Armenian officer, an Azerbaijani officer sentenced by a Hungarian court to life imprisonment without the right to apply for pardon for the first 30 years showed up at the Baku airport. All these years, starting from the moment the crime was committed a broad campaign was launched in Azerbaijan not only to justify and protect but also glorify the criminal. The most scandalous among the many statements aimed at glorifying the killer as a true hero of the Azerbaijani people were the words of the Azerbaijani Ombudsman: "Safarov should become an example for Azerbaijani youth." However, at that time, few people thought that this was not an isolated case but a systematic and consistent policy of Azerbaijan, laid back in February 1988, after the most brutal three-day pogroms of Armenians in the Azerbaijani city of Sumgait.                                                                          

     «Death to Armenians! » - After a large-scale crime, because of which, according to official data, 27 Armenians were brutally killed and the 18,000th Armenian community was deported a real anti-Armenian hysteria unfolded in Azerbaijan - as much as Soviet reality allowed. And in November of the same year, thousands of rallies began in Baku during which demonstrators raised banners with the inscription "Glory to the heroes of Sumgait" and voiced demands to release the criminals. It is important to note that this happened against the backdrop of a trial in Moscow in one of the Sumgait cases, during which chilling details of the tragedy were revealed.                                                                                                       

     Killed the elderly, children and the sick- Less than 4 years later, Azerbaijan, already in the status of an independent state committed a war crime against the civilian population of the Armenian village of Maraga. Having burst into the village, the Azerbaijani detachment dealt with the inhabitants who remained in the village in the cruelest way: about 50 old people who did not have time to escape, women, bedridden patients, invalids, and children were killed. Almost the same number were taken hostage, including 9 children. The fate of 19 of these people is still unknown. This massacre was led by a certain Shahin Tagiev, who in June 1992 became the first national hero of independent Azerbaijan, precisely for the massacre of the civilian population of the village of Maraga.

     The axe murderer - Then, in 2004, the assassination took place in Budapest where NATO English language courses were held as part of the Partnership for Peace program. At 4 o'clock in the morning, an Azerbaijani officer Safarov burst into the room of an Armenian officer and inflicted 16 blows on him with an ax, separating his head from his body. This crime has been condemned by all world centers, international organizations, and state leaders. And only in Azerbaijan and Turkey the killer was called a hero and a role model. Returning Safarov to Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev immediately issued an order for his release, promoted him in military rank and provided him with an apartment, he was also paid a salary for all eight years of his detention in a Hungarian maximum-security prison.                                              

     Killed and cut off ears like a trophy - In 2016, in the village of Tallish, Azerbaijanis brutally killed an elderly Khalapyan couple, Valera and Razmella, in their own house, and their ears were cut off as trophies. They also shot an elderly woman, Marusya Khalapyan, born in 1924.                               

     Beheaded, and the head was shown as a «trophy" - On April 2-10, 2016, the Azerbaijanis beheaded Sloyan who died at the post, the body was left and the head was put in a bag and taken to the rear where they held a photo session with her during which with smiles on her face, they were photographed hugging the head of a nineteen-year-old guy. These photos, as well as a video of how Azerbaijani soldiers in the nearest settlements demonstrate their bloody "trophy" - including showing it to children, were diligently distributed on social networks for several days in a row.                                                                                

     Killed unarmed Armenian prisoners - The glorification of those who committed grave crimes against the Armenian people is an integral part of the policy of Armenophobia pursued by Azerbaijan at the state level. The best proof of this was the phrase uttered at the trial in Budapest by Safarov's lawyer: "The murder of an Armenian is not considered a crime in Azerbaijan." It is no coincidence that about four months ago, brazen beasts unceremoniously killed unarmed Armenian captives and proudly demonstrate them all over the world.: https://azeriwarcrimes.org/2022/10/02/18-execution-of-armenian-prisoners-of-war-by-azerbaijani-soldiers/

 

USA can and should recognize and protect the self-determination of Artsakh and it's government in Exile!

The Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem has turned not only into a weapon of intimidation, but is also undertaking new methods of genocide, namely: the destruction of people through hunger and the prohibition of medical care, taking advantage of impunity for the 1915 Armenian genocide. The proof of that is the blockade of the State of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) with a population of 120,000 is confirmed. At the same time, the international community with its OSCE Minsk Group specially created on the existing problem of right to self-determination of Artsakh, is unable or unwilling to resist the atrocities of the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem. Moreover, it becomes obvious that even for the superpowers, including those responsible for maintaining justice and peace on our planet, oil and gas have become more valuable than the right to life of entire peoples. In this situation, it also becomes obvious that only the United States can and should intensify their efforts to recognize and protect the right of the Artsakh people to self-determination and its government in exile, because the United States:

      1 - Permanent member of the UN Security Council,

      2 - Co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group settlement of the Karabakh conflict,

      3 - The only state many subjects of which have recognized the state of Artsakh,

      4 - Has a representation of Artsakh,

      5 - Announced the expediency of recognizing Artsakh in the person of diplomats,

      6 - Has a large Armenian community,

      7 - Recognized the Armenian Genocide of 1915,

      8 - Has interests in Transcaucasia,

      9 - Provides direct military assistance to Azerbaijan,

     10 - Can curb NATO member Turkey,

     11 - Has a democratic tradition of protecting natural human rights,

     12 - Has a position in the form of Wilson's arbitration award,

     13 - Has no dependence on Azerbaijani oil.  

 

Dear Congressmen,

            Artsakh waits for your responsible decision on the recognition and protection of its self-determination and government in exile.  After all, the Founding Fathers of the USA, and our democracy based on the protection of natural rights justified and gained the independence of our country, the free and democratic USA. Why does Artsakh over thirty years respecting and existing in accordance with international law and democratic norms also cannot continue to exist and exercise the right to freedom, life, and the pursuit of happiness of its citizens in the native land Artsakh.

Ruben Torosyan

Former Member of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Armenia

DNC and DCCC Member 

Coordinator of the Glendale Forum