Press Releases

September 28, 2022

Washington, DC – Today, Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues Co-Chairs Congresswoman Jackie Speier (CA-14), Congressman Frank Pallone (NJ-06), Congressman Adam Schiff (CA-28), and Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (CA-18) introduced a resolution condemning the atrocities and violations of the Geneva Conventions committed by Azerbaijan against Armenian servicemembers and civilians.

“For far too long, Azerbaijan has committed atrocities against Armenian servicemembers and civilians with impunity. From the horrific mutilation of servicemembers’ bodies, to beheadings, to the deliberate targeting of medical facilities and religious sites, Azerbaijan has repeatedly shown utter disdain for basic human dignity and international law,” Rep. Speier said. “We must hold Aliyev’s government accountable for its grave violations of the Geneva Conventions and atrocities committed by his troops against Armenian servicemembers and civilians.”

“For the past two years, Azerbaijan President Aliyev has perpetrated a devastating war against the people of Armenia and Artsakh. And as we saw earlier this month, he has only become more emboldened to expand his attacks over time, because the world has chosen to meet his brutality with little more than the language of false equivalence. There is only one perpetrator in this conflict – Azerbaijan – and the United States must hold them accountable,” Rep. Schiff said. “We must unequivocally condemn Azerbaijan’s assaults against Armenia and Artsakh, explore sanctions, and use our influence to call for an immediate investigation into Aliyev’s war crimes and his country’s many violations of international law.”

“It’s past time for the international community to come together and hold Azerbaijan accountable for its attacks on sovereign Armenian territory and despicable human rights violations. I absolutely condemn these violations and will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress to hold Aliyev responsible for his military’s inhumane and criminal treatment of Armenian servicemembers and civilians,” Rep. Pallone said. “Now is the time to stand up to this ruthless dictator to ensure peace in the regionand uphold international law.”

“For years, the Aliyev regime has flouted international law with impunity. They’ve attacked civilians, violated Armenia’s sovereignty, illegally detained and abused prisoners of war, used banned weapons, and destroyed religious and cultural sites,” Rep. Eshoo said. “To uphold our commitment to human rights and international law, this Resolution strongly condemns these atrocities and urges the Administration to take action to hold Azerbaijan accountable by imposing targeted sanctions on Azeri officials and calling for international investigations into their alleged war crimes.”

On September 13, 2022, Azerbaijan launched an unprecedented invasion of sovereign Armenian territory, resulting in the deaths of over 200 Armenians. During the conflict, Azerbaijani troops committed egregious human rights offenses, including the mutilation and desecration of an Armenian female servicemember’s body and likely extrajudicial execution of an Armenian prisoner of war. Grave violations of the Geneva Conventions, including willful killing, are considered war crimes under United States law and international norms.

Azerbaijan’s renewed attacks on Armenia follow its unprovoked assault of the Nagorno Karabakh region in October 2020, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of Armenian servicemembers and soldiers and caused a humanitarian crisis by displacing more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians. Azerbaijan deliberately targeted religious sites and medical facilities, including  a maternity ward, and failed to investigate the extrajudicial executions and torture of Armenian civilians and servicemembers carried out by Azerbaijani troops. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan continues to illegally hold dozens of Armenians as detainees and prisoners of war in contravention of international law.

The resolution condemns the atrocities committed by Azerbaijan, including its violations of the Geneva Conventions, calls for the appropriate international tribunals to investigate any and all war crimes committed by Azerbaijan against the Armenian people, and encourages the Biden Administration to explore the applicability of sanctions on Azerbaijan in response to its gross violations of international law.

The closed meeting between Pashinyan, Communist Party members, and Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in the National Assembly ended a little while ago.

Although the situation at the border has been tense again since 18:00, we have been informed that the issue of introducing martial law has not been discussed. On the agenda are the recent visits of the Prime Minister and other high-ranking officials and the question of expected help from the West.

Santa Ana, Calif. (September 27, 2022) – The Orange County Board of Supervisors expressed their gratitude today after the announcement that Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 1595 into law. 

“This is a historic day in Orange County for our Orange County veterans, their families and their loved ones,” said Chairman Doug Chaffee, Fourth District. “Due to the Governor’s and Assemblymember Quirk-Silva’s dedication to our County’s veterans, we are so much closer to making this cemetery a reality.”

Authored by Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva, the bill sponsored by the County of Orange allows the California Department of Veterans Affairs (Cal Vet) to study, acquire, design, develop, construct and equip a state-owned and state-operated Southern California Veterans Cemetery in Orange County. As this legislation contains an urgency clause, AB 1595 became law immediately upon the Governor’s signature.  

“Our Veterans, allied Veterans, and first responders have always had our backs, and it’s time we have theirs,” said Supervisor Donald P. Wagner of the Third District. “It was an honor to lead the bipartisan coalition with our Veterans and community. A local Veterans cemetery reflects not only our military history, but a vision for the future: service, respect, and love of country.”

Under AB 1595, any local governmental entity or private organization in the County of Orange may request Cal Vet to conduct an acquisition study on a designated property to assess the feasibility and costs for a state-owned and operated veterans cemetery. The requestor is required to pay for the study costs in advance through a newly created Southern California Veterans Cemetery Study Fund. 

“Today is a monumental day for Orange County veterans,” said Supervisor Andrew Do, First District. “We have come a long way since 2018 when the Board unanimously voted to approve a proposal that I brought forward with then-Supervisor Todd Spitzer to transfer approximately 283 acres of County-owned space to the OC Cemetery District for a State Veteran’s Cemetery. It is both a privilege and an honor to be in a position where I can help to properly give back to those who have served us all so valiantly with a final resting place.”

On  September 13, 2022, the Orange County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to formally request in writing – upon signature of AB 1595 into law – that Cal Vet conduct an acquisition study in order to assess the feasibility and costs of construction of a Southern California Veterans Cemetery at Gypsum Canyon location in Anaheim Hills. The Board’s action also authorized the immediate payment of an amount not to exceed $700,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act to Cal Vet which will be deposited into the Southern California Veterans Cemetery Study Donation Fund.

“Our Orange County veterans, Allied veterans and first responders are so deserving of this cemetery.  We’re grateful to see Governor Newsom, our state delegation, and every city in Orange County finally united for these brave men and women to provide them their final resting place in Orange County,” said Supervisor Katrina Foley, Second District.

“The County is thrilled to see our local and state partners aligned in supporting the Veterans Cemetery which will also serve as a final resting place for Allied veterans and first responders.”  said Supervisor Lisa Bartlett, Fifth District. “While there is still more hard work to do, it is our sincere hope that we will break ground in the near future and make this monumental project a reality.”    

Background on County Actions Related to the Orange County Veterans Cemetery

• On June 29, 2022, the Orange County Board of Supervisors approved the Orange County Cemetery District Business Plan for Phases 1A and 1B of a public cemetery at Gypsum Canyon. In addition, the Board approved Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with Orange County Cemetery District for a section of the cemetery dedicated for Allied Veterans and First Responders.
• The Veteran’s Cemetery will also include a new flagpole entry area which will be funded by the County and the Orange County Cemetery District. That flagpole was installed on August 25, 2022. 
• On July 27, 2021, the Board of Supervisors budgeted $20 million exclusively for site development of the Veterans portion of Mountain Park Cemetery, Anaheim, CA.  The funding for the Veteran’s Cemetery is from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).  The funding for the Veteran’s Cemetery Expenditure and ARPA Revenue for the flagpole project contract is included in CEO Real Estate Budget Control 035, FY 2021-22 Recommended Budget and will be included in the budgeting process for future years.
• On December 4, 2018, the Board of Supervisors approved transferring approximately 283 acres of unencumbered property in Gypsum Canyon, in the City of Anaheim, to the Orange County Cemetery District (OCCD) to be utilized as a public cemetery with half of the useable acreage required to be set aside for a State Veterans’ Cemetery.  As part of that approval, OCCD was also asked to provide burial space for an Allied Veterans Cemetery within the public cemetery portion, and subsequently, the Board requested OCCD to provide additional burial space for First Responder police and firefighters.  The OCCD has agreed to both requests and the attached Memorandum of Understanding memorializes these concepts. The Quitclaim Deed from the County to the OCCD also required that the Board approve OCCD’s operational and business plan (Business Plan) prior to any use of the property for cemetery purposes.  The OCCD has submitted their Business Plan for Phases 1A and 1B of the public cemetery portion, which also includes common infrastructure that will benefit the State Veteran’s Cemetery. 

There is a public consensus in Armenia that if Nikol Pashinyan remains in power, we will very quickly lose a significant part of our country’s territory and perhaps our sovereignty, becoming a quasi-state under the control of Azerbaijan and Turkey,

with formal state institutions that are completely controlled by those countries. Approximately such a situation that Turkey planned for us in the Treaty of Alexandropol signed on December 2, 1920. There is also a public consensus that in order to save Armenia, it is necessary to remove Pashinyan and his government as soon as possible, otherwise, a continuous disaster will inevitably develop, as it has in the last four and a half years. But how to remove Pashinyan? seems to be a wall situation on this issue.

The so-called constitutional way, a change of power through elections, is excluded. Even the 2021 elections showed that even in the conditions of huge public dissatisfaction, the government, by using the administrative and financial resources it has, using the mechanisms of electoral fraud, intimidation and bribery, reproduces itself.

In general, the institution of choice is being devalued all over the world. In the USA, considered the most democratic country and the country that exports democracy, people are increasingly talking about voter fraud and unreliable election results. The former US President Donald Trump has been disputing the results of the 2020 elections for 2 years now and, in fact, is being persecuted, including by law enforcement agencies. Normal elections have never been held in Armenia, and the government of that moment, which possessed the administrative resources, always “won”. Even the Communist Party of Armenia won the Supreme Council elections in 1990, but the Armenian Nationalist Party managed to convert some communist deputies through pressure, and as a result, after several unsuccessful attempts, Levon Ter-Petrosyan was elected the Chairman of the Supreme Council.

The other way is the street struggle, the so-called revolutionary way, when the opposition forces the government to resign under street and public pressure. Life shows that this option does not work in Armenia either. First, Pashinyan mobilizes a police force of several thousand to more than 10,000 when necessary to protect himself and his government, which is enough to suppress public discontent. The opposition also explains its failure by the lack of a critical mass: not enough people gather on the streets, or those gathered are not so determined to take power.

The reality seems to be different. There is no revolutionary opposition in Armenia, a force with enough determination to take responsibility for leading the revolution. Holding a rally in the square and giving a speech have nothing to do with revolution and revolution. The proof of this was the events of September 13, when tens of thousands of determined people gathered in Republic Square and Baghramyan Street, whose energy could be used to seize power. Meanwhile, no political force or combination of forces took responsibility to lead the gathering, and the Protestant energy was once again contained. The development of events also shows that the existing opposition continues to live with the old agenda, considering taking power as a priority, in the event that
Theoretically, there is another way to remove Pashinyan: a military coup.

The high and middle officers of the army are more informed than others about the situation at the country’s borders and the threat to the statehood of Armenia. In the event of an army rebellion, the thousands of police forces gathered by Pashinyan will be ineffective, and the society will protect the army. Meanwhile, a military coup is a theoretical possibility, since Pashinyan managed to head the army staff, getting rid of the most rebellious and capable commanders.

There is another possibility of Pashinyan’s dismissal, which, however apocalyptic it may seem, is becoming more and more probable. The residents of Syunik, Vayots Dzor, Ararat Marz and the retreating army, under the threat of encirclement in the event of another enemy attack and our retreat, appear on the streets of Yerevan, and in the country of general chaos and panic, any government will cease to exist. Pashinyan and his close circle may be able to save their physical existence, but by then they will have managed to physically destroy, kill the Republic of Armenia. At least in its current form and limits.

Armenia has been divided many times in its history: between Rome and Persia, Arab Caliphate and Byzantium, Turkey and Persia. The last time it was separated in 1920, again due to the exceptionally insane behavior of our authorities and their clinging to power and their seats until the end, until the end of statehood. There are people who say that there is no place to share. how many places are there? Now is the 21st century, now they share the atom and its smaller particles, let alone Armenia.

Avetis Babajanyan

The 2nd President of the Republic of Armenia, Robert Kocharian, held a press conference today, which lasted approximately 2 hours and 26 minutes. During that time, Kocharyan answered the questions of 27 media. During the press conference, questions were raised by the Public TV Company, “Haykakan Deshti” TV channel, “Hayeli.am”,

“Aravot.am”, “Sputnik Armenia”, “Civilnet”, “Azatutyun Radio”, “Para”. tv”, “168 Hours”, “Irakanum.am”, “Mediahub”, “Pastinfo”, “Hraparak daily”, “Yerkir Media”, “Politik.am”, “Zhoghovurd” daily”, “Kentron” TV company, “Yerevan Today”, “Livenews.am”, “Factor.am”, “Tert.am”, “Armenpress”, “Antifake.am” , “Panorama.am”, “Channel 5”, “24 news”, Public Radio.

Bagrat Mikoyan, the head of Kocharyan’s office, did not say how many media outlets were accredited to Kocharyan’s press conference. “I won’t say the number, because I have never counted the number of journalists, and I have never counted the mass media.” We asked: the official mass media. Did “Freenews”, “Araratnews”, “Armtimes.com”, “Civic.am” apply for accreditation at Kocharyan’s press conference? “The names of these media outlets are unfamiliar to me, I don’t know such media outlets, the list was decided by the office,” answered Mikoyan. We also asked if all the applied media were included in the list, he said again that “the list was decided by the office.” The fact that “Civic.am” was not allowed to participate caused a stir at the previous press conference.

It is interesting that Robert Kocharyan, who is considered to be a more closed figure and does not like journalists, has chosen a democratic way to communicate with the public, unlike Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who regularly claims that “Armenia is a bastion of democracy”, “the press is freer than ever.” etc. Kocharyan, among other media, was asked questions by the journalists of the Public TV and Public Radio, as well as the state news agency “Armenpress”, while Nikol Pashinyan has recently held a “press conference” in the format he invented, online, during which not all the questions are raised. Almost all leading Armenian media boycotted the last press conference. The mass media had to send their questions to the government in advance, and here they had to decide which question to read and which not to. and as a rule, Pashinyan’s staff removed all unwanted questions, unnecessarily edited or combined them, so that Pashinyan could say what he wanted and avoid the questions he did not want to answer. By the way, Pashinyan explained his avoidance of direct contact with journalists not by the fact that he does not have the answers to the questions to be raised, but by the fact that journalists can organize a boycott on the spot, or “cover the camera with their breasts”, etc.

The second president of RA, Robert Kocharyan, speaks at a press conference. Before answering journalists’ questions, he presented the situation in Artsakh and Armenia,

mentioned security issues. We present the section related to the RA security situation in its entirety. “We are in a deep security crisis, when the government is not able to protect the territorial integrity of the country, the recent situation also showed that they are not able to involve our partners to fulfill the obligations defined by the agreements. The government was carried away by the thesis of opening an era of peace, under that thesis it simply ignored many security issues. The role of Baku and Ankara has significantly increased, in this situation to ignore security issues is simply criminal inaction. The Prime Minister’s speech at the United Nations was a eulogy for the era of peace, in fact, in its content, it meant that there were no expectations. No one wishes the deceased well during the funeral. This page should be closed and a new page should be opened based on other grounds. All this is a very legitimate consequence of the policy that has been carried out in Armenia since 2018, no one likes the weak and whiners, no one makes friends with these people, the same is true in international relations. Beggars are given something out of pity, not respect, we cannot make the state a beggar if we want our state and statehood to be respected.”

WASHINGTON –  U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today introduced a bipartisan Senate Resolution condemning Azerbaijani forces’ illegal and unprovoked assault on Armenian territory and calling for the United States to immediately halt all security assistance to Azerbaijan.

The bipartisan Resolution, which follows Azerbaijani forces’ recent escalation of hostilities against Armenia, calls on President Biden to make a formal determination regarding whether Azerbaijani officials must be subject to sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. The effort also calls for the Department of State to meet all reporting requirements for consideration of U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan following the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) recent report, which found the government has continued to make exceptions to bypass a 1992 law banning most U.S. military assistance to Azerbaijan without the mandatory reporting and justification requirements.

“Azerbaijan’s renewed assault on Armenian territory and callous targeting of civilian infrastructure is a horrifying show of disregard for human life,” Chairman Menendez said. “As communities across the region, including in Kapan, Goris, Jermuk, Vardenis, and Tchakaten suffer at the hands of the Aliyev regime, the United States must match our words of support with robust action for the people of Armenia. With this Resolution, we are making it clear that it is a national security imperative for the U.S. government to do the right thing and once and for all halt security assistance to Azerbaijan.”

Joining Chairman Menendez in introducing the Resolution was Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). Today’s Resolution follows Chairman Menendez’s letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken in which he urged the Biden administration to take additional measures to stand with the Armenian people as they attempt to repel Azerbaijan’s renewed military aggression.

“As we bear witness to Azerbaijan’s most recent attack, the Administration must not to minimize the Azerbaijani assault in an effort to appear impartial. President Biden said in his 2022 State of the Union Address, ‘…when dictators do not pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos,’” Chairman Menendez wrote. “The United States has an important opportunity to stand with the Armenian people as they attempt to repel an authoritarian assault.”

Find a copy of the Senate Resolution here.

Find a copy of the letter here.

Thousands of people marched in the Artsakh capital on Tuesday to pay tribute to the victims of the 2020 war on its second anniversary.

The cross procession began from St. Hakob Church in Stepanakert in the morning, Artsakhpress reports.

Before the start of the procession, the deputy head of the Artsakh Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Archimandrite Sahak Shakaryan addressed those gathered.

“After two years, we have gathered again to jointly commemorate our holy brothers and sisters who were martyred in the 44-day war. The Holy Book says that God forgives only after repentance. Today, we should be balanced and try our national potential, that is, with the help of the cross, to show our God-given national grace, anchored on faith in order to reawaken and brighten our country. Today is a moment to look into our soul and let it be a day of rebirth for each of us,” Fr. Sahak said.

The attendees observed a minute’s silence in memory of the martyrs of the Artsakh wars and prayed together, then marched to the Stepanakert Memorial Complex.

A moment of silence was observed in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Tuesday, on the second anniversary of the start of the 44-day war which Azerbaijan had unleashed against Artsakh.

The respective video above shows that even cars have stopped moving on the streets, and some drivers got out of their cars and stood in silence.

Also, a cross procession had kicked from St. Hakob Church in the capital Stepanakert—and in memory of the martyrs of the defense of the motherland in the 44-day Artsakh war.