US Senator Menendez: We need to address the threats that Armenia continues to face

US Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) delivered remarks on the Senate floor against the Armenian humanitarian crisis, calling for Congress to end support for the Azerbaijani government.

“The ancient Armenian community of Nagorno-Karabakh has been hollowed out by a brutal Azerbaijani regime one that is hellbent on erasing them off the map.

For months, we’ve seen this humanitarian crisis unfold in slow motion. First, it was the Azeri blockade of the Lachin Corridor — a blatant violation of the 2020 ceasefire agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan. As the only road in and out of the Karabakh Mountains Azerbaijan’s blockade of Lachin Corridor effectively cut off the flow of people, food, medicine, and basic supplies.

It went on for months, even as Russian peacekeeping forces — supposedly there to enforce the ceasefire — stood idly by.

Make no mistake, the 10-month Lachin Corridor blockade was part of a diabolic plot to force the ethnic Armenian enclave to submit. On September 19, Azerbaijan launched a full-scale invasion of Nagorno-Karabakh. It was a harbinger of things to come.

After quickly overwhelming Armenian forces, the Azeri army seized control of the region and forced the local government to capitulate at gunpoint.

Azerbaijan pledged to respect the rights of ethnic Armenians, but after decades of violence, repression, and broken promises, those in harm’s way knew better.

Of the estimated 120,000 residents in the region, more than 100,000 fled their ancestral homes.
And they’ll need long-term support in the midst of a chronic housing crisis in Yerevan that prices many families out of the capital city.

The United States can — and should — fill this need with clothing and blankets, energy assistance and other humanitarian aid. And to those who point to the acute suffering currently going around in the world, particularly in the Middle East, I ask you this. Should we be in the business of picking and choosing which humanitarian crises we respond to? Of course not.

The last thing we need in this region is further conflict between two states that share their borders with Iran and Turkey.

In the same way that we remember the millions of Armenians who were ruthlessly slaughtered by the Ottoman Empire so too, must we remember the lives lost in Nagorno-Karabakh and the tens of thousands of refugees who have been forced from their homes.

We must stand in solidarity with them today, tomorrow, and everyday going forward. We must end our support for the Azeri government that perpetuated this assault.

And we must sanction all of those responsible for carrying out these despicable crimes against humanity.
That is the task before us in the Senate today and it is the goal we must commit to if we are to shine as a beacon of hope for oppressed peoples all around the world,” Menendez said.