Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel. (202) 775-1918
Fax. (202) 775-5648
Email.anca@anca.org
Internet
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
August 20, 2009
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
ANCA CONFRONTS BRYZA BIAS ON NAGORNO KARABAGH
— Chairman Ken Hachikian Outlines Envoy’s Failings; Challenges
State Department Pressure on Armenia to Accept Flawed Madrid
Principles; Calls on Secretary Clinton to Stop the Outsourcing
of U.S. Policy on Armenian Issues
WASHINGTON, DC – Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
Chairman Ken Hachikian today sent a letter to Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton outlining the concerns of the Armenian American
community regarding the recent biased remarks by Matt Bryza, the
U.S. Co-Chair to the OSCE Minsk Group charged with helping to
negotiate a settlement of the Nagorno Karabagh conflict.
The four-page letter, dated August 20, 2009, addressed, in detail,
recent unfair, inaccurate, and counter-productive statements by
Bryza, and, more broadly, expressed the view that his actions
reflect the failings of an Administration that, having already
broken a series of pledges to Armenian Americans, is now in the
process of effectively handing over decision-making on U.S. policy
on Armenian issues to the Turkish government: In the letter,
Hachikian stressed: "Today, seven months after the start of the
Obama-Biden Administration, we are seriously concerned
that this Administration has abdicated its responsibilities by
effectively outsourcing our nation’s foreign policy with respect
to Armenian issues to the Republic of Turkey, as every single
policy dealing with Armenia has been made along the lines
that Turkey has dictated, rather than along the sound principles
of morality and democracy that you, President Obama and
Vice President Biden unambiguously articulated during your
presidential campaigns last year."
The full text of the letter is provided below.
#####
August 20, 2009
The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street N.W.
Washington, DC 20520
Dear Secretary Clinton,
I am writing on behalf of the Armenian National Committee of
America (ANCA) to voice the Armenian American community’s grave
concerns regarding recent unfair, inaccurate, and counter-
productive statements by the U.S. Co-Chair of the OSCE Minks Group,
Matthew Bryza, regarding the Republics of Armenia and Nagorno
Karabagh.
Mr. Bryza’s recent actions as a part of the Obama-Biden
Administration, as well as his past conduct during his time as
Deputy Assistant Secretary, as U.S. Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk
Group, as a senior National Security Council staff member, and as
an Eurasian energy advisor for the Department, reflect a pattern of
consistent, material, and transparent bias against Armenia and
Nagorno Karabagh. His behavior in the months since President
Obama’s inauguration are especially troubling because they stand in
such dramatic contrast to the public commitments that the
President, Vice President, and that you made to the American
electorate during the 2008 Presidential campaign.
As you may know, the ANCA has consistently registered public
concerns regarding Mr. Bryza’s biased diplomacy on Armenia-related
matters, including his pro-Azerbaijani bias in the Nagorno Karabagh
peace process and his longstanding role as a promoter of U.S.
complicity in Turkey’s denials of the Armenian Genocide. Our
community’s attention was again drawn to his representation of our
government’s policies following a speech he delivered, on August 7,
2009, in Tsakhkadzor, Armenia, as well as by news reports that he
is being considered as a candidate to serve as our next Ambassador
to Azerbaijan. In his remarks in Tsakhkadzor, Mr. Bryza, once
again, made a number of statements that directly contradict the
President’s pledge to work toward a "lasting and durable settlement
of the Nagorno Karabagh conflict that is agreeable to all parties,
and based upon America’s founding commitment to the principles of
democracy and self determination."
Most notably, Mr. Bryza has argued that the fatally flawed Madrid
principles are a balanced set of concessions, when, at their heart,
they represent nothing more than a major, irreversible, up-front
concession of fundamental security on the part of the Armenian side
with only a vague promise that some undefined process, involving
undetermined actors, will take place regarding Nagorno Karabagh’s
status, according to his own words, "at some point" in the future.
The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, has made it painfully
clear that he will not even honor this weakly worded and
effectively meaningless expectation. President Aliyev has chosen
to reserve his public comments for threats of renewed aggression
and assurances that, even if Armenia were to surrender territories,
"it may take a year, maybe 10 years, maybe 100 years, or it will
never be possible" to reach the point where Azerbaijan would
consent to a mere "discussion" of Nagorno Karabagh’s status.
This "compromise" is not a fair deal, but rather a one-sided
surrender of Nagorno Karabagh’s rights, status, and security, in
large measure, engineered by Mr. Bryza. This settlement, which
would cement Armenia into profound strategic and military
disadvantages and ensure continued regional instability, is, at
present, being imposed upon the Armenian people through the full
force and leverage of the U.S. government.
In his remarks, Mr. Bryza compounded his biased defense of these
flawed principles by falsely claiming that the Azerbaijani side has
made a "concession" by agreeing to merely discuss the matter of
Nagorno Karabagh’s self-determination. The fact is that Azerbaijan
has neither the moral right nor the practical ability to grant
either freedom or independence to Nagorno Karabagh. He also,
during the question and answer period, assigned to the people of
Nagorno Karabagh a second-tier right to self-determination, one
that requires the assent of Azerbaijan, as opposed to the right to
independence enjoyed today by the people of Kosovo and recognized
officially by the U.S. government despite the objections of Serbia.
Also of profound concern in Mr. Bryza’s comments at Tsakhkadzor was
his false assertion that Nagorno Karabagh’s exclusion from the OSCE
Minsk Group peace process was driven by Armenia’s request to the
others parties to the negotiations. This is simply not the case.
In addition to the concerns I have outlined regarding Mr. Bryza’s
recent comments, we remain seriously troubled that he has continued
to stand in the way of broad-based dialogue between the governments
and peoples of the U.S. and Nagorno Karabagh. In his capacity as
OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair, instead of promoting open communication,
he has enforced a set of outdated and counter-productive
restrictions that block the hope for greater mutual understanding.
He has, as well, even as recently as the current foreign aid cycle,
failed to facilitate desperately needed U.S. development assistance
programs in Nagorno Karabagh. Finally, he has undermined his own
credibility by making the patently false claim that neither he nor
his State Department colleagues have applied pressure to Armenia
regarding the settlement of Nagorno Karabagh.
The concerns I have raised regarding the one-sided Nagorno Karabagh
diplomacy that Mr. Bryza has conducted on behalf of the U.S.
government reflect our community’s broader disappointment regarding
the Obama-Biden Administration’s failure to honor its many pledges
on Armenian issues. Foremost among these, of course, is the
President’s broken promise to recognize the Armenian Genocide.
Rather than upholding this crystal clear covenant, the
Administration has, instead, aggressively attacked the spirit and
letter of this commitment by promoting Turkey’s artificial
"roadmap" and pressuring Armenia to accept a "historical
commission" that, in yet another transparent attempt by Ankara to
perpetuate its campaign of genocide denial, calls into question the
veracity of the Armenian Genocide. The Administration has, in
addition, sharply cut economic and other aid to Armenia, despite
the President’s pledge to maintain assistance levels. This pattern
of behavior represents a breach of faith with Armenian Americans,
fundamentally damages our government’s friendship with Armenia, and
effectively eliminates our country’s ability to act as an honest
broker in the region.
Today, seven months after the start of the Obama-Biden
Administration, we are seriously concerned that this Administration
has abdicated its responsibilities by effectively outsourcing our
nation’s foreign policy with respect to Armenian issues to the
Republic of Turkey, as every single policy dealing with Armenia has
been made along the lines that Turkey has dictated, rather than
along the sound principles of morality and democracy that you,
President Obama and Vice President Biden unambiguously articulated
during your presidential campaigns last year.
Thank you for your consideration of our views. We respectfully
request an immediate personal meeting between you and the Armenian
American community’s civic, religious, and charitable leaders so
that we can address these matters in greater detail.
Sincerely,
[signed]
Kenneth V. Hachikian
Chairman
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress