ANCA Calls on White House to Condemn Aliyev’s Anti-Armenian Tirade

Azerbaijani President Gives National Address Publicly Praising Ethnic Cleansing of Armenians

WASHINGTON—Voicing the Armenian-American community’s outrage over Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s most recent anti-Armenian rant, Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Chairman Ken Hachikian has called upon President Barack Obama to publicly condemn the Azerbaijani leader’s renewed threats of war, exaltation of ethnic cleansing, claims to Armenian land, and renewed praise for unrepentant axe-murder Ramil Safarov.

In a Sept. 19 letter addressed to Obama, Hackikian noted that a strong U.S. stand in response to Aliyev’s Sept. 17 tirade can help “deter Baku from its announced intention to re-launch its war on Artsakh [Karabagh].” The full text of the ANCA letter is provided below. An English translation of Aliyev’s remarks can be viewed at http://www.news.az/articles/official/82721. The full text of Aliyev’s remarks is posted on his website (in Azerbaijani) at http://president.az/articles/9346.

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Dear Mr. President:

I am writing to call upon you, in support of the vital role that U.S. leadership plays in the OSCE Minsk Group, to condemn Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s Sept. 17, 2013 anti-Armenian tirade.

In these public remarks, President Aliyev threatens to renew his war on Nagorno-Karabagh and extols the ethnic cleansing of Armenians from Baku, warning of Azerbaijan’s preparedness to repeat these atrocities. He claims essentially all of Armenia’s sovereign territory, including Yerevan, and he praises an unrepentant axe-murder who was pardoned by President Aliyev after his release from Hungary, where he was serving a life sentence for murdering Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan in his sleep during a NATO peacekeeping program.

President Aliyev’s speech honoring Safarov, coming as it does after the public praise, military promotion, and financial payments he received from Baku in the months following his release last year, represents a serious setback to the peace process. His remarks are all the more offensive in light of the White House’s statement of Aug. 31, 2012, expressing your deep concern and disappointment over President Aliyev’s decision to pardon Ramil Safarov. It is in this spirit, and in the hope that a strong U.S. stand may deter Baku from its announced intention to relaunch its war on Artsakh, that we ask you to clearly condemn President Aliyev’s incendiary diatribe.

In closing, we would also like to take this opportunity to extend, once again, our willingness to work with your Administration to invite the broad-based leadership of our community to meet with you to discuss your Administration’s policies on this matter, your pledge to recognize the Armenian Genocide, and the full range of Armenian-American concerns.

Sincerely,

Kenneth V. Hachikian, Chairman

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Guest Contributor

Guest contributions to the Armenian Weekly are informative articles or press releases written and submitted by members of the community.

8 Comments

  1. We need to remind the world daily, that by ignoring the Armenian cause, there is a new genocide being planned against the Armenians. Աշխարհին ամեն օր պիտի հիշեցնել, որ հայի դատը անտեսելու պատճառով այսօր նրա դեմ նոր ցեղասպանություն է ծրագրվում:

  2. Ok, I am glad to see this … I see that ANCA is poor enough to rely on Google Translator, instead of using translators. I read Aliyev’s statement. Of course, it is also possible that ANCA has an Azeri speaker, but it is intentionally distorting Aliyev’s words for fund-raising purposes. E.g., ANCA says Aliyev celebrated the removal of Armenians from Baku. There is no such thing in the article. Instead, he says that it was a good thing that we removed from Baku (after the USSRS fall) the monuments to the Armenian communist (Shaumyan) who had been directly involved in the massacres of Azeris in 1910s. Another example, he never expressed hatred towards Armenians as a nation. In fact, he specifically says that his beef is with the Armenian leadership and not the people. He says that Armenian leadership is a bunch of thieves and bandits keeping their hold on power by keeping the Karabak conflict going.

    Another thing ANCA did not mention is that … Aliyev: “By signing the custom union deal with Russia, Armenia has admitted that it cannot defense itself on its own, and that it is afraid of Azerbaijan.”

    But all this is a digression … If I was Obama reading this leader, I would be like: “I am sorry. Did you mean to send this Putin instead? Why do I care what happens to an ally of my foes Iran and Russia?” But then again, this letter is not addressed to Obama, but the Armenians to get their $25s coming. It is much easier to parade a boogeyman for that purpose, than showing a tangible benefit for the homeland, which is in a sorry state.

    On the other hand, I am also glad Aliyev being criticizes … I hate him too, but for a different reason. Instead of issuing empty words, he should do something. We Azeris are getting sick and tired of his games.

    • Distorting double faced Karim,I see that you have started again distorting facts.
      1.Your sultan’s speech is available in English as indicated in this article: http://www.news.az/articles/official/82721
      So no need for Google translation.
      2.Where does ANCA say ‘Aliyev celebrated the removal of Armenians from Baku’?It says ‘extols’ which means to praise highly.Read the here below & let me know if this is praise by your sultan or not:
      Quote
      In such a case, certainly, the growing Azerbaijani state must rely and relies only on its power like it is reflected in the final exposition of this memorial complex. 95 years ago as a result of the activity of the Caucasus Islamic army and the fights carried here with local forces, Baku was cleared of Armenians’
      Unquote
      I can go on & on about your points but I see them as pointless.
      You should understand again & again that we will never accept living together with you.It is much better for both of our people.Meanwhile the plunder of your nation by your sultan & his mafia continues.He drugs your people with such speeches.

    • Karim: Whether Armenia is afraid of Azerbaijan or not is irrelevant as long as you are not able to invade Artsakh and massacre its inhabitants which is your outspoken goal. I remember some Azeri politician who said in regards to Safarov that Armenians need to be killed in “Karabakh” too.

      Armenia is a country of 2 million and Azerbaijan of 8 million. You have oil and Israeli technology. We are not ashamed to be allies of Russia and Iran. Are you ashamed of your Israeli and Turkish weapons?

      Btw, why do you not condemn Turkish occupation of Cyprus? Two-faced?

  3. Karim,

    You are truly becoming the laughing stock of this web site. You live in a make-belief world of your own. You raise imaginary and baseless questions and you answer them based on the fictional world you live in.

    I can’t stop laughing at your nonsense. You are trying too hard and you sound really pathetic. I read all the signs of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in you Azerbaijanis, from you to your fake nation, all the way to your fake president running, I mean robbing, your fake country.

    I am not in the least bit surprised you equated Armenia making a strategic decision joining Russia’s Customs Union to Armenia not being able to defend itself and afraid of the insignificant and the artificial state of Azerbaijan. You are losing your touch and you are really embarrassing yourself. If we had a dime for every time we heard such nonsense over the years we would be very wealthy indeed. An ancient nation, such as Armenia, with deep roots which handed you a humiliating defeat never has had and never will have any fears of bunch of oil sheiks and illiterate peasants. How many times do you think an artificial state can make threats but be afraid to take steps to put its money (so many billions of dollars!) where its mouth is before it becomes the ridicule and the laughing stock of the region, three times perhaps? We have heard the same empty speech from the same draft-dodging coward Ilham Aliyev hundreds of times but the fact that he can’t do anything else but give empty talks speaks volumes about his lack of manhood. All the empty and racist rhetoric with no action is a testament and a proof that it is your fake president who is afraid of the Armenians and not the other way around. After all, when Ilham Aliyev was an MIA during the war spending his late father’s money abroad, all Armenian former and current presidents and ministers were on the front lines fighting as soldiers and commanders.

    You are a closet-racist, an opportunist and a fraud. When Armenia does something for the welfare of Armenia, you interpret that as something totally different based on your imagination and malice of forethought. Using your twisted logic, one can safely say that the hypocrite and illegal state of Turkey is still a NATO member, one of closet allies of the enemies of the Muslim World, because without NATO’s protection it will cease to exist. We recently witnessed a glimpse of this fact when Turkey ran to its NATO masters for protection against little tiny war-torn Syria. Imagine how many other countries and nations are waiting to tear Turkey apart if it ever has the guts to leave NATO. If this is the situation Turkey, a so-called power player in the region, is in then I don’t even need to tell you what happens to the insignificant artificial state of Azerbaijan, which is nothing more than a Turkish outpost and a gas station for foreign oil companies to exploit, if it ever grows a pair and dares to do anything.

  4. Ararat, it is not my or Aliyev’s opinion that Armenia is afraid of facing Azerbaijan alone. If this is false, why would your own president himself would explain the customs-union decision on the basis of security concerns. He said it, his minions have said it, and most of the independent analysists have stated the same. What other security concerns could he be talking about? Turkey? Is there really a realistic scenario where Turkey could be allowed by NATO to do anything against Armenia? Of course not. Security concerns from Iran? They are your friends. Georgia? Of course not. Only Azerbaijan is left. And you are afraid. And why wouldn’t he be? It would be irresponsible of him not to. If I had a neighbor who spent on guns alone more than my entire annual income, and who had 3 times as many members, and whose LEGAL property I continue to control, and if that neighbor has a legal right under international law to restore that control, and he threatens to do so on a daily basis … No sane person would ignore such a threat and possibility; he would seek aid from somewhere else, in your case, Russia. But, as you know, there is nothing free in this world. And Russia wants something back … a lot actually. And you are giving it to them. I challenge you to skip ad hominem, and address the analysis above.

    As for the ad hominem pieces of your response (which is most of it), I will not descend to the same level. Nor will I opine in terms of beating my chest. I am stating only facts. You can laugh at facts all you want. That is your problem.

    @VTiger, you so clearly take things out of context when you quote the sentence of Armenian being kicked out of Baku 1910s. The immediate context of that sentence was that the Armenian forced led by Shaumyan et all were massacring Azeris in the very heart of Baku, and “the Armenians” (i.e., the Armenian forces) were kicked out. Obviously you lack historical knowledge of the area. There lived and continued to live many Armenians in Baku before and after the events of 1910s, including many rich Armenian oil magnates. It is the Armenian army/militia that was kicked out. You and ANCA deliberately distort the statement by insinuating that your average Armenian population was cleansed. You may not know this to be false. But I am sure ANCA knows it: they are engaged in deliberate misinformation for propaganda purposes. And that is ok, I guess. They are a lobbying group after all. What is not ok, is you drinking your own Kool-Aid. And what is also not ok, is not expecting from ANCA something more than empty propaganda that has no chance of a tangible benefit for Armenia, versus just being a fund-raising trick.

    • Karim: That Turkey is deterred from invading Armenia by NATO is nonsense. If it weren’t for Russia Turkey would haven invaded Armenia during the Artsakh Liberation War. If you cannot see this you are stupid. NATO would probably even have encouraged Turkey to do so.

      Also, Artsakh is NOT legally part of Azerbaijan as it won its freedom through legal voting. Northern Cyprus on the other hand is legally part of Cyprus state and under Turkish occupation. You are immoral and two-faced if you deny this!!!

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