Washington, DC – In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) and a bipartisan group of forty-seven of his House colleagues urged the United States to prioritize the protection of at-risk Armenian heritage sites in Artsakh during all future diplomatic engagements with Azerbaijani officials, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
“There is no clearer proof of Azerbaijan’s genocidal intent than its systematic effort to erase every last trace of Armenian civilization across Artsakh – just like successive Turkish governments did in the wake of the Armenian Genocide,” remarked Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. “We applaud Representative Schiff’s leadership in ensuring the protection of Armenian cultural heritage and value his continued efforts to hold Azerbaijan accountable for its crimes against humanity.”
In the June 24th letter, Rep. Schiff and his colleagues write, “With the Azerbaijan military offensive against Artsakh in September 2023, there is already evidence Azerbaijan is continuing its strategy of erasing Armenian culture within and around this region as well.” The lawmakers stressed, “In the face of these significant risks to Armenian cultural heritage, we write this letter to express our deep concern that the Department of State must do more to prevent Azerbaijan’s actions. Even as your senior diplomats meet with Azerbaijani officials, it is unclear if these concerns are being raised or are raised with the appropriate level of seriousness that the issue deserves.”
The forty-seven colleagues joining Representative Schiff in urging the U.S. to protect Artsakh’s Armenian heritage are Representatives Gabe Amo (D-RI), Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Don Beyer (D-VA), Sanford Bishop (D-GA), Brendan Boyle (D-PA), Tony Cardenas (D-CA), Greg Casar (D-TX), Sean Casten (D-IL), Judy Chu (D-CA), Lou Correa (D-CA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Danny Davis (D-IL), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Dwight Evans (D-PA), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Jonathan Jackson (D-IL), Sara Jacobs (D-CA), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), John Larson (D-CT), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Susie Lee (D-NV), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), Seth Magaziner (D-RI), Tom McClintock (R-CA), James McGovern (D-MA), Rob Menendez (D-NJ), Grace Meng (D-NY), Seth Moulton (D-MA), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Scott Peters (D-CA), Katie Porter (D-CA), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), John Sarbanes (D-MD), Janice Schakowsky (D-IL), Brad Schneider (D-IL), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Haley Stevens (D-MI), Dina Titus (D-NV), Lori Trahan (D-MA), David Valadao (R-CA), and Susan Wild (D-PA).
