WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) congratulated former U.S. Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard on her confirmation today as Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and called upon her to launch a comprehensive investigation into U.S. intelligence, policy, and foreign aid failures that contributed to Azerbaijan’s genocidal ethnic cleansing of Artsakh’s indigenous Armenian population.
“The ANCA welcomes Director Gabbard’s confirmation today and urges her to ensure that the United States fully reckons with our role – whether through acts of omission or commission – in aiding, abetting, and emboldening Azerbaijan’s genocidal campaign against Artsakh’s Armenian population,” stated ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.
In its congratulatory letter to Gabbard, ANCA emphasized the importance of an official intelligence review into how U.S. policies – such as military assistance to Azerbaijan – facilitated its war crimes. “As you know, Americans of Armenian heritage in Hawai’i and across the United States have long supported your leadership on atrocities prevention, human rights, and other issues of special concern to our community and coalition partners. We remain deeply grateful for your support on U.S. remembrance of the Armenian Genocide and, of course, the democratic aspirations of the indigenous Armenian Christians of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh),” stated Hamparian.
Additionally, Hamparian’s letter noted, “We stand ready to assist with an investigation into U.S. failings of omission and commission that aided, abetted, or emboldened Azerbaijan to pursue its genocidal designs against the peaceful Armenian civilian population of Artsakh.”
Gabbard’s advocacy on Armenian issues has been unwavering. As a U.S. Representative, she co-sponsored the Armenian Genocide Resolution and traveled to Artsakh in 2017, where she witnessed firsthand the resilience of its citizens in the face of Azerbaijani aggression. In 2020, she condemned Turkey’s role in inciting the war against Artsakh, stating that “Turkey [was] sending Al-Qaeda-associated proxies to wipe out Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenian population.”
The ANCA continues to call upon the Trump Administration to enforce Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act, which prohibits U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan, and to impose Magnitsky sanctions on Azerbaijani leaders responsible for war crimes. Additionally, ANCA is urging the U.S. government to press Azerbaijan for the immediate release of Armenian prisoners of war and to carve out an exception in the current freeze on foreign aid funding to provide targeted assistance for Artsakh’s genocide survivors.
The text of the ANCA letter to DNI Gabbard is provided below, and the pdf is available here: https://anca.org/assets/pdf/021225_ANCALetter_Gabbard_Investigation.pdf
