Armenian Assembly of America calls on Members of Congress to withdraw from Turkish, Azerbaijani Caucuses

Today, the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) called upon Members of Congress to withdraw from the Congressional Caucus on Turkey and Turkish Americans and the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus “in light of the pattern of behavior culminating in the military offensive admittedly initiated by Azerbaijan with the support of Turkish military, personnel, and equipment on April 2nd against Armenia and the Nagorno Karabakh Republic.”

The Assembly’s letter highlights the egregious acts committed by Azerbaijan, including the killing of a 12-year-old boy, the gruesome mutilation of an elderly couple, the use of a kamikaze drone, and the beheading of a young Yezidi Armenian military officer and of two other Christian Armenian soldiers. In addition to this violence, these atrocities were broadcast online in an ISIS-style video to incite further violence against Christian Armenians.

“This brutality is deeply troubling, clearly violates the Geneva Conventions, and is strikingly similar to the tactics employed by ISIS,” Assembly Board of Trustees Co-Chairmen Anthony Barsamian and Van Krikorian stated in the letter, pointing out that the Azeri Defense Ministry said that its soldiers “became shahids” or Muslim martyrs.

“Whatever your prior reasons for standing in solidarity with the Azerbaijani and Turkish regimes, we cannot imagine that any American would continue to do so in the face of recent events,” The Assembly Co-Chairs said. “To do so would condone such behavior.”