USAN letter published: The Reporter (PA): Reduce aid to Armenia
By Leyla Salehli-Horgan
Every year on June 20, the U.S. and the world mark the International Refugee Day. The 20th century has been full of conflicts and wars. These conflicts have brought vast devastation to economies of countries in conflict as well as into the lives of ordinary civilians.
As the May 31, a New York Times article reminds us that Azerbaijan suffered disproportionately from the armed aggression by the neighboring Armenia in 1988-94, resulting in one of the largest per capita displaced in the world.
In early 1992, immediately after collapse of the Soviet Union, Armenia escalated the conflict into a full scale war. With the help of Russian military, Armenian army was able to illegally occupy and ethnically cleanse Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding seven regions of Azerbaijan.
One of the most disturbing events is the Khojaly Massacre, which took place on Feb. 26, 1992, when 613 Azerbaijani civilians (including 106 women, 63 children, 70 elderly men) were brutally massacred by Armenian military. In the following months, virtually all of southwestern Azerbaijan, amounting to 16 percebt of Azerbaijani territory, was occupied, causing a vast number of ethnic Azerbaijani refugees to flee for safety.
According to the U.S. Refugee Committee’s report (2000) on NK conflict, “More than 568,000 persons from western regions of Azerbaijan under Armenian occupation since 1993, including 42,072 from Nagorno-Karabakh, remained displaced within the country. Most were displaced from regions just outside Nagorno Karabakh,including Fizuli (133,725 persons), Agdam (128,584), Lachin (63,007), Kelbadjar (59,274), Jabrayil (58,834), Gubadli (31,276), Zangilan (34,797), Terter (5,171) and Adjabedi (3,358).”
As a result of NK occupation by Armenia, the Azerbaijani economy suffered $20 billion in damages, devastation of cultural heritage, nearly 1 million IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) and refugees.
The Azerbaijani-American community and the U.S. Azeris Network (USAN) are calling upon the Obama administration and Congress for justice and requests help to resolve the NK conflict, restoration of territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and safe return of all refugees to their homes.
We also call for reduction of aid to Armenia and canceling all aid and contacts with the NK Armenian occupiers.
Leyla
Salehli-Horgan
Hatboro
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