Prevent ‘second Armenian genocide’: Christian group urges Biden administration to take action
Brady Knox
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A Christian group is urging the Biden administration to take action in the Armenian region of Nagorno-Karabakh to prevent a “second Armenian genocide.”
The Philos Project, which works to assist persecuted Christians around the world, has focused on the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the past several months.
The most recent development is that Azerbaijan has allegedly been seen close to the Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting the province to the world. That development leaves the Armenian population at risk of being without food, fuel, and other necessities.
Philos Project founder Robert Nicholson wrote a letter to the Biden administration on Wednesday. He asked President Joe Biden to take action.
“To disarm the current crisis and move the parties toward meaningful negotiations we urge you to do the following things. First, mobilize immediate humanitarian assistance to the Armenians blockaded in Nagorno-Karabakh,” Nicholson wrote.
“Second, lend the full weight of your office and exercise personal leadership in working with allies to lift Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin Corridor, including using the power of U.S. sanctions—economic and diplomatic—to motivate the Azeri government. Last, continue to engage meaningfully after the end of the blockade and throughout long-promised negotiations to help ensure a lasting and just peace,” he added.
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He also commended Biden’s decision last year to officially recognize the Armenian genocide and asked him to fulfill his promise to prevent another.
“We urge you to make good on that promise and that you avert a second Armenian genocide by taking decisive action now. The lives of 120,000 Armenians and nearly 1,700 years of Christian culture hang in the balance,” he concluded.
The Nagorno-Karabakh region is known by the Armenians as the breakaway Republic of Artsakh, populated almost entirely by Armenians. Azerbaijan claims the land as historically belonging to them and emerged victorious in the 2020 war between the two, which killed nearly 7,000 people.
The two states have clashed several times since despite the presence of Russian peacekeepers.
The most recent flare-up revolves around a group of alleged Azerbaijani environmentalist demonstrators who have blocked the Lachin Corridor in protest against Armenian miners, the Los Angeles Times reported. Armenia and many international observers claim that the protest is organized by Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to put pressure on the local Armenians. Azerbaijan claims the protest is organic.
“Day by day the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh grows more dire, as routine shipments of basic supplies, medicines, and food supply on which the region is utterly dependent remain completely shut off, save a handful of International Red Cross humanitarian convoys. Soon the situation will become untenable for the 120,000 Armenians of Artsakh,” Nicholson wrote, describing the situation.
The U.S. government has taken the view of the Armenians, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling on Azerbaijan to end the alleged blockade earlier this week. During a phone call to Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev, Blinken called for the “immediate reopening” of the corridor, State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
“He underscored that the risk of a humanitarian crisis … undermined prospects for peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” Price said.
Baku has countered by laying the blame on the local ethnic Armenian government.
“As repeatedly stated by Azerbaijan, no restrictions have been applied to movement on the Lachin road for humanitarian purposes,” a statement from the Azerbaijani Embassy obtained by Fox News Digital read. “However, the Armenian side and the illegal regime created by it in the territories of Azerbaijan prevent the movement of local residents in order to abuse the situation.”
“For this reason, all responsibility for any consequences that may arise rests with Armenia and the illegal regime under its control, which turns civilians into hostages of disgraced political goals,” the Azerbaijani statement added.
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In December, the Philos Project hosted a briefing with Robert Avetisyan, a representative of the Republic of Artsakh. He asked for more international aid for the state and requested recognition of its independence, as well as the forced reopening of the Lachin Corridor.
“It is not geopolitics for us,” he said. He continued that action in the situation “does not require one to love Armenians. … Our cause is a cause of human rights. Our cause is the prevention of a genocide”