“For those who would return to Artsakh, we want to help get them back, we want to get their homes restored, and we want to help the small businesses, whatever we can do. We want to send aid packages to Arstakh,” said Jeff King.
Jeff King is the President of International Christian Concern (ICC). In the past, they mainly focused on Turkey, but now they pay special attention to the Artsakh issue.
Announcements about the Armenian monuments damaged or destroyed during the war, or the occupied territories follow one another on their website. They hold online conferences.
“Azeri soldiers and Turkish-Syrian mercenaries committed several documented war crimes against the Armenian Cristian community in Arstakh which are thoroughly recorded. By violating the laws of war, they demolished civilians and the ArmenianChristian shrines,” said Andrew Crane, Responsible for ICC advocacy.
Baroness Caroline Cox, who joined from Great Britain, showed the photos taken during her last visit to Artsakh.
“Barev Dzez (“Hello” in Armenian). Father Hovhannes looked very worried because Azerbaijan has historically destroyed a large number of Christian monuments, such as in Nakhichevan, as the representative of Artsakh mentioned in his speech. I was very relieved to learn that the Russian peacekeeping forces were guarding Dadivank. But the future is unknown, and Dadivank needs your prayers,” said Baroness Caroline Cox, former Vice Speaker of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom.
The Armenian churches are called Albanian (by Azerbaijani authorities-ed.). During the last war, the hospital and the music school were shelled, and the photos taken are documented episodes of Azerbaijani-Turkish war crimes, says Cox. The union headed by her sends humanitarian aid to Artsakh, where about 100 thousand citizens need urgent support, she said.
“The Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh have sufficient evidence to claim the same right to independence as the people of Timor Leste, Eritrea and Kosovo, who were awarded self-determination for suffering comparable attempted ethnic cleansing in Artsakh,” said Cox.
Mariam Khaloyan, Congressional Relations Director for the Armenian Assembly, was in Arstakh last November, too. She says she was among the last people passing by the Karvachar (Kelbajar) road before its closure. Khaloyan took videos of the destroyed hospital, power plant, market… by her cell phone.
“I went on a very difficult trip with a fact-finding mission to inform the congressmen and the representatives of the Armenian community. Continuing to push forward the release of the Armenian POWs, we thank the members of the Armenian Committee of the Congress who proposed a bill demanding the return of the POWs,” said Khaloyan.
“How many are they? What are their names? So, if this information is not released, then we do not know if there is anything that can be done for them. We are in contact with the State Department, we think that pressure should be put on the Azerbaijani government on this issue,” said Jeff King.
Demanding the release of the Armenian POWs, the American-Armenian young people rented a car with LED screens, which moved from the Azerbaijani embassy and passed through the streets of Washington DC for about two hours, accompanied by American-Armenian cars. Passing by the Statue of Congress and George Washington, they made their final stop at the White House.
