AANSI-American Armenian National Security Institute (AANSI) Addresses Azerbaijan’s Inhumane Blockade of Nagorno Karabakh
Posted on February. 10. 2023
On Monday Jan 23, U.S. Army Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Mark MacCarley sent individual letters to each of the 535 Memebrs of U.S. Congress AANSI urging Congress’s and President Biden’s condemnation and deterence of Azerbaijan’s inhumane blockade of Nagorno Karabakh; Imposition of sanctions and immediate cancellation of Military Assistance to Azerbaijan; Increase Military Assistance to Armenia, to include acquisition of US/NATO weapon systems; significant military training resources. The letter also underlined that such Congressional Action can send a strong message that Armenia can rely on the US and the West for more than placations.
Monday January 23, 2023 Honorable Mike Collins Member of Congress 1223 LHOB, Washington DC, 20815 Honorable Mike Collins, My name is Mark MacCarley, and I am the chairperson of the American Armenian National Security Institute (AANSI). AANSI serves as a bridge organization between the U.S. Defense and Foreign Policy establishment and Armenian Americans and non-Armenian Americans who are supportive of the preservation of a strong sovereign “western” facing Armenia and the contemporaneous cultivation of strong democratic institutions in that part of the South Caucasus – one of the most contentious areas of the world where multiple hegemonic powers are competing for regional dominance to include Russia, Iran, and Turkeia. Through education and humanitarian assistance AANSI seeks to encourage and facilitate stronger military, economic and political relations between the United States of America and the Republic of Armenia. Over the last few years – the American Armenian National Security Institute – supported solely by private donations from American benefactors, has aggressively moved forward along three lines of effort: The first is education, getting out the message beyond just the Armenian American Diaspora about the economic and geopolitical challenges facing Armenia. The second line of effort is providing humanitarian assistance to those in need in Armenia and in the associated area of Nagorno Karabakh, especially disabled war veterans. The third line of effort is the establishment of the AANSI Humanitarian Support Brigade, a closely knit organization of men and women, concerned about the survival of Armenia, who voluntarily come together, receive training in such subjects as medicine, mass casualty assistance, communications, logistics, and disaster response and recovery and are prepared and formally commit to deploy from the United States to Armenia during times of manmade or natural crisis, to include, sadly, the resumption of probable armed conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. I acknowledge that Armenia is but a blip on the radar of our Congressional leaders who are carefully monitoring the huge geopolitical challenges facing our nation, today. But as I write this, Armenia is facing an increasingly dangerous manmade crisis resulting from the present blockade by Azerbaijan of the Lachin Corridor and the concomitant failure of Russia to keep the Corridor open in contradiction to the obligations it assumed in the 2020 Ceasefire Agreement which ended that 44-day war between Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh, and Azerbaijan. The American Armenian National Security Institute (AANSI) condemns in the strongest possible terms, Azerbaijan’s blockade by its so-called “environmentalists” – in reality special plain clothes security agents of the Azeri armed forces – of the Lachin Corridor, the only all-weather passable mountain roadway between Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. Around 120,000 Armenians, including 30,000 children, live in Nagorno Karabakh. This road blockage has isolated them from the rest of the world; there being no other accessible ground passage, railroad, or operational airport into or out of Nagorno Karabakh. This blockade, in violation of all norms of civilized conduct, has already and, unless lifted, will progressively deprive the people of Nagorno Karabakh of food, medicine, and basic human necessities. Nagorno Karabakh residents, as a consequence of this action by Azerbaijan, are now unable to reach Armenia for adequate medical treatment and to engage in any commerce with the outside world. This is a true humanitarian crisis which, if unresolved will cause injury, death, and the slow strangulation of Nagorno Karabakh and its people. Armenia has everything to lose in this crisis, including the dreadful consequences of another armed effort if it chooses to reopen the corridor to Nagorno Karabakh by force. On the other hand, both Russia and Azerbaijan have everything to gain from this blatant violation of the 2020 Ceasefire Agreement to which both are signatories. Russia can strong arm Armenia to join Belarus (both are members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization) to assist Russia, militarily and symbolically, in the Ukraine in exchange for “encouraging” Azerbaijan to stop the blockade. Azerbaijan can, at any time, breakdown the bulwarks across the Lachin Corridor on condition that Armenia cedes sovereignty to an almost 125-mile passageway from Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic, contiguous to Turkey – creating a pan Turkish “belt and road.” AANSI, as foremost an educational institution, would ask that Congress and the Administration see the current crisis in Armenia as another example of rank unadulterated aggression on the part of Azerbaijan in violation of international law and, therefore, exercise such elements of US power as are appropriate to deter this aggression, beginning with the imposition of sanctions and the immediate cancellation of military security assistance to Azerbaijan. Further, AANSI would argue that increased military security assistance to Armenia, to include pivoting Armenia toward the acquisition of US/NATO weapon systems and the commitment of significant military training resources, such was undertaken by the US in Ukraine after the Russian occupation of Crimea, would send a strong message that Armenia can rely on the US and the West for more than placations. Thank you. Mark MacCarley Major General (Ret.) United States Army Chair, American Armenian National Security Institute(AANSI)