ARMENIAN CHURCH LEADERS TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: FORCING ARTSAKH INTO AZERBAIJAN IS A DEATH SENTENCE

The spiritual leaders of America’s Armenian Apostolic, Catholic, and Evangelical faithful have joined forces in a powerful public warning to President Joe Biden that forcing Artsakh into submission to Azerbaijan is a “death sentence for the Armenians of this sacred land, home to 120,000 men, women, and children.”  

In a letter sent on Tuesday, May 30 to the White House, the Church leaders wrote: “We, the spiritual leaders of American Christians of Armenian heritage, call on you to stand firmly against any attempt to force the Christian Armenians of Artsakh under Azerbaijan, a country that is openly committed to ethnically cleansing the indigenous population of this ancient part of the Armenian homeland.” They called upon President Biden “to withdraw your waiver of Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act and fully enforce this provision of U.S. law. (…) Our great nation must stand with Armenia in every way, beginning with a suspension of U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan, a country that would erase our ancient nation from the map of the world. We must never, as Americans, be complicit in such genocidal violence.” 

The signatories to the letter are Archbishop Hovnan Derderian (Western Diocese Primate), Archbishop Anoushavan Tanielian (Eastern Prelacy Prelate), Very Rev. Mesrop Parsamyan (Eastern Diocese Primate), Bishop Torkom Donoyan (Western Prelacy Prelate), Bishop Mikhael Mouradian (Eparch of the Armenian Catholic Eparchy), Reverend Hendrik Shanazarian (Interim Minister, Armenian Evangelical Union), and Zaven Khanjian (Armenian Missionary Association of America Executive Director).