NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE

 
STATEMENT
 
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) fully endorses the full passage in the U.S. House of Representatives of the “Preventing Ethnic Cleansing and Atrocities in Nagorno-Karabakh Act of 2023 (HR 5686)”. This historic legislation, led by Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), whom NDA has closely collaborated with for the past several months, will assist the long-term security and well-being of our brothers and sisters in Artsakh. The legislation includes the following key provisions:

Dispatching US diplomats to the region to monitor the situation and immediately report any further abuse;
Instituting 24-hour video monitoring of Armenian cultural sites;
Authorizing humanitarian assistance to Armenians harmed by the blockade and recent attack on Artsakh;
Imposing new sanctions on officials who directed the blockade and attack on Artsakh;
Providing foreign military financing to Armenia, now threatened by Azerbaijan; and
Terminating US military aid to Azerbaijan by repealing the presidential waiver of Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act.
This legislation demonstrates that the NDA’s policy message is gaining significant ground in Washington, DC. NDA is the only political entity—both in Armenia or the Diaspora—which has advocated for stronger U.S.-Armenia bilateral relations in constructive and substantive ways. For far too long, Armenia has abdicated its lobbying prerogatives to the Diaspora, which mis-spent its efforts by only advocating for historical and symbolic issues, while ignoring issues pertaining to Armenia’s (including Artsakh’s) defense and security needs. The results have been painfully obvious during 2020-23.
NDA will continue working through its professional lobbyists in Washington to secure passage of this groundbreaking legislation. Furthermore, we call upon our U.S.-based supporters to contact their members of congress and ask them to become co-sponsors of the bill.

NDA Governing Council
October 2, 2023