Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 7, 2023 / 13:55 pm
In a Sept. 6 hearing, Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, accused the government of Azerbaijan of committing genocide against Armenian Christians in disputed territory in the country.
During the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission meeting, Smith criticized the Azerbaijani government for continuing its blockade of the Lachin corridor, which is the only road that connects Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. Although the blockade was initiated by self-proclaimed environmentalist activists, it is currently enforced by Azerbaijan’s military, which is blocking food and other resources from entering the region.
Nagorno-Karabakh, known to locals as Artsakh, is home to about 120,000 people. More than 95% of the population is ethnically Armenian and belongs to the Oriental Orthodox Armenian Apostolic Church. Although the locals have claimed independence from the predominantly Muslim country of Azerbaijan, the region is still internationally recognized as being within Azerbaijan’s jurisdiction.
Smith said during the hearing that the blockade already fits the definition of genocide, and he criticized the “inaction” of President Joe Biden’s administration and pondered “whether there is, in our own government, any true will to help.”