Pallone, Knollenberg Urge Clarification on Misrepresentation of Armenia in Human Rights Report

Washington, D.C. --- U.S. Reps. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Joseph Knollenberg (R-MI) today sent the following letter to Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice regarding recent human rights misrepresentations about Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh. The State Departments 2006 Human Rights Report, in its sections dealing with Armenia and Azerbaijan, mischaracterized Armenia as an occupier of Azerbaijani territory.

The Honorable Condoleezza Rice

Secretary

U.S. Department of State

2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Secretary Rice:

We are writing to express our strong concerns regarding inaccuracies in the recent series of changes to the Armenia section of the 2006 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.

Over the course of the past several weeks, the Department of State has issued erroneous language about Armenia being an occupier of Azerbaijani territory and Nagorno Karabagh. The report was subsequently revised with more balanced, although still not fully accurate, wording and then revised again to restore the original language. These changes were made following widely reported threats and pressure by the Azerbaijani government, including its public declaration that it had postponed planned bilateral security talks in Washington, DC.

In addition to the troubling precedent set by allowing a foreign state to shape the assessments of our human rights report, we are deeply disturbed that the State Department's mischaracterization of the Nagorno Karabagh conflict is inaccurate, unprecedented, and counter-productive to our government's goal of actively promoting constructive engagement in the peace negotiations in the region.

It is simply wrong to assert that Nagorno Karabagh is Azerbaijani territory or that Armenia occupies Nagorno Karabagh and other territories. This formulation frames the conflict solely in terms of land, ignoring the reality that the current conflict is about the self-determination of the people of Nagorno Karabagh. Furthermore, the State Department has never made similar assertions in previous reports.

We are concerned that such misrepresentations, rather than bringing the parties together, will undermine our nation's credibility as an impartial mediator and jeopardize prospects for successful negotiations. It could also have an impact on US-Armenia relations.

Therefore, we call upon you to publicly clarify that:

1) the report's language describing Armenia as an occupier of Azerbaijani territory and Nagorno Karabagh is inaccurate and does not reflect US foreign policy;

2) the United States views the Nagorno Karabagh conflict as fundamentally about the self-determination of the people of Nagorno Karabagh; and

3) this misrepresentation would not appear in future reports or other official documents.

Our common aim should be to focus on workable diplomacy that brings the parties together in the spirit of conflict resolution, not to cause additional tension by introducing new and controversial elements into an already complex negotiating process.

Thank you for your consideration of this important matter. We look forward to your prompt response.

Sincerely,

FRANK PALLONE, JR. JOE KNOLLENBERG

Member of Congress Member of Congress