Diocesan Primate Bishop Daniel joined fellow Armenian Church leaders in America, in an urgent message of support for Armenia.
In the letter dated December 9, 2021, the Armenian Church leaders of the United States asked U.S. President Joseph Biden for the cessation of all U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan. The signatories came together to make their statement under the title, “Armenian Churches Together of the United States of America.” The organizations represented by the church leaders posted the letter on their respective websites simultaneously on December 10.
The church leaders also asserted that the United States should stand in solidarity with Armenia, and stand against Azerbaijan’s clear aim to erase Armenia from the map, and its record of human rights abuses and violations.
Click here to read the letter as a PDF document. Read the entire text of the letter below.
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ARMENIAN CHURCHES TOGETHER
OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
12/9/21
Dear President Biden,
We write today, as the spiritual leaders of American Christians of Armenian heritage, to ask you to cease all U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan, a wealthy nation that has used its vast riches to assault and ethnically-cleanse Christian Armenians living upon our ancient and indigenous homeland.
We welcomed your support as a Senator for Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act, and were encouraged by your call, as a candidate, for the enforcement of this law by your predecessor. You were correct in assessing that Azerbaijan has violated both the spirit and the letter of this statute. Inspired and informed by the very stand that you have taken on this issue, we are today asking you to withdraw your waiver of Section 907 and fully enforce this provision of U.S. law.
As you know, Armenia, the world’s first Christian nation is today a landlocked, blockaded, genocide survivor state, striving to survive on the frontiers of global freedom. The United States should stand in solidarity with Armenia in every way, and that must begin by ending any and all U.S. military aid to a nation that would erase our ancient nation from the map of the world. We must never, as Americans, be complicit in such genocidal violence.
In light of these concerns, and given Azerbaijan’s thoroughly documented pattern of violating internationally recognized human rights, we call upon you to suspend U.S. security and military assistance to Azerbaijan.
We look forward to learning of your renewed leadership in saving Christian Armenian lives.
Prayerfully,
Archb. Hovnan Derderian
Primate, Western Diocese
Archb. Anoushavan Tanielian
Prelate, Eastern Prelacy
Bishop Daniel Findikyan
Primate, Eastern Diocese
Bishop Torkom Donoyan
Prelate, Western Prelacy
Bishop Mikhael Mouradian
Eparch Arm. Catholic Eparchy
Rev. Hendrik Shahnazarian
Minister, Arm. Evangelical Union
Zaven Khanjian
Executive Director AMAA