Kenneth Hachikian, Chairman of Armenian National Assembly of America (ANCA), calls on U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton “to agree to lift the unfair and heavy pressure the U.S. government is using to force Armenia to accept a set of highly controversial Protocols on the normalization of relations with Turkey.”

In his September 30 letter, Hachikian expressed the Armenian American community's concern that “these one-sided agreements, which are being imposed upon a landlocked Republic of Armenia that remains blockaded by Turkey and that is still working to overcome the devastating demographic, economic and geopolitical legacy of the Armenian Genocide, would, if adopted, call into question the reality of the Armenian Genocide, threaten Armenia's security, jeopardize the freedom of Nagorno-Karabagh, and compromise the inalienable rights of all Armenians.”

“As you can imagine, in light of your powerful track record as a U.S. Senator and Presidential candidate in support of recognition of the Armenian Genocide, we are particularly troubled by the role that you have played in pressuring Armenia to accept these Protocols. Rather than keeping faith with your principled stands on this human rights issue, you have, since taking office, aggressively pressured Armenia into a process that effectively provides President Obama with a rationale — morally flawed, but nonetheless politically effective — for failing to honor his clearly stated pledge to recognize the Armenian Genocide,” the letter reads.