ANC UK Newsletter #4 - Armenian National Committee of United Kingdom

Thank you and Merry Christmas!

Dear Members of the Armenian community in the United Kingdom,

Thank you for your continued support of ANC UK in our efforts to influence and guide UK policy on the issue of Artsakh and welcome to those of you who have recently signed up to our newsletter.

ANC UK would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued support. It has been a difficult year for Armenia, Artsakh and Armenians around the world. But you have shown through your actions, your perseverance and your support that the voice of Armenians in the UK is strong and that we can, and will, make it heard.

This newsletter will provide a brief update on the actions we have taken over the past fortnight. But before we get to this, we would like to wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We hope and wish that 2021 will be a better – more peaceful, healthy and prosperous – year for Armenia and Armenians!

Our campaign: Act to Help POWs

Our campaign to stop the inhumane treatment of those held captive by Azerbaijan and allow Artsakh and Armenia to collect their dead continues to make a significant impact. Hundreds of you have written letters to your MPs and we urge you to continue doing this. If possible, please edit the letter to add a personal message about why this issue is important to you.

Condemn Azerbaijan for the inhumane treatment of prisoners of war by writing to your Member of Parliament today.

Write to your MP now!

Our actions on your behalf

Over the last two weeks, we have continued to raise our concerns with the government and raise awareness of the situation on the ground through media coverage and events. Here are the actions we have taken on your behalf:

1. We held a successful event with Tim Loughton MP on 13 December 2020, viewed over 3,900 times. As the Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Armenia, Tim provided an update on the work of the APPG, shared his views on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and provided a British perspective on the next steps for resolution. You can watch the talk on the ANC UK Facebook page.

2. We have responded to letters from the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office providing a robust response to the Foreign Secretary’s refusal to acknowledge Azeri war crimes and condemn the use of mercenaries and cluster bombs.

3. Our media efforts, in conjunction with other stakeholders, have resulted in significant media coverage, including:

an article in The Times entitled ‘Nagorno-Karabakh: priceless Christian artefacts are at risk of being destroyed’ by Dan Cruickshank and the Red Box;
an article in The New Statesman, highlighting the current situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and underlining Azerbaijan’s discriminatory policies;
a discussion between Michael Portillo and leading art historian Dan Cruickshank for the Times Radio (listen from 02:05:50 to hear about the threat that Azerbaijan‘s occupation of Artsakh and cultural genocide pose to ancient Christian sites)

4. Baroness Caroline Cox wrote an article for The Tablet, an international Catholic newspaper, sharing her journey to Artsakh and condemning the atrocities that took place in the region.

5. The Lord Bishop of Coventry has put out a Christmas message to Nagorno-Karabakh with a call to prayer for the region and has now officially joined the APPG for Armenia to represent the interests of Armenia in the House of Lords.

6. The Lord Bishop of Southwark, alongside several other undersigned Bishops, has written to UNESCO about the protection of cultural and religious sites in Nagorno-Karabakh, urging them to take all possible and appropriate action to protect these sites.

7. Alyn Smith MP put forward a proposal for a Bill around arms exports and warfare, citing the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as an example of “where the deployment of drone technology was pivotal in the outcome of [the] conflict and in the suffering of many, many civilians.”

Next steps

In the new year, our focus will be on supporting the APPG for Armenia to continue raising the issue of Artsakh in the Parliament and put pressure on the government to take appropriate action.

We will also provide direct support to Tim Loughton MP in the drafting and promotion of the private members’ bill on the Recognition of the Armenian Genocide, which he mentioned during our latest event.

We will continue to take action on your behalf to raise awareness, influence and guide UK policy and represent the collective British Armenian viewpoint on the issue of Artsakh. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

How you can help:

1. Participate in our campaign by writing to your MP to raise awareness about what is happening to POWs. ANC has templates on our website. It’s just a click of a button.

Write to your MP now!

2. Write to your MP using a personal message, with a compelling story about why the issue matters to you, asking them for a meeting. If you secure a meeting, ANC UK will be happy to brief you ahead of this and provide you with any necessary materials.

3. If you are planning to donate this Christmas, please consider donating to ANC UK and help us continue our work. With everything that we’ve all been through and all that lies ahead, we need your faith, your friendship, and financial generosity more than ever before.

Merry Christmas and Thank you once again!

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