The nominee for Senate seat pledged to defend the peace, dignity, security and self-determination of the Armenian people

Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for Michigan’s open Senate seat, called the Trump administration’s military aid to Azerbaijan “a blatant violation of international law” and pledged to defend the peace, dignity, security and self-determination of the Armenian people, according to a statement from the Armenian National Committee of America.

The seat he is running for belonged to Armenia’s most reliable advocate in the chamber, and the man who holds it is leaving. Gary Peters is retiring after more than a decade during which he authored the Armenian Protection Act, pressed for enforcement of Section 907 and traveled to the Lachin Corridor during Azerbaijan’s blockade of Artsakh․ This race decides whether Michigan Armenians keep a voice of that caliber in the Senate.

“The Trump administration’s blank check for military aid to Azerbaijan in the face of ongoing atrocities is a blatant violation of international law,” El-Sayed said.

“As Michigan’s next Senator, I will stand up for the peace, dignity, security, and self-determination of the Armenian people, and all people, and for international law,” he said.

The blank check he describes has a specific legal name. Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, passed by Congress in 1992, bars US government assistance to Azerbaijan until it stops blockades and offensive force against Armenia and Artsakh.