CONGRESSMAN HUNTER PLEDGES MEMBERSHIP TO ARMENIAN CAUCUS

WASHINGTON, August 9, (Noyan Tapan). During the meeting with the
Armenian Assembly of America on August 6, Congressman Duncan Hunter
pledged to join the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, reported
the Armenian Assembly of America. “We’re pleased that Congressman
Hunter has pledged to join the Armenian Caucus,” said Assembly Western
Office Director Lena Kaimian. “Congressman Hunter is keenly aware of
the issues facing the Armenian-American community, having championed
legislation recognizing the Armenian Genocide and calling on Turkey to
acknowledge the atrocities of 1915,” she emphasized. According to
Kaimian, such important issues as the need for Congress to maintain
military aid parity between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Fiscal Year
2005 Foreign Operations bill were raised by the Assembly delegation.

The group said that attempts to provide Azerbaijan $6 million more
than Armenia in military financing would disrupt the careful balance
between the neighboring countries. Congressman Hunter, who is Chairman
of the influential House Armed Services Committee and a member of the
Select Committee on Homeland Security, commended Armenia’s efforts on
the war on terror and its participation in Iraq. Rev. Father Datev
Tatoulian of St. John’s Armenian Church, Assembly Fellow Trustees
Rouben Avsharian and Gary Takessian and Affiliate Members Serop
Karoglanian and Joanie Schwarz were also present at the meeting. The
Armenian Caucus has focused on strengthening the U.S.-Armenia and
U.S.-Karabakh relationships, searching for a peaceful solution to the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict, ending the Turkish and Azerbaijani
blockades of Armenia and Karabakh, as well as reaffirming the
U.S. record on the Armenian Genocide.