John Evans:Free and Fair Election Vital for Future of Armenia

28.04.2006 12:13

YEREVAN (YERKIR) – Armenia’s participation in the Millennium Challenge
Account was a new stage in development of the U.S.-Armenian
relations. The U.S. is confident in the peaceful settlement of the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

The U.S. is providing financial assistance and developing cooperation
with Armenia. Nevertheless, in his annual speech in 2006
U.S. President George W. Bush again failed to properly acknowledge the
events of 1915 by avoiding the word «genocide.»
U.S. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary John Evans answered
some questions of PanARMENIAN.Net regarding these matters.

– Armenia is the second largest recipient of humanitarian aid from the
United States after Israel. What is planned for 2006 considering the
parliamentary elections in 2007 and 2008?

– Armenia is one of the largest recipients of U.S. assistance on a per
capita basis. Since 1992, the United States has provided more than
1.6 billion dollars of assistance to Armenia in support of the
country’s transition to democracy. Through this assistance, the
United States government is cooperating with Armenia in pursuit of
three major goals: strengthening democratic institutions, providing
for a more stable and secure South Caucasus, and building the
economies of all three countries of the region.

In addition to our on-going programs, the United States has developed
a program of assistance worth approximately seven million dollars to
help Armenia in holding free and fair elections in 2007 and 2008. This
comprehensive package of election-related assistance will provide
support for the development of the national voter registry and the
conduct of voter education campaigns.

It will also include assistance for the development of voter education
materials, training for various sectors of society including
representatives of the judicial system and political party
representatives, and exchange visits for media outlets. We believe it
is vitally important for Armenia’s future that the upcoming
elections be free, fair and transparent, and be perceived as such not
only by the international community, but most importantly by the
Armenian people themselves.

In addition, on March 27 the United States Millennium Challenge
Corporation signed a $235 million Compact with Armenia. This
assistance program will focus on rural road rehabilitation and
improved irrigation, and will directly impact approximately 75% of the
rural population, increasing their annual income by an estimated $36
million in 2010 and over $113 million in 2015. In order to remain
eligible for this funding, Armenia must continue to demonstrate a
commitment to ruling justly, investing in people, and encouraging
economic freedom.

– How is economic cooperation between Armenia and the United States
developing?

– U.S.-Armenian economic cooperation is continuing to develop in the
right direction. In addition to the U.S. assistance programs
outlined above, more than seventy American firms are currently doing
business in Armenia, several of which have made sizeable
investments. In addition, a number of Armenian products have found
markets in America. As this cooperation continues to develop, we
hope to establish additional, stronger economic links between the
United States and Armenia.

– Your country is a Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group. Is it possible
to expect something new in the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict this year?

– In March of this year, U.S. Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group
Ambassador Steven Mann addressed this issue when he said, “[The]
United States believes that the way peace is best served is by
taking that first step towards an agreement in 2006. I
don’t believe we can solve the entire Nagorno-Karabakh
issue in 2006. I think realistically the process of the Karabakh
settlement is going to be something that takes place over many
years. But I think this is our year, and these are the months, to
take that first important step. And I am absolutely convinced that
in the months ahead the two sides have the chance to greatly lower
the dangers of a new war.”

– In 2005 at a meeting with Armenian-American Diaspora, you said that
the events of 1915 in the Ottoman Empire were “genocide.” Do you
still hold this point of view?

– I would refer you to President Bush’s April 24 statement, in which
he noted, “Today, we remember one of the horrible tragedies of the
20th century – the mass killings and forced exile of as
many as 1.5 million Armenians in the final days of the Ottoman
Empire in 1915.

This was a tragedy for all humanity and one that we and the world must
never forget. We mourn this terrible chapter of history and recognize
that it remains a source of pain for people in Armenia and for all
those who believe in freedom, tolerance, and the dignity and value of
every human life. It is a credit to the human spirit and generations
of Armenians who live in Armenia, America, and around the globe that
they have overcome this suffering and proudly preserved their
centuries-old culture, traditions, and religion.”

I would also point you to remarks made by Assistant Secretary of State
Daniel Fried, who said in March of this year, “The U.S. position on
events of 1915 has not changed. We believe that a productive dialogue
is the best way to establish a shared understanding of history that
honors the victims of these horrific events, murders on a mass scale,
killings without justification, deportations. Over 1.5 million people
lost their lives, innocent victims.

But we want to foster reconciliation and peace based on an
understanding of history, not a denial of it. We believe that the
tragedy of 1915, the killings, is of enormous human significance and
its historical assessment should be determined not on the basis of
politics, but introspection among civic leaders and scholars. This
process has begun in Turkey where it needs to take place.”