REPRESENTATIVES FROM ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA ATTENDED A HEARING ENTITLED "ARMENIA AFTER ELECTION"
DeFacto Agency
April 28 2008
Armenia
YEREVAN, 28.04.08. DE FACTO. On Thursday, April 17, representatives
from the Armenian Assembly of America (The Assembly) attended a hearing
entitled, "Armenia after the Election," held by the Commission on
Security and Cooperation in Europe, on Capitol Hill.
To note, the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also
known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission, is a U.S. Government agency
that monitors progress in the implementation of the provisions of the
1975 Helsinki Accords. The Commission consists of nine members from
the United States Senate, nine from the House of Representatives, and
one member each from the Departments of State, Defense and Commerce.
Testifying on behalf of the Bush Administration, Matthew Bryza,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian
Affairs, told Members of Congress that "what happens in Armenia
matters to the United States." He added that Washington had a vested
interest in Armenia’s security, regional economic integration, and
the freedom of the Armenian people to exercise their internationally
recognized human rights to shape their own future. He also reiterated
Washington’s commitment to working with President Serge Sargsyan to
restore Armenia’s democratic momentum and create peace and stability
in the region.
The hearing also focused on the ongoing Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) negotiations on Nagorno Karabakh
and Armenia’s qualifications for assistance from the Millennium
Challenge Account.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Bryza, speaking in his capacity
as OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair, said the most important step toward
bolstering peace and prosperity in Armenia and Azerbaijan would
be a peaceful, just and lasting settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict. Speaking about economic assistance to Armenia, Bryza noted
that the five-year, $235 million compact between Armenia and the
Millennium Challenge Corporation was a testament that Armenia had
been moving in the right direction. "We have helped Armenia reduce
rural poverty and achieve double-digit rates of economic growth."
Chairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission Rep. Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL),
noted that a substantial effort had been made, and would continue to
be made, to assist the Armenian government in democracy-building and
full economic development.