Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel. (202) 775-1918
Fax. (202) 775-5648
Email.anca@anca.org
Internet
PRESS RELEASE
June 15, 2009
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
AZERBAIJANI EMBASSY DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN
TARGETS ARMENIAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE OF AMERICA
WASHINGTON, DC – The Azerbaijani government responded today to the
Armenian National Committee of America’s (ANCA) reports of an
emerging United States foreign aid policy double standard toward
the countries of the Caucasus countries by circulating a press
release bitterly attacking the ANCA and spreading misinformation
about aid levels to the region.
According to a news release placed on the PRNewswire earlier today,
the Azerbaijani Embassy set its sights on the ANCA’s recent
criticism of the Obama Administration’s proposed reduction in U.S.
assistance to Armenia in the face of proposed increases for
Azerbaijan and Georgia, accusing the Armenian American grassroots
group of misrepresenting aid figures to the states of the Caucasus.
"Either Azerbaijani Ambassador Yashar Aliyev is out spreading
falsehoods around Capitol Hill or he really needs to brush up on
his fourth grade math skills," said ANCA Executive Director Aram
Hamparian. "These publicly available figures are really rather
simple and should be easy enough for even a schoolchild to easily
grasp: a proposed 38% reduction in U.S. assistance to Armenia in
the face of a 20% increase to Azerbaijan, despite that country’s
ongoing blockades of Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh and President
Aliyev’s continued threats of renewed war."
The Azerbaijani Ambassador’s response was to an ANCA Memo to
Capitol Hill, titled "Double Standards: U.S. Aid Policy in the
Caucasus," released on June 11th, the day after the Millennium
Challenge Corporation effectively suspended a full third of its
$235 million grant to Armenia due to concerns over democratic
governance. The ANCA memo compared the harsh U.S. response to
Yerevan’s actions, both rhetorically and in terms of aid levels, to
the increased financial support that both Azerbaijan and Georgia
are set to receive despite their serious shortcomings in the areas
of democracy, corruption, and governance.
To read the complete ANCA memo that prompted the Azerbaijani
Embassy’s attack, visit:
61109.pdf
The Obama Administration proposed assistance figures to the
Caucasus were released by the U.S. Department of State in a
document titled: Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Request: Summary and
Highlights, International Affairs Function 150. A table, drawn
from this report, highlighting the FY09 aid figures and the Obama
Administration proposal for FY10 is provided below.
========================================== ======================
Country FY 2009 Total FY 2010 Request % Difference
======================================= =========================
Armenia $48 million $30 million – 38%
Azerbaijan $18.5 million $22.12 million + 20%
Georgia $52 million* $62.050 million + 19%
* Georgia’s FY2009 figure does not include the $242.5 million
pending Supplemental allocation.
To read the complete "Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Request: Summary and
Highlights, International Affairs Function 150" visit:
/122513.pdf
The text of the Azerbaijani Embassy’s press release (with
disinformation warning)
is located at: EmbassyPR.pdf