U.S. CONGRESSMEN PUSH FOR PARITY IN MILITARY ASSISTANCE BETWEEN ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
24.03.2010 13:50 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ) along with
27 members of Congress, sent the following letter Monday to the
chair and ranking member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee
on the Department of State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs,
Asbarez.com reported.

In preparing the Fiscal Year 2011 State-Foreign Operations and Related
Programs Appropriations bill, the lawmakers are requesting that the
subcommittee support Congress’s funding request for U.S. assistance
to Armenia and other related provisions. Additionally in the request,
Pallone continues to push for parity in military assistance between
Armenia and Azerbaijan, opening contacts between the U.S. and Nagorno
Karabakh, as well as increasing funding for Nagorno Karabakh for
humanitarian and developmental aid. Funding in the FY 2010 Omnibus
bill provided $41 million for Armenia and $8 million Nagorno Karabakh.

The letter reads:

"Dear Chairwoman Lowey and Ranking Member Granger:

As you prepare the Fiscal Year 2011 State-Foreign Operations and
Related Programs Appropriations bill, we write in strong support
of U.S. assistance to Armenia and other aid related provisions
that contribute to peace and stability in the Caucasus region. We
respectfully request that you consider the following requests listed
in priority order:

Economic Assistance to Armenia

The people of Armenia continue to face the devastating impact of Turkey
and Azerbaijan’s dual blockades, illegal actions that according to
World Bank estimates from several years ago cost Armenia roughly
$720 million annually. As Armenia continues to display commitment
to ending the blockade and Turkey continues to include preconditions
that threaten the integrity of current negotiations, the U.S. should
continue its important support of Armenia.

Until the recent world economic crisis, Armenia regularly registered
double-digit growth and has been consistently cited as among the
most free economies in the region by the Wall Street Journal and
the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom. Our assistance
programs have played a vital role in promoting this progress, as
well as in the development of Armenia’s democratic institutions,
an effort that has seen substantial advancement.

We respectfully request that you include language within the Assistance
for Europe, Eurasia and Central Asia Account ensuring that not less
than $70 million is appropriated for Armenia in Fiscal Year 2011.

Assistance to Nagorno Karabakh

The U.S. assistance program to Nagorno Karabakh, has played a critical
role in meeting needs among the population. Assistance should be
directed by Congress and the Administration, to continue work that
supports both humanitarian and development priorities. We respectfully
request language directing USAID to spend $10 million in Fiscal Year
2011 for humanitarian and development programs in Nagorno Karabakh.

Enhancing Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act

Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act continues to stand as a powerful
provision of U.S. law in principled opposition to Azerbaijan’s
blockade and other aggressive uses of force against Armenia and
Nagorno Karabakh.

As recently as November 21, 2009, President Aliyev said that
"Azerbaijan is spending billions on buying new weapons, hardware,
[and] strengthening its position at the line of contact." To make
the threat explicit he added, "We have the full right to liberate our
land by military means." The statement came just one day before a face
to face meeting between President Aliyev and President Sarkisian to
continue ongoing peace talks. The statement is one of many over the
years by President Aliyev designed to disrupt the ongoing OSCE peace
process and which threatens regional stability.

As you know, the Fiscal Year 2002 Foreign Operations Appropriations
Act created a broad waiver authority that opened the door to military
assistance to Azerbaijan. In light of Azerbaijan’s behavior, and as a
contribution to the cause of a lasting and equitable negotiated peace,
we urge you to narrow this presidential waiver as follows:

The President may waive section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act if he
determines and certifies to the Committees on Appropriations that to
do so-

(A) the assistance is necessary to support United States efforts
to counter international terrorism, or to support the operational
readiness of United States Armed Forces or coalition partners to
counter international terrorism;

(B) the assistance will not undermine or hamper ongoing efforts to
negotiate a peaceful settlement between Armenia and Azerbaijan or be
used for offensive purposes against Armenia or Nagorno Karabakh; and

(C) in the last fiscal year, Azerbaijan has not taken hostile action,
either through military force or incitement, including but not limited
to threatening pronouncements by government officials, toward Armenia
or Nagorno Karabakh and has demonstrated its commitment to a lasting
peace with Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh.

Assuming all conditions of this new waiver authority can be met,
and military assistance is provided to Azerbaijan, we urge you to
uphold the Committee’s long-standing tradition of maintaining parity
in funding between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Military Assistance to Armenia

The U.S.-Armenia military relationship continues to expand in scope and
depth, building upon Armenia’s cooperation in anti-terrorism efforts
and its deployment of forces to both Iraq and Kosovo. Armenia also
recently approved a military deployment to Afghanistan in support of
the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission. Armenia has
entered into a NATO Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) and has
worked closely with both NATO and the Defense Department on a range
of bilateral and multilateral agreements, joint training programs,
and military exercises. Following the Russian-Georgian conflict,
Armenia was the first country to host a NATO exercise in the South
Caucasus which included more than 1,000 servicemen from 18 nations.

Past U.S. military aid has played a vital role in modernizing
Armenia’s armed forces, strengthening the principle of civilian
control, promoting increased NATO interoperability, and supporting
the growth of Armenia’s peacekeeping capabilities.

With these priorities in mind, we respectfully request that you include
$4 million in FMF and $1 million in IMET funding for Armenia in Fiscal
Year 2011.

Removing restrictions on contacts and communication with Nagorno
Karabakh

The time has come for ending restrictions on travel, contacts, and the
free exchange of ideas between U.S. officials and the democratically
elected leaders of Nagorno Karabakh. These outdated restrictions stand
in the way of greater mutual understanding, hinder direct oversight of
U.S. assistance programs, limits cooperation on regional priorities,
such as public health and anti-narcotics efforts, undermine our
effectiveness in promoting democracy, and ultimately place artificial
limits on our diplomatic and civil society efforts to bring about a
fair and durable peace.

We respectfully request that that the following report language be
included in the bill.

"In the interest of promoting mutual understanding, regional
cooperation, and a fair and lasting peace, the Committee directs the
Department of State, to remove any official or unofficial restrictions
on U.S.-Nagorno Karabakh travel, visitations, discussions, meetings,
contacts, consultations, exchange programs, or other governmental or
civil society communication, cooperation, or interaction.

Furthermore, in order that the Nagorno Karabakh conflict come to
a peaceful resolution through the OSCE Minsk Process it is vitally
important that representatives from Nagorno Karabakh be included in
the negotiations. Although, Nagorno Karabakh was formerly officially
included they have not since had a part in the ongoing international
negotiations aimed at determining their future. We request that the
Committee include report language that recognizes the importance of
including representatives of Nagorno Karabakh in the ongoing Minsk
Process.

Confidence Building Measures

As in years past, the Subcommittee has also provided funding for
confidence-building measures to help facilitate a peaceful resolution
of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. In order to facilitate peace,
we recommend that these funds continue to be made available for
increased cooperation among Armenia, Azerbaijan and Karabakh. In
particular, we respectfully request language urging Azerbaijan to
support confidence-building measures that facilitate interaction
among the parties, in order to address regional security, resource
management, infrastructure, development and people to people programs.

Thank you for your leadership on the Appropriations Subcommittee on
State-Foreign Operations and Related Programs. We are grateful for
your role in strengthening the relationship between the U.S. and
Armenia and on all the issues we have raised. We appreciate your
consideration of these requests."