Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel. (202) 775-1918
Fax. (202) 775-5648
Email. [email protected]
Internet
PRESS RELEASE
March 25, 2010
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
TWENTY-SEVEN REPRESENTATIVES JOIN WITH PALLONE IN CALLING FOR U.S.-
NAGORNO KARABAGH DIALOGUE; INCREASED ASSISTANCE TO ARMENIA AND
ARTSAKH
— Bipartisan Group of Legislators Co-sign Letter to House Foreign
Aid Subcommittee
WASHINGTON, DC – With Congressional appropriators in the early
stages of crafting the Fiscal Year 2011 (FY11) foreign aid bill,
Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ) was
joined by 27 of his U.S. House colleagues in urging the inclusion
of a series of provisions aimed at strengthening U.S. ties to
Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh and bolstering the prospects for a
lasting regional peace, reported the Armenian National Committee of
America (ANCA).
"We want to thank Representative Pallone for his leadership and to
express our appreciation to each of his colleagues who joined in
this effort, including, of course, Armenian Caucus Co-Chairman Mark
Kirk, for helping to ensure that the foreign aid bill properly
reflects America’s support for Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh," said
ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. "We look forward to working
toward the adoption of the vital foreign aid priorities outlined in
this letter."
In a March 22nd letter to Foreign Operations Subcommittee
Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-NY), a longstanding supporter of the U.S.-
Armenia relationship, and Ranking Republican Kay Granger (R-TX),
lawmakers cited six key foreign aid priorities, including:
— Increasing U.S. assistance to Armenia to $70 million in Fiscal
Year 2011.
— Directing USAID to spend $10 million in Fiscal Year 2011 for
humanitarian and development programs in Nagorno Karabakh.
— Enhancing Section 907 restrictions on U.S. assistance to
Azerbaijan by narrowing presidential waiver authority of the
measure.
— Upholding the Committee’s long-standing tradition of maintaining
parity in military funding between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which
includes $4 million in FMF and $1 million in IMET funding for
Armenia in Fiscal Year 2011.
— Ending restrictions on travel, contacts, and the free exchange
of ideas between U.S. officials and the democratically elected
leaders of Nagorno Karabakh.
— Requesting 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.
Joining Rep. Pallone in cosigning the letter were Joe Baca (D-CA),
Bruce Braley (D-IA), John Conyers (D-MI), Jim Costa (D-CA), Anna
Eshoo (D-CA), Chaka Fattah (D-PA), Barney Frank (D-MA), Elton
Gallegly (R-CA), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Rush Holt (D-NJ), Mark Kirk
(R-IL), James Langevin (D-FL), Frank Lobiondo (R-NJ), Stephen Lynch
(D-MA), Carolyn Maloney (D-FL), Ed Markey (D-MA), James McGovern
(D-MA), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), George
Radanovich (R-CA), Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), John Sarbanes (D-MD),
Brad Sherman (D-CA), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Tim Walz (D-MN), Henry
Waxman (D-CA), and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA).
The full text of the letter is provided below.
#####
March 22, 2010
The Honorable Nita Lowey
Chairwoman
Appropriations Subcommittee on
State-Foreign Operations
Room HB-26, The Capitol Building
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Kay Granger
Ranking Member
Appropriations Subcommittee on
State-Foreign Operations
1016 Longworth House Office
Washington, DC 20515
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.
Sincerely,