ARMENIAN
ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: September 7, 2017
Contact: Danielle
Saroyan
Telephone:
VALADAO SPEARHEADS BIPARTISAN AMENDMENT TO CONTINUE FUNDING FOR DE-MINING IN
ARTSAKH
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Representative
David Valadao (R-CA) spearheaded a bipartisan amendment along with Co-Chairs
Reps. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Jackie Speier (D-CA), House Foreign Affairs
Committee Chairman Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), and House Permanent Select Committee
on Intelligence and Armenian Caucus Vice-Chair Adam Schiff (D-CA) to ensure
continued funding for de-mining projects in Artsakh. This amendment was adopted
as part of consideration of H.R. 3354, which consolidated numerous Fiscal Year
2018 (FY 18) appropriations bills.
Speaking on
his amendment, Rep. Valadao stated: “It is a grave reality that families in
Nagorno Karabakh live under the very real threat of landmine accidents each and
every day.” He went on, “However, with the funding secured in my amendment, I
am optimistic significant strides will be made to ensure the region is landmine
free by 2020, restoring these communities so they may live without fear of
mine-related accidents.”
Rep. Speier added:
"I want to thank my colleagues in Congress for providing critically needed
funding for the ongoing effort to remove deadly landmines from Artsakh. Given
the danger posed to the people of this Republic – an area that suffers the
highest per capita incidence of landmine accidents in the world, with a third
of these casualties involving children – this modest $1.5 million amendment is
destined to have a major impact on the physical and mental health of the people
of Artsakh. It is also shows our government’s strong and abiding commitment to securing
peace and prosperity for Artsakh, which has achieved great progress and has an
even brighter future on its horizon."
The Armenian
Assembly of America (Assembly) welcomed the adoption of the bipartisan
amendment. Earlier this year, Assembly
Executive Director Bryan Ardouny outlined key priorities in the Assembly's
congressional testimony submitted to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on
State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, which called for robust
funding to Artsakh, including for de-mining purposes. The Assembly's testimony to Congress stated:
"For a relatively small investment, America has the opportunity to make a
significant difference in the everyday lives of the people of Artsakh."
The Assembly
has a long track record of advocating for Artsakh, including the historic and
first allocation of $12.5 million in humanitarian aid for the people of Nagorno
Karabakh (Artsakh) "forthwith" some twenty years ago in the FY 1998
appropriations measure. In the
Assembly's testimony before the House Appropriations Committee during that
time, the Assembly cited a report conducted in association with the Armenian
Red Cross highlighting serious humanitarian needs, including the fact that
"approximately 100,000 land mines have been laid in the interior of
Nagorno Karabagh, directly threatening the lives of the population as well as
an indirect threat to food production, development and the public's
health." The Assembly concurred with the report's findings "that
there must not be further delay in providing humanitarian aid to the people of
Nagorno Karabagh…"
During the
run-up to the FY 1999 appropriations bill, Assembly Board Member Annie Totah
reiterated the Assembly's strong support for funding to Artsakh in her
testimony to the House Appropriations Committee, and urged the Committee to
"broaden the scope of assistance to Nagorno Karabagh to include rebuilding
and reconstruction of infrastructure damaged in the war."
"I
commend Congressman Valadao for spearheading this effort along with his
colleagues, Representatives Schiff, Royce, Pallone, and Speier, for their
steadfast support in buttressing the safety and well-being of the citizens of
Artsakh," stated Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny. "Funding
for de-mining projects helps saves countless lives, and we very much appreciate
the dedicated work of The Halo Trust in helping the people of Artsakh," he
continued.
The HALO
Trust has been clearing landmines and cluster munitions in Artsakh since 2000.
HALO has cleared 88 percent of the territory's minefields, with the goal to
clear all landmines in Artsakh by 2020. According to The Halo Trust, Artsakh
has "the highest per capita incidence of landmine accidents in the world
— a third of the victims are children."
The Armenian
Assembly of America 2017 Summer Internship Program in Armenia interns met with
The HALO Trust this summer to learn more about the deadly realities facing the
people of Artsakh every day, and the life-saving work that HALO continues to
carry out in Artsakh to ensure a safe environment. So far, between 2000-2016,
The HALO Trust in Artsakh has destroyed 180,858 small arms ammunition; 48,572
units of "other explosive items;" 12,423 cluster bombs; 8,733
anti-personnel landmines; and 2,584 anti-tank landmines.
The Assembly
has also supported de-mining in Armenia through the Marshall Legacy Institute
(MLI) and their Mine Detection Dog Partnership Program (MDDPP). The program
trains and delivers Mine Detection Dogs (MDDs) to landmine removal
organizations within a mine-affected country. In 2002, the Assembly sponsored
six MDDs for Armenia. The accomplishments of the Assembly-sponsored MDDs
include clearing landmine areas in Armenia that are today used for farming,
grazing, and other agricultural initiatives, as well as for transportation and
infrastructure projects.
Established
in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based
nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of
Armenian issues. The Assembly is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt
membership organization.
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NR# 2017-062
Photo
Caption 1: Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Rep. David Valadao (R-CA), House Permanent
Select Committee on Intelligence and Armenian Caucus Vice-Chair Adam Schiff
(D-CA), House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), Armenian
Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), and Armenian Caucus Co-Chair
Jackie Speier (D-CA)
Photo
Caption 2: Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Representative David Valadao (R-CA) with
Armenian Assembly Western Region Director Mihran Toumajan and local Armenian
American activists in a meeting last month in the Congressman's District office
in Hanford, California
Photo
Caption 3: Assembly Board Member Annie Totah at a HALO Trust facility in
Artsakh in 2002
Photo
Caption 4: Armenian Assembly Summer Intern Kyra Chamberlain stands next to a
Smerch rocket, one of the many weapons The HALO Trust has disarmed and found
while de-mining in Artsakh
Available
online at: bit.ly/2wMXMN0
JPEG image
Smerch Rocket.jpg
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Valadao Group.jpg
JPEG image
Totah HALO Trust.jpg
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