ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date:

Contact: Danielle Saroyan

Telephone: (202) 393-3434

Web: www.aaainc.org

ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY CO-CHAIRMAN VAN KRIKORIAN TESTIFIES
BEFORE CONGRESS

Requests
$100 Million for Armenia in Democracy and Economic Assistance

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Testifying in person before the House Appropriations
Subcommittee on State Foreign Operations and Related Programs (Subcommittee),
on behalf of the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly), Board of Trustees
Co-Chairman Van Krikorian urged the Subcommittee to allocate $100 million in
democracy and economic assistance, and at least $10 million in Foreign Military
Financing (FMF) and International Military Education Training (IMET) to Armenia
for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020, with at least $25 million in assistance to Artsakh.

"Armenia
had a remarkable year. The Economist objectively named it the country of the
year because of the democratic changes – peaceful change in government,
extremely clean elections, rule of law, you name it – across the board. Time
Magazine named the current leader of Armenia 'Crusader for Democracy,'"
Krikorian said.

Given this
watershed moment in history, Krikorian explained "that's why we're asking
for something substantially more. We're asking for $100 million in economic and
democracy aid to Armenia; we're asking for $10 million in FMF and IMET; we're
asking for $20 million because Armenia has resettled [Christians at risk] from
Syria and the Middle East and given them a safe haven; and finally we are
asking for $25 million for the benefit of Nagorno Karabakh, just one of the
places where The Halo Trust works, but has also been a model of democracy in
the region," he stated.

The
Assembly's written testimony also discussed the need for aid given Turkey and
Azerbaijan's ongoing blockades of Armenia and Artsakh, the need to fully
enforce Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, as well as targeted assistance
for economic development and job-creation programs in the Samtskhe-Javakheti
region of Georgia. The Armenian Assembly's submitted testimony for FY 2020 is
available here.

In addition
to Krikorian, other witnesses who testified today included the American Bar
Association (ABA), the Asia Foundation, The HALO Trust, and the International
Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), among others. Krikorian picked up on a
question raised by Congresswoman Lois Frankel (D-FL) about democracy
backsliding, what the United States can do about corruption, and how it can
help.

"First
of all, reward people who have made progress towards democracy. And second of
all, when it comes to corruption, I think the United States has to look at
whether examples are made of corrupt individuals. They targeted high profile
people who were corrupt and they went after them. The United States still uses
that philosophy successfully. The fact that we write and laws when judges
themselves can be corrupt is completely counterproductive," Krikorian
said. "In our experience, going after people, even if it's years later, to
say that 'you cannot get away with this, there will be consequences, the Rule
of Law will apply' is the best approach. And I would expect that if countries
were analyzed based on that – which it doesn't always have to be punitive, it
can also be forms of a reconciliation type of process where people acknowledge
what they've taken and give it back – I think might be a good metric for this
Committee and the United States to start using," he added.

Krikorian
welcomed the recent announcement that the Department of Justice is going to more
actively enforce the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA). He pointed out that
the last organization scheduled to testify has been clearly identified as one
that benefits from corrupt funds from a foreign government – Azerbaijan – and
has not reported it under the foreign agent registration act, nor has it
reported under Congress' lobbying laws.

Krikorian's
panel included The HALO Trust, whose humanitarian work in the South Caucasus
has saved lives from being lost needlessly, and especially considering the
pressure Azerbaijan has put to stop that demining work in Artsakh. Krikorian
began his testimony paying respects to The HALO Trust and its Board Chair
Anastasia Staten who lost three of its members last year while conducting
demining activities. He stated that the Armenian Assembly fully supports their
request for U.S. aid so they can continue the critical work they do in the
region, adding that the Assembly has also raised funds privately to help in
landmine clearance efforts.  "I
think this Committee can do a world of good if it removes restrictions on U.S.
aid to them, removing mines based on artificial Soviet borders," Krikorian
said.

"We
applaud the Subcommittee for holding today's important hearing, and greatly
appreciate Chairwoman Nita Lowey's leadership and steadfast support for Armenia
and Artsakh," Krikorian stated.

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#
2019-010

Available here: https://armenian-assembly.org/2019/03/12/armenian-assembly-co-chairman-van-krikorian-testifies-before-congress/

Photo
Caption 1: Armenian Assembly Co-Chair Van
Krikorian Testifying Before Congress