Armenpress
AZERBAIJAN WORKS TO HAVE SECTION 907 REPEALED
BAKU, MAY 27, ARMENPRESS; Azerbaijani ambassador to the USA Hafiz
Pashayev told ANS news agency that Azeri diplomats in Washington are engaged
in intensive lobbying efforts to press for the repeal of so-called 907
Section.
Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act was passed by the U.S. Congress in
1992 at the height of the war in Karabakh to ban direct aid to the
Azerbaijan government. Azerbaijan considers this piece of U.S. legislature
grossly unfair saying it rewards Armenians as aggressors and treats Azeris ,
“the victims crushed by the economic burdens of territorial devastation with
the social burden of approximately 1 million refugees and displaced
citizens, as the only nation on earth to which the U.S. denies direct
humanitarian aid.” According to Pashayev, Azeri diplomats have succeeded in
winning the support of many top US government officials, but he said that
the decision is to be made, however, by Congress, where Armenian lobbying
organizations have scores of supporters. The Azeri diplomat also said that
the climate in Congress is changing and that they have embarked on a new
strategy. “If the situation in Azerbaijan improves a little that would
significantly facilitate our efforts to have the section 907 repealed,” he
said.
U.S. President George W. Bush suspended in 2002 January the Section in
acknowledgment of Baku’s support for the international antiterrorism
coalition. Pashayev also said that Azerbaijan may count for a $53 million US
aid in 2006. He said Azeri president Ilham Aliyev is expected to visit
Washington later this year.