PRESS RELEASE
"Hayastan" All-Armenian Fund
Governmental Building 3, Yerevan, RA
Contact: Anush Babayan
Tel: 3741 52 09 40
Fax: 3741 52 37 95
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
.27.06.06
Recently the Toronto Affiliate of `Hayastan’ All-Armenian Fund
organized a fundraising dinner in Canada. Apparently, the presence of
Conservative MP Jason Kenney at the event caused concern of the
Azerbaijani Embassy and the Azerbaijani community.
Canadian Press put an article on the newswire in this regard. It was
picked up by several Canadian newspapers. Unfortunately, the reporter,
Jennifer Ditchburn, used solely Azeri sources while covering the event.
Moreover, the reporter tried to put a frivolous spin on the fact that
Canadian Armenians extended a helping hand to their kin in
Nagorno-Karabakh raising $300 thousand USD for construction of schools
in the area. The reporter purposefully mentioned that the current
Executive Director of `Hayastan’ All-Armenian Fund used to hold the
position of the Foreign Minister of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. In
this regard we would like to stress that the Executive Director is not
appointed, but rather is voted into the office by the Board of Trustees
of `Hayastan’ All-Armenian Fund, members of which are influential,
well-respected and well-known representatives of the Armenian worldwide
Diaspora.
`Hayastan’ Fund brings to the attention of all interested parties
that during its 15-year history the organization has spend more than
$130 million on projects in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, the nature of
which is purely humanitarian. This philanthropic organization has always
been transparent in its operations. Since 1992 `Hayastan’ Fund has
been undergoing annual independent audits conducted by Grant Thornton.
Never have our auditors revealed any improper spending of funds. Through
its affiliate offices in 19 countries, `Hayastan’ Fund often
received co-financing from European (France, the Netherlands, Greece and
others) and U.S. governments for its projects. Never has the
organization had any problems with any government in this regard.
`Hayastan’ Fund considers unacceptable drawn parallels between the
Fund and a unrelated questionable political organization. We want to
remind that `Hayastan’ Fund is a organization that is well-respected
in the world and is proud of its mission benefiting people of Armenia
and Nagorno-Karabakh.
We consider this disrespectful and unsubstantiated attack a result and
embodiment of Azerbaijan’s shortsighted policy. We believe that this
attack questions the reputation of the organizers of this smear campaign
against `Hayastan’ Fund and only strengthens the resolve of
Armenians around the world to help Nagorno-Karabakh stand on its feet.
In this regard we would like to cite MP Jason Kenney from the mentioned
article: `…I can’t imagine anybody objecting to Canada supporting
clinics, schools, hospitals and the like’. I think these words make
any further commentary unnecessary. `Hayastan’ fund is strongly
convinced that the worldwide Armenian Diaspora will continue supporting
their ancestral homeland.
In her official letter to Mr. Russo, the Bureau Chief of `The Canadian
Press’, Mrs. Naira Melkoumian, the Executive Director of
`Hayastan’ All-Armenian Fund, mentions: `It was irrelevant to
refer to the status of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, as the international
status of Nagorno-Karabakh is subject to the outcome of the peace talks
that have been mediated by the Organization of Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, co-chaired by France, Russia and the
United States. Meanwhile, `Hayastan’ All-Armenian Fund does not
believe that mere fact that the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is not
officially recognized by the international community should stand in the
way of children’s education or people’s healthcare. The US Agency
for International Development (USAID), International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC), American Red Cross, Medecins Sans Frontier, Save the
Children, Halo Trust and other international humanitarian relief
organizations do not believe that either, since they have extensive
projects in Nagorno-Karabakh. For a number of years the US Congress has
been allocating nearly $5 million annually to the victims of the NK
conflict who reside in Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. We think, these facts
make any other commentary unnecessary.’
Public Relations Department of `Hayastan’ All-Armenian Fund