Armenian Assembly of America
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PRESS RELEASE
June 24, 2004
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
E-mail: [email protected]
HOUSE FOREIGN AID COMMITTEE REINSTATES U.S. POLICY ON SECURITY PARITY
Assembly Credits Congressman Knollenberg
Washington, DC – The Armenian Assembly praised members of a key foreign aid
subcommittee today for reinstating U.S. policy to maintain military aid
parity between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 Foreign
Operations bill. The bill, which lawmakers passed by voice vote last night,
foils the Administration’s attempt to provide Azerbaijan a $6 million
increase over Armenia by placing the neighboring countries on equal footing.
“We commend Chairman Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) and his Subcommittee for maintaining
equal security assistance between Armenia and Azerbaijan by explicit policy
and by allocating $5 million in military financing to Armenia and
Azerbaijan,” said Assembly Board of Trustees Chairman Hirair Hovnanian. “We
are especially appreciative of Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Joe Knollenberg
(R-MI), who serves on the committee, for taking the lead to reinstate U.S.
balance and impartiality in dealing with the Karabakh conflict.”
Representative Knollenberg said, “Parity in military assistance to Armenia
and Azerbaijan is absolutely critical to maintaining the careful balance
between the two countries. We cannot settle for anything less. I’m also
pleased we were able to increase military assistance to Armenia from $2
million to $5 million in order to help them modernize their equipment.”
Congress has recently rebuffed attempts by the Administration to tip the
scale in favor of Baku by upholding this long-standing parity policy. The
Administration attempted, during the August congressional recess last year,
to provide an additional $5 million in security assistance to Azerbaijan via
the 15 day congressional notification process. Fortunately, Congress
blocked this request until Armenia received equal treatment.
This April, Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Caucus
member John E. Sweeney (R-NY), along with over 40 of their congressional
colleagues, wrote to Chairman Kolbe urging that the subcommittee maintain
symmetry in levels of any military/security assistance for Armenia and
Azerbaijan. In addition, they requested “not less than” $75 million in
economic assistance for Armenia and an additional $5 million in humanitarian
assistance for Nagorno Karabakh in FY 2005. The Assembly strongly supported
this initiative by urging Members to sign on to this letter during its
advocacy portion of its National Conference and via a nationwide Action
Alert.
In a letter dated February 10th of this year and sent to the 131 members of
the Armenian Caucus and 35 Senators, the Assembly said that providing
asymmetrical military assistance to Azerbaijan will not only “have a
potentially destabilizing effect on the South Caucasus,” but also “damage
U.S. credibility as an impartial and leading mediator in the ongoing
sensitive peace negotiations for the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.”
The Subcommittee also approved “not less than” $65 million to Armenia, an
increase of $3 million over the Administration’s FY 2005 budget request. An
additional $5 million in humanitarian assistance for Nagorno Karabakh was
also allocated. The Administration did not propose any assistance for
Karabakh.
The bill will next be considered by the full House Appropriations Committee.
Once the full House and Senate complete action on their version of the bill,
a joint House-Senate Conference Committee will reconcile the differences.
The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based nationwide
organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian
issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.
NR#2004-061