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02/09/2005
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WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) White House Proposes Maintaining Armenia-Azerbaijan Military Assistance Parity 2) Patriarchate Chancellor Remarks on Melkonian Grant 3) Sargsian's Iran Visit Continues; Meets with Khatami 4) Deputy Russian Parliament Chairman Proposes New Approach to Calm Tensions over Karabagh 5) Hungarian Court Postpones Safarov Trial 1) White House Proposes Maintaining Armenia-Azerbaijan Military Assistance Parity ANCA welcomes recognition of the role that military aid parity plays in regional stability WASHINGTON, DC--In a move welcomed as a contribution to regional stability and the search for peace, the Bush Administration's Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 budget proposal, released February 7, called for maintaining parity in military assistance to Armenia and Azerbaijan, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). This decision represents a break from the last year's widely criticized FY 2005 budget request, which, although later reversed by Congress, initially proposed providing four times more military aid to Azerbaijan than to Armenia. "We are gratified that the President's Fiscal Year 2006 budget calls for parity in military aid appropriations to Armenia and Azerbaijan," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. "We welcome this request as a contribution toward regional peace, and want to extend our appreciation to Congressman Knollenberg, Senator McConnell and the other key legislators who impressed upon the Administration the wisdom of this course of action." The budget request includes $5 million in Foreign Military Finance (FMF) assistance and $750,000 in International Military Education and Training (IMET) for both Armenia and Azerbaijan. The FY 2006 White House proposal also includes a $55 million earmark for Armenia, $7 million less than the figure proposed by the Administration last year, and $20 million less than the actual assistance appropriated by Congress for 2005. Azerbaijan and Georgia have been budgeted $35 million and $67 million, respectively. The overall foreign aid budget for the former Soviet Union is $482 million, a $74 million reduction from last year. For the first time, the budget document also makes specific reference to 'Nagorno Karabagh,' citing that a portion of a $48.5 million allocation for Eurasia would include funding for humanitarian assistance to Mountainous Karabagh Republic. "We were pleased that the Administration's request, for the first time, specifically cited humanitarian aid to Nagorno Karabagh," continued Hamparian. "We were, however, troubled by the White House's proposed reduction in aid to Armenia. We will, in the coming weeks and months, work with Congressional appropriators in support of an increased allocation for Armenia." The Foreign Operations Subcommittees of the Senate and House Appropriation Committees will now review the budget and each draft their own versions of the FY 2006 foreign assistance bill. The agreement to maintain parity in US military aid to Armenia and Azerbaijan was struck between the White House and Congress in 2001, in the wake of Congressional action granting the President the authority to waive the Section 907 restrictions on aid to Azerbaijan. The ANCA has vigorously defended this principle, stressing in correspondence, at senior level meetings, and through grassroots activism, that a tilt in military spending toward Azerbaijan would destabilize the region, emboldening Azerbaijan's leadership to continue their threats to impose a military solution to the Nagorno Karabagh conflict. More broadly, the ANCA has underscored that breaching the parity agreement would reward the leadership of Azerbaijan for walking away from the OSCE's Key West peace talks, the most promising opportunity to resolve the Nagorno Karabagh conflict in nearly a decade. Finally, failing to respect the parity agreement would, the ANCA has stressed, undermine the role of the US as an impartial mediator of the Nagorno Karabagh conflict. 2) Patriarchate Chancellor Remarks on Melkonian Grant Concerning the press release of the AGBU Central Board of Directors, on the lawsuit filed by His Beatitude Mesrob II, Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul and all Turkey, the Rev. Dr. Krikor Damadyan, the Chancellor of the Patriarchal See [of Turkey], released the following statement: "It is difficult to comprehend how the closure of a prestigious school in the Middle East, and one of the very few Armenian educational institutions in the European Union could be in the best interests of the Armenian nation. We believe that this decision, taken by a few executives, is a wrong one. "The AGBU Central Board of Directors claims that it will continue to honour the vision of its many generous benefactors including the late Garabed Melkonian, for the benefit of all Armenians worldwide. This is a remarkable statement since the AGBU is confessing publicly that the Armenians in Turkey are not considered part of "all Armenians worldwide," since, unlike the Gulbenkian Foundation and the Apcarian Trust, the AGBU has not taken much interest in how Armenians in Turkey have wrestled to maintain their community organisations during the last seventy-five years. However, we do acknowledge receipt of minor sums sent us by donors through AGBU means. "The only way to honour the vision of the Melkonian Brothers is to keep the Melkonian Educational Institute in Cyprus open. The AGBU should refrain from closing down the MEI and selling the property, lest she should declare herself untrustworthy before all Armenians worldwide. Why should people make grants to a charity organisation such as the AGBU, if following their demise a few executives will deal with the grant in a way that will not do justice to the benefactor's memory? "The AGBU should also publish how she has executed the Melkonian Trust since 1926. As the present successor to Patriarch Zaven of blessed memory, His Beatitude Patriarch Mesrob takes dutiful interest as to whether the terms of the grant have been implemented responsibly. Every charity organisation should be accountable to the public and should not take offense when asked for accounts. AGBU executives who donate their own family wealth on charity are appreciated dearly by all Armenians worldwide. Nevertheless, that should not allow them any right to do as they please with the grants made by other benefactors. "His Beatitude Patriarch Mesrob has magnanimously made it known to those Californian Armenians who would like to act as mediators that he would be willing to receive a delegation in Istanbul in order to discuss a meaningful settlement of this critically important issue to the Armenians of Europe. Great justice will be done if the AGBU reverses her decision to close down the Melkonian Educational Institute. This is our Patriarchate's wish and prayer, as also expressed by numerous Melkonian alumni worldwide." 3) Sargsian's Iran Visit Continues; Meets with Khatami TEHRAN (Combined Sources)According to Iran Daily, President Mohammad Khatami during a meeting with Defense Minister Serge Sargsian stated that cooperation between Iran and Armenia will help advance mutual interests and promote regional security and stability. Khatami told the visiting Armenian minister that the presidents of the two countries have opened a new chapter in Yerevan-Baku economic cooperation and should now exert efforts in implementing mutually beneficial accords. To further such cooperation, the Iranian president spoke about the need for road and railways that establish a north-south connection. Echoing Khatami's remarks, Sargsian noted that the promotion of cultural, educational, and economic cooperation will bolster regional security. Sargsian reiterated this sentiment during a Tuesday meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Hojatoleslam Hassan Rowhani, who raised the Karabagh issue. Rowhani said that the conflict's resolution will stem from direct dialogue between Yerevan and Baku, and assured Sargsian that Iran is ready to offer its assistance in resolving the issues. Ruling out a military solution, the Iranian minister also noted that the people of Karabagh must be involved in deciding the fate of region. Responding to Rowhani, Sargsian said that Armenia is ready to settle the Karabagh crisis within the framework of a collective settlement, which addresses all of the disputed issues. Sargsian also thanked the Iranian government for supporting Armenia's membership in the North-South transit corridor. The same day, Sargsian also met with Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who stated, "The Islamic Republic of Iran is willing to broaden ties with neighboring countries," and that it is interested to mediating a peaceful solution to the Karabagh conflict. 4) Deputy Russian Parliament Chairman Proposes New Approach to Calm Tensions over Karabagh MOSCOW (Armenpress)--Russian parliament member Vladimir Zhirinovsky proposed, on Tuesday, a new scheme for ending the more than a decade-long dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Mountainous Karabagh. Considered the most outspoken political leader of his time, Zhirinovsky argued that Karabagh should join the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), in order to calm tensions on both sides. Zhirinovsky, the head of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia and a deputy chairman of parliament, pointed to the futility of resolving both the Karabagh conflict and the Arab-Israeli conflict. Speaking to a news conference in Moscow, he stressed that neither Armenia nor Azerbaijan would ever agree to concessions on Karabagh. "If Russia insists on joining Karabagh with Armenia, that will offend Azerbaijan; if Karabagh is joined with Azerbaijan that will hurt Armenia," he said, adding that Mountainous Karabagh is, in fact, a historical part of Armenia. 5) Hungarian Court Postpones Safarov Trial BUDAPEST (Armenpress)--A Hungarian court has postponed the trail of an Azeri officer accused of murdering his Armenian counterpart, until May 10. Attorney Nazeli Vardanian, who is representing the interests of the slain officer's family, revealed that the court has postponed the trial because two witnesses--one from Azerbaijan, the other from Lithuania--did not show up in court for the scheduled February 8 trial. She also said that psychiatrists and other experts have found the defendant Ramil Safarov, physically and mentally fit to stand trail. Safarov is accused of slaying of Gurgen Margarian, on February 19, 2004, while both officers were attending a NATO-sponsored English language training courses in Hungary. The Azeri officer is charged with first-degree and attempted murder--and could face 10 years to life imprisonment, if found guilty. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2005 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. 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