Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: (202) 775-1918
Fax: (202) 775-5648
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet:
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 13, 2007
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
ANCA OUTLINES ARMENIAN AMERICAN FOREIGN AID PRIORITIES
— Urges Key House and Senate Foreign Aid Panels to Support
$75 Million for Armenia; $10 Million to Karabagh; and
Continued Armenia-Azerbaijan Military Aid Parity
WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA),
today, called on key Congressional foreign aid appropriators to
maintain current levels of U.S. assistance to Armenia, expand the
Nagorno Karabagh humanitarian and developmental aid package, and
keep in place the agreement to ensure parity in U.S. military
assistance to Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The ANCA’s roll-out of the Armenian American community’s foreign
aid priorities comes in the wake of the Administration’s recent
release of its fiscal year (FY) 2008 proposed budget request. The
President’s request would reduce U.S. assistance to Armenia from
$75 million to $35 million, breaks military assistance parity
between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and makes no specific mention of
U.S. assistance levels for Nagorno Karabagh.
In February 13th letters to each of the members of the House and
Senate State-Foreign Operations Subcommittee members, ANCA
Executive Director Aram Hamparian highlighted Armenia’s growing
relationship with the United States: "We are, of course, very
proud that Armenia has been a good friend to America, providing
strong and consistent support to the global war on terror, taking
part in the NATO Partnership for Peace, and contributing forces to
Operation Iraqi Freedom, as well as for peacekeeping operations in
Kosovo."
The ANCA argued for maintaining U.S. economic assistance to Armenia
at least at the current level of $75 million, noting that "in great
measure as a result of reforms supported by U.S. economic
development programs, Armenia’s economy has grown by more than 10%
in each of the past six years, more than doubling the size of
Armenia’s Gross National Product. Sadly, however, the people of
Armenia are still faced with the devastating impact of Turkey and
Azerbaijan’s illegal dual blockades – estimated by the World Bank
as costing Armenia at least $720 million on an annual basis."
In urging a shift in U.S. aid to Nagorno Karabagh from humanitarian
to developmental programs, Hamparian stressed that this expansion
"would reflect our success in leveraging local efforts to
dramatically reduce Nagorno Karabagh’s once-daunting humanitarian
challenges. The time has come to support Nagorno Karabagh’s young
democracy and its efforts to expand its free market economy by
funding programs aimed at supporting democratic governance,
encouraging sustainable economic development, and creating
conditions conducive to greater stability and lasting peace in this
strategically important region."
Citing the agreement struck between the Congress and the
Administration in 2001 to maintain U.S. military aid parity to
Armenia and Azerbaijan, Hamparian argued that any retreat from this
principle would "destabilize the region and embolden the
Azerbaijani leadership to act on their threats to impose a military
solution to the Nagorno Karabagh conflict." He added that, "more
broadly, the ANCA has underscored that breaching the parity
agreement would reward the leadership of Azerbaijan for obstructing
the peace process, while at the same time undermining the role of
the U.S. as an impartial mediator of the Nagorno Karabagh
conflict."
Finally, Hamparian urged support for a $200,000 allocation for the
California-Armenia Trade Office, dedicated to strengthening
American company trade with Armenia and surrounding countries. He
noted that, "this modest commitment of resources will expand U.S.
access to foreign markets and trade and help keep these countries
economically viable and independent. California, which boasts the
largest Armenian population outside of Armenia, almost 1,000,000
strong, is the natural partner here in the United States to serve
as the foundation for this important relationship."
The complete text of the ANCA letter to the House and Senate
Appropriations Subcommittees on State-Foreign Operations is
provided below.
#####
Text of ANCA letter to the House and Senate Appropriations
Subcommittees on State-Foreign Operations
February 13, 2007
The Honorable Nita Lowey
Chairwoman
State-Foreign Operations Subcommittee
Committee on Appropriations
U.S. House of Representative
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chairwoman Lowey:
I am writing to you, after having reviewed the President’s recently
released Fiscal Year 2008 budget request, to share the Armenian
American community’s views on several provisions that will likely
be addressed as part of your panel’s consideration of the FY 2008
State-Foreign Operations bill.
Before touching on these specific points, I would like to express
once again our community’s profound appreciation for the role that
you and this Subcommittee have played in strengthening the special
relationship between the United States and Armenia, and reinforcing
the enduring bonds that have long existed between the American and
Armenian peoples. Armenian Americans deeply appreciate America’s
helping hand, both as a reflection and a practical expression of
the commitment of the United States to Armenia’s independence,
security, and prosperity.
We are, of course, very proud that Armenia has been a good friend
to America, providing strong and consistent support to the global
war on terror, taking part in the NATO Partnership for Peace, and
contributing forces to Operation Iraqi Freedom, as well as for
peacekeeping operations in Kosovo.
Our specific concerns are outlined below:
1) Parity in military aid to Armenia and Azerbaijan:
We call for the appropriation of equal levels of military
assistance to Armenia and Azerbaijan, in accord with the agreement
struck between the White House and the Congress during
deliberations, in late 2001, over the conditional waiver of Section
907 of the FREEDOM Support Act.
This agreement was struck between the White House and Congress in
2001, during deliberations over granting the President the
authority to waive the Section 907 restrictions on aid to
Azerbaijan. The Armenian American community has vigorously
defended this principle, stressing that a tilt in military spending
toward Azerbaijan would destabilize the region and embolden the
Azerbaijani leadership to act on 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 obstructing the peace process,
while at the same time undermining the role of the U.S. as an
impartial mediator of the Nagorno Karabagh conflict.
In a clear breach of this agreement, the Administration, in its FY
2008 budget proposal, has called for breaking parity, in
Azerbaijan’s favor, in both Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and
International Military Education and Training (IMET). We ask the
panel to reject this ill-advised proposal by restoring military aid
parity.
In addition, we encourage the panel to carefully monitor all
military aid provided to Armenia and Azerbaijan, including the
Caspian Guard Program, Nonproliferation, Antiterrorism, De-mining
and Related Assistance, and other military-related programs, to
ensure that both the principle and practice of military aid parity
is maintained in all spheres. Each dollar in U.S. military
assistance – either specifically appropriated or provided at the
discretion of the Administration – should be matched with a dollar
of military aid to Armenia.
2) Economic Assistance to Armenia:
We urge you to include language requiring no less than $75 million
in direct U.S. economic assistance to Armenia in FY 2008.
Since Armenia’s independence in 1991, U.S. assistance has played a
vital role in meeting humanitarian needs, fostering democratic
reforms, and building self-sustaining economic growth.
Today, with the help of the United States, Armenia is a member of
the World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, and
World Bank, has signed bilateral agreements with the United States
on trade relations, investments, and the protection of investments,
holds regular Economic Task Force meetings on U.S.-Armenia economic
cooperation, and – in 2005 – was granted Permanent Normal Trade
Relations status.
The Wall Street Journal-Heritage Foundation 2007 Index of Economic
Freedom ranked Armenia as the 32nd freest economy in the world,
based on a study that covered 10 broad factors of economic freedom,
including property rights protection, regulatory environment, tax
rates, fiscal policy, government intervention in the economy,
monetary policy, black markets, and trade policy.
In great measure as a result of reforms supported by U.S. economic
development programs, Armenia’s economy has grown by more than 10%
in each of the past six years, more than doubling the size of
Armenia’s Gross National Product. Sadly, however, the people of
Armenia are still faced with the devastating impact of Turkey and
Azerbaijan’s illegal dual blockades – estimated by the World Bank
as costing Armenia at least $720 million on an annual basis.
The Armenian American community is, of course, tremendously
encouraged by Armenia’s participation in the Millennium Challenge
Account, the new and innovative merit-based foreign aid program.
We wish to be clear, however, that this program does not serve as a
substitute for assistance provided by the Congress under the
FREEDOM Support Act. In fact, the Administration made clear to
Congress when the MCA program was initiated that it would very
explicitly not be a substitute for normal foreign aid but would
rather serve to augment it. In this case, the MCA is specifically
designed to help alleviate poverty through the strengthening of
Armenia’s rural infrastructure, primarily in the areas of roads and
irrigation. The FSA, by contrast, provides concrete and vitally
needed assistance for key reforms in democratic governance, health
care, social protection, and education.
3) U.S. Assistance to Nagorno Karabagh:
We encourage the panel to allocate no less than $10 million in its
FY 2008 bill for programs in Nagorno Karabagh, and to gradually
retarget this aid package from humanitarian to development
assistance.
For the past decade, the U.S. Congress has played a unique and
vital role in providing direct aid to meet pressing humanitarian
needs in Nagorno Karabagh, helping its people to rebuild their
lives after years of devastating Azerbaijani aggression. The
expansion of our efforts to include development aid would reflect
our success in leveraging local efforts to dramatically reduce
Nagorno Karabagh’s once-daunting humanitarian challenges. The time
has come to support Nagorno Karabagh’s young democracy and its
efforts to expand its free market economy by funding programs aimed
at supporting democratic governance, encouraging sustainable
economic development, and creating conditions conducive to greater
stability and lasting peace in this strategically important region.
For this crucial transition to begin, Congress needs to clearly
specify in its FY 2008 State-Foreign Operations bill that U.S.
assistance for programs in Nagorno Karabagh must include
development programs.
4) Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act:
We ask the panel to keep Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act in
place and to ensure strict compliance by the Administration of the
conditional authority it has been granted by Congress to waive this
law.
5) California-Armenia Trade Office:
We urge the panel to appropriate $200,000 to allow the California-
Armenia Trade Office to expand its operations to assist business
communities in California as well as other U.S. states.
Currently, this office, the only official American trade
representation in the Republic of Armenia, is operated by the
Foundation for Economic Development, a California not-for-profit
corporation that has been contracted by the State of California to
handle its operations. CATO began operations in October of 2005
under the auspices of the California Business, Transportation and
Housing Agency, but is funded entirely through privately raised
donations. Though located in Armenia, it serves a much larger
region, covering the Newly Independent States and the countries of
Eastern Europe and Western Asia. The mission of the Trade Office
is to assist California companies increase their exports to Armenia
and the surrounding region, as well as to help companies from the
region to build commercial and investment relationships with
businesses in California.
This modest commitment of resources will expand U.S. access to
foreign markets and trade and help keep these countries
economically viable and independent. California, which boasts the
largest Armenian population outside of Armenia, almost 1,000,000
strong, is the natural partner here in the United States to serve
as the foundation for this important relationship.
In closing, please know that the ANCA respects and values your
friendship and the Subcommittee’s long-standing leadership on
issues of concern to the Armenian American community. Your
attention to the important matters outlined in this correspondence
is greatly appreciated.
We would, of course, welcome the opportunity to meet with you to
discuss these matters in greater detail.
Sincerely,
[signed]
Aram S. Hamparian
Executive Director