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Armenian Assembly Executive Director testifies before Congress
ArmRadio.am
02.04.2007 12:28
Testifying before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State,
Foreign Operations Appropriations and Related Programs, which decides
assistance levels to Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, Assembly Executive
Director Bryan Ardouny urged the Subcommittee to continue funding for
Armenia at `not less than' $75 million and to allocate $10 million for
Nagorno Karabakh.
`It is essential that significant assistance to Armenia be maintained
in the face of the fourteen-year blockades by its neighbors, Turkey
and Azerbaijan,' said Ardouny, and also noted the `compelling
humanitarian and development needs' in Karabakh. `We also urge the
Subcommittee to institute new report language requiring a full
accounting of the steps the U.S. has taken and the responses therein
to eliminate these blockades,' he continued.
With respect to regional cooperation, Ardouny stressed that `ongoing
attempts to isolate Armenia, such as the Azeri-proposed rail bypass of
Armenia, run counter to U.S. policy goals,' and urged the
Subcommittee to build upon legislation (H.R. 3361) introduced last
Congress by Subcommittee Member and Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Joe
Knollenberg (R-MI) to combat such attempts and look for opportunities
to promote regional cooperation. `For example, funding should be made
available to provide for minor repairs needed to open the existing
Kars-Gyumri rail link between Turkey and Armenia.'
Ardouny also expressed the Armenian Assembly's extreme concern with
the ` inclusion of counterproductive language' in State Department
reports and noted that language `labeling Armenia as an occupier is
not only patently false, but also directly contradicts the U.S. role
as a mediator and undermines' U.S. credibility. Ardouny's testimony
urged that it be `corrected post haste.'
While noting that the Armenian Assembly supports the purpose of the
Millennium Challenge Act (MCA) to improve democracy and good
governance in Armenia, Ardouny shared the concerns raised by many
Members of the Subcommittee, including Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-NY),
that MCA funds `should not be used as a substitute' for other funding
priorities. Specifically, it should not be used as a justification to
cut the Freedom Support Act (FSA), which provides critically important
assistance programs to Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh.
Ardouny drew attention to Azerbaijan's ongoing war rhetoric, `despite
U.S. demands to cease such provocative actions,' and called on the
Subcommittee to carefully monitor U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan `to
ensure that the principle of military and security parity' envisioned
with the conditional waiver of Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act
`is maintained throughout all funding areas.' Further, should Baku
continue its anti-Armenian rhetoric, Ardouny urged the Subcommittee
`to suspend the waiver authority it granted and reinstate Section 907'
of the Freedom Support Act.
Ardouny also underscored the importance of Armenia's energy security
and ` urged the Subcommittee to utilize the tools at its disposal to
pave the way for Armenia's full inclusion in, and contribution to,
existing and future energy and development projects.'
ArmRadio.am
02.04.2007 12:28
Testifying before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State,
Foreign Operations Appropriations and Related Programs, which decides
assistance levels to Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, Assembly Executive
Director Bryan Ardouny urged the Subcommittee to continue funding for
Armenia at `not less than' $75 million and to allocate $10 million for
Nagorno Karabakh.
`It is essential that significant assistance to Armenia be maintained
in the face of the fourteen-year blockades by its neighbors, Turkey
and Azerbaijan,' said Ardouny, and also noted the `compelling
humanitarian and development needs' in Karabakh. `We also urge the
Subcommittee to institute new report language requiring a full
accounting of the steps the U.S. has taken and the responses therein
to eliminate these blockades,' he continued.
With respect to regional cooperation, Ardouny stressed that `ongoing
attempts to isolate Armenia, such as the Azeri-proposed rail bypass of
Armenia, run counter to U.S. policy goals,' and urged the
Subcommittee to build upon legislation (H.R. 3361) introduced last
Congress by Subcommittee Member and Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Joe
Knollenberg (R-MI) to combat such attempts and look for opportunities
to promote regional cooperation. `For example, funding should be made
available to provide for minor repairs needed to open the existing
Kars-Gyumri rail link between Turkey and Armenia.'
Ardouny also expressed the Armenian Assembly's extreme concern with
the ` inclusion of counterproductive language' in State Department
reports and noted that language `labeling Armenia as an occupier is
not only patently false, but also directly contradicts the U.S. role
as a mediator and undermines' U.S. credibility. Ardouny's testimony
urged that it be `corrected post haste.'
While noting that the Armenian Assembly supports the purpose of the
Millennium Challenge Act (MCA) to improve democracy and good
governance in Armenia, Ardouny shared the concerns raised by many
Members of the Subcommittee, including Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-NY),
that MCA funds `should not be used as a substitute' for other funding
priorities. Specifically, it should not be used as a justification to
cut the Freedom Support Act (FSA), which provides critically important
assistance programs to Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh.
Ardouny drew attention to Azerbaijan's ongoing war rhetoric, `despite
U.S. demands to cease such provocative actions,' and called on the
Subcommittee to carefully monitor U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan `to
ensure that the principle of military and security parity' envisioned
with the conditional waiver of Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act
`is maintained throughout all funding areas.' Further, should Baku
continue its anti-Armenian rhetoric, Ardouny urged the Subcommittee
`to suspend the waiver authority it granted and reinstate Section 907'
of the Freedom Support Act.
Ardouny also underscored the importance of Armenia's energy security
and ` urged the Subcommittee to utilize the tools at its disposal to
pave the way for Armenia's full inclusion in, and contribution to,
existing and future energy and development projects.'