U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee suggests extending assistance provided to Nagorno-Karabakh

WASHINGTON, JULY 10, ARMENPRESS.The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee voiced their continued support for direct U.S. aid to Nagorno-Karabakh today - following the lead of Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL). The program has, with bipartisan backing, provided humanitarian aid to the citizens of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic since 1998. As Armenpress was informed by the Press Service of the Armenian National Committee of America, the Appropriations Committee, in a departure from a recent trend away from setting country-specific aid levels, made specific recommendation of $20.06 million in economic aid to Armenia, $1.7 million in foreign military financing and $600,000 for International Military Education and Training (IMET). Azerbaijan and Georgia were allocated $8.778 million and $54 million in economic assistance, respectively. As in previous years, Senate Appropriators called for parity in military assistance to Armenia and Azerbaijan.

"We want to thank Senator Mark Kirk for his leadership in support of the Nagorno-Karabakh aid program," said ANCA Chairman, and Illinois resident, Ken Hachikian. "This aid program meets pressing humanitarian needs and stands as a powerful statement of American solidarity with the democratic aspirations of the citizens of Artsakh. We were very pleased that Senator Kirk was able to work so successfully with Chairman Graham and his other colleagues on this vital matter."

The report accompanying the Fiscal Year 2016 (FY16) State-Foreign Operations appropriations bill states that: "The Committee recommends assistance for victims of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in amounts consistent with prior years, and for ongoing needs related to the conflict. The Committee urges a peaceful resolution of the conflict." The legislators also approved report stressing the importance of continuing and expanding demining efforts in the interior (non-border) regions of Artsakh, including in farmlands and residential areas previously considered off-limits. The committee member particularly highlighted: "The Committee recognizes that Nagorno-Karabakh has a per capita landmine accident rate among the highest in the world, and that mine clearance programs have been effective where implemented. The Committee is concerned with territorial restrictions placed on demining activities in the region and recommends continued funding for, and the geographic expansion of, such programs."

The report makes special mention that the Appropriations Committee is concerned about "democracy, human rights, and corruption in Azerbaijan," and calls for the State Department to submit a report detailing their efforts to seek the "release of prisoners of conscience in Azerbaijan, including Khadija Ismayilova, Anar Mammadli, Leyla and Arif Yunus, Rasul Jafarov, and Initigam Aliyev." These concerns were echoed in a letter to Azerbaijani President Aliyev, spearheaded by Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and cosigned by over 15 Senate colleagues, calling for a "more tolerant environment for free media like RFE/RL and to immediately release those journalists, activists and civil society leaders currently detained."