Back to Top

Is the US decision on aiding Artsakh  final? ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian has the answer

armenpress.am03/25th/2020, 5:00

Is the US decision on aiding Artsakh  final? ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian has the answer

Over the past months, HALO Trust’s Nagorno-Karabakh demining program aided by the United States has been in the centre of different discussions. ANCA’s Executive Director Aram Hamparian shared his views and, finally, gave a precise answer to the commonly asked question: “Is the Artsakh decision final?”.

“It has been a 2 decades-long legacy of one administration after the other attacking this program. You know… This is a very heavy attack, I think, maybe the worst we have seen. But this is nothing new. This administration is following the tradition set by Clinton, by Bush, by Obama and now by Trump”,- mentioned Hamparyan.

Hamparyan stressed that before making any final assessments, it is necessary to take into account the processes taking place in the US, as well as the U.S. Constitutional system. Summing up the results of past processes, he recalled that back in 1997, when Brad Sherman brought an amendment to the House Foreign Affairs Committee in order to adopt legislation that would authorize US assistance to Nagorno Karabakh for the first time ever, the amendment was attacked at pretty much the same language that the State Department is attacking the program today. However, this process paved a way in the next several months for the adoption of the measure, the provision in the FY98 appropriations bill and with the support of many others that aid program was adopted as part of the fiscal year 1998 foreign bill.

“So that’s been back and forth because that in the course of 20 years and we have kept the program alive, it’s never ever been easy, it’s never been a walk, it’s never been without opposition from the executive branch. So when people talk about things like “well the Administration is really against it. Yeah, what else is new? They have been against this forever and it is unrelenting and in certain levels, it’s an inhumane call because it is a humanitarian aid program. The purpose of the program from the day one has been to provide humanitarian aid and in the early days it was material healthcare, later on, it was things like clean drinking water, today it is demining”, Hamparian said.

Speaking of the most-asked question related to the final decision, Hamparian stressed: “The final say will come in the coming weeks, within months as the fiscal year...

Read full story

Weather

Temp {{currentData.temp}}℃
Wind {{currentData.wind}}km/h
Humidity {{currentData.humidity}}
  • Yerevan
  • Abovyan
  • Tsaghkadzor
  • Sevan
  • Gyumri
  • Ejmiatsin
  • Dilijan
  • Vanadzor
  • Ashtarak
7 Day Forecast

Exchange rates

BuySell
USD390396
EUR417429
RUR4.184.38
more rates
Already available
Back to Top