MosJan Posted November 13, 2001 Report Share Posted November 13, 2001 ANCA Action Alert and UpdateSave Section 90711/13/2001 1) Action Alert: Final Chance to Reverse Senate Action Weakening Section 907 Conference as early as 11/14/01 2) Press Release: U.S. House Appoints Conferees to Weigh Changes to Section 907 ------------------------------------------------------------ FINAL CHANCE TO REVERSE SENATE ACTION WEAKENING SECTION 907 -- Conference Committee to Meet as Early as this Wednesday, 11/13 to Finalize Changes to Section 907 -- Senate Amendment has no Effective "Sunset" Clause; Lacks a Prohibition on Azerbaijani use of U.S. Weapons against Karabagh ================================================================Status:================================================================ A joint "conference committee" of Senators and Representatives will meet as early as Wednesday, November 14th to consider a Senate amendment that would give the President broad authority to waive Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act. Members of this committee will have the opportunity to include safeguards that would: 1) Specifically prohibit the use of U.S. military aid against Nagorno Karabagh; 2) Limit the President's ability to unilaterally extend his waiver authority without the approval of Congress. ================================================================Action:================================================================ There is no time for faxes or letters -- only phone calls directly to the key players in the conference committee process will be effective at this point. Please call the following members of Congress: * Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations Staff: Tim Reiser Tel: (202) 224-4242 (202) 224-7284 * Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Ranking Member on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations Staff: Paul Grove Tel: (202) 224-2541 (202) 224-5095 * Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations Staff: Sean Mulvaney Tel: (202) 225-2542 * Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) Ranking Member on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations Staff: Beth Tritter Tel: (202) 225-6506 ----------------------------------------------------------------Phone Script:---------------------------------------------------------------- [During regular business hours, the phone will be answered by a receptionist. Ask to speak to the staff member who is responsible for foreign aid issues. If he/she or she is not available, please leave a written or voice-mail message.] Hello, my name is __________________. I am calling to ask you add important safeguards to a Senate amendment weakening Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act. Specifically, I encourage you to ensure that any presidential waiver authority of this law includes: * An effective "sunset" clause requiring Congressional approval for any waiver extensions; * A specific prohibition on the use of U.S. military assistance against Nagorno Karabagh; Thank you for your consideration of my concerns. ---------------------------------------------------------------- In addition, please thank the following two Representatives for their strong leadership in defense of Section 907. * Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) Tel: (202) 225-5802 Fax: (202) 226-2356 * Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) Tel: (202) 225-4965 Fax: (202) 225-8259 =================================================================== 2) U.S. HOUSE APPOINTS CONFEREES TO WEIGH CHANGES TO SECTION 907 -- ANCA Writes Letter to Fifteen Newly-Appointed House Conferees -- Senate-House Panel will Reconcile Differences between Two Versions of Fiscal Year 2002 Foreign Aid Bill WASHINGTON, DC (November 8, 2001) - The U.S. House of Representatives last week approved the appointment of 15 conferees to represent the position of the U.S. House on the fiscal year 2002 foreign aid bill, which, in its Senate version, includes language providing the President with broad authority to waive Section 907, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). The House version of the bill, H.R.2506, maintains Section 907 in its present form. The Senate, on October 24th, adopted language providing the President with near complete authority to waive Section 907. Significantly, the Senate language lacks a specific prohibition on the use of U.S. aid against Nagorno Karabagh and allows the President to extend the waiver indefinitely without Congressional approval. Section 907, first enacted in 1992, restricts certain types of U.S. assistance - including military aid - to the government of Azerbaijan until it has ceased its blockades and other offensive uses of force against both Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh. The conference committee, likely to finalize its work during the week of November 12th, provides an opportunity for a group of Senators and Representatives to meet, compromise, and ultimately reconcile the two versions into a final piece of legislation that will then be sent to President Bush for his signature. The conferees appointed by the House were as follows: Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) - Chairman, Foreign Operations SubcommitteeNita Lowey (D-NY) - Ranking Member, Foreign Operations SubcommitteeBill Young (R-FL) - Chairman, Appropriations CommitteeDavid Obey (D-WI) - Ranking Member, Appropriations CommitteeHenry Bonilla (R-TX)Sonny Callahan (R-AL)Jesse Jackson (D-IL)Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-MI)Jack Kingston (R-GA)Joe Knollenberg (R-MI)Jerry Lewis (R-CA)Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)Steve Rothman (D-NJ)John Sununu (R-NH)Roger Wicker (R-MS) ANCA Letter to House Conferees:-------------------------------In a letter to the House conferees, ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian brought to their attention "recent revelations concerning Azerbaijan's aggressive intention against Nagorno Karabagh," and called upon them to help ensure that "Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act continues to act as an effective check against renewed Azerbaijani attacks that would inevitably destabilize the Caucasus and undermine our efforts in the region to combat terrorism." The ANCA letter specifically noted that, "President Aliyev and other senior officials have made public Azerbaijan's intentions to use 'military means' against Nagorno Karabagh." These threats, Hachikian stressed, "represent a deliberate and public challenge to the Senate's efforts and are a cause of profound concern to Armenia and the Armenian American community." The letter also cited threats against Nagorno Karbagh by Azerbaijani Defense Minister Safar Abiyev and Foreign Minister Vilayat Quiliev. The ANCA, while noting several dangerous elements in the Senate amendment, expressed appreciation for the efforts of Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and his Senate colleagues in seeking, in the face of intense pressure from the State Department, to maintain the integrity of Section 907 while providing the President with flexibility in meeting the needs of the fight against terrorism. In light of Azerbaijan's recent threats and in anticipation of the deliberations and compromises that will ultimately shape the final foreign aid bill, the ANCA letter identified two specific areas that Azerbaijan, given its past record and recent remarks, will make use of to justify attacking Nagorno Karabagh. The first, the lack of an explicit prohibition on the use of U.S. aid in aggression against Nagorno Karabagh, could be readily corrected by the conferees adding Nagorno Karabagh to the clause prohibiting Azerbaijan from using U.S. assistance against Armenia. The second, concerning the open-ended term of the waiver authority, could be addressed by revising the Senate language to state that the President can extend the waiver authority only with the approval of Congress. The ANCA continues to educate members of Congress on this issue through its office in Washington, DC, regional offices in Boston and Los Angeles, more than 45 local chapters, and activists in all 50 states. Specifically, they are explaining that the enactment into law of the Senate amendment would: 1) Effectively amount to the repeal of Section 907; 2) Open the door to U.S. military aid to an Azerbaijani government that has harbored terrorists tied to Osama bin Laden and, very recently, threatened to launch a renewed war on Nagorno Karabagh; 3) Set back the cause of lifting Azerbaijan's dual blockades of Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh; 4) Send the dangerous signal to Azerbaijan that the U.S. and the international community will stand on the sidelines if the Azerbaijani military attacks what it is now terming the "terrorists" of Nagorno Karabagh, and; 5) Destablize a strategically important region and significantly complicate the U.S.-led war on terrorism. For more information on these efforts, visit: Armenian American Coalition Defends Section 907:------------------------------------------------Prior to the Senate vote the seventeen leading Armenian American political, religious, and humanitarian institutions, representing essentially the entire organized Armenian American community wrote a letter to President Bush voicing their "unambiguous support for Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act as a vital element of U.S. policy toward the Caucasus and a key instrument of stability in a region of great strategic significance to our nation during this time of crisis." They noted in their collective letter that, "retreating from the principles of Section 907 will, in our view, lead to a destabilization of the regional balance of power, to the detriment of the peoples of the region and the international community." The co-signers of the letter were: Apostolic Exarchate for Armenian Catholics; Armenian Evangelical Union of North America; Armenian Missionary Association of America; Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church - Eastern Region ;Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church - Western Region; Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church - Eastern Region; Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church - Western Region; Armenian American Democratic Leadership Council; Armenian Bar Association; Armenian General Benevolent Union; Armenian National Committee of America; Armenian Relief Society; Armenian Youth Federation of America; Hamazkayn Armenian Cultural and Educational Association; Homenetmen Armenian General Athletic Union; Knights of Vartan; National Organization of Republican Armenians. Armenian Government:--------------------In an October 9th letter to President Bush, Armenian President Robert Kocharian outlined the negative impact that weakening Section 907 would have on the OSCE Minsk Group mediated Nagorno Karabagh peace process. In this letter, he explained that Section 907 and the Turkish and Azerbaijani blockades of Armenia have been interlinked through the life of this conflict, and are part of the overall package of issues that require resolution. He noted that removing one element independently would irreparably damage the peace process. Following the Senate vote, in an November 2nd interview on Armenia's Channel 1 public television station, the Foreign Minister of Armenia Vartan Oskanian expressed hope that the U.S. Congress would clarify ambiguities concerning both the term of the Section 907 waiver as well as the need for a specific prohibition on the use of U.S. aid in aggression against Nagorno Karabagh. The Foreign Minister noted that, "Azerbaijan's final purpose, based on all their recent statements, from the president down, is to crush Karabagh. We don't want Azerbaijan to have the opportunity to do so just because the waiver language says that this assistance can't be used against Armenia. When the final decisions are made by the House and the Senate, it would be best for peace and stability in the region, that the U.S. intent be made clear, and the possibility of use of these new resources against Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh be clearly prevented." The Foreign Minister also raised concerns about the lack of clarity in the sunset provision of the waiver regarding how and under which circumstances it could be extended. ##### ********************************************************* The above message was distributed to the "ANCA News" list. 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