ANCA announces fly-in for peace, prosperity and justice

PanARMENIAN.Net - Friends of Armenia will travel to Washington, DC from across America on March 15 for a two-day Capitol Hill advocacy campaign promoting peace, prosperity, and justice for the Armenian nation, organized by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

"We look forward to building upon the success of December's fly-in with a renewed grassroots drive this spring challenging Azerbaijan's aggression, removing barriers to the growth of U.S.-Armenia economic relations, and overriding Turkey's veto against a principled American stand for a just resolution of the Armenian Genocide," said Elen Asatryan, ANCA Western Region Executive Director and Armen Sahakyan of the ANCA Eastern Region. "We encourage constituents from across America to join us, once again, in making our case to Congress."

Among the key requests that advocates will deliver to legislators during the fly-in are the following:

Peace: Congressional leaders will be urged to help save lives, avert war and create the conditions for a fair and enduring peace by demanding the immediate implementation of the Royce-Engel proposals for Nagorno Karabakh: 1) The withdrawal of snipers and heavy arms, 2) the addition of OSCE observers, and 3) the deployment of gunfire locator systems. The U.S. government, the OSCE and both Armenia and Artsakh have endorsed these proposals. Only Azerbaijan 's objections are preventing their implementation.

Prosperity: Member of Congress will be encouraged to help remove a major barrier to U.S.-Armenia business ties - the double taxation of U.S./Armenia profits - through the negotiation of a long overdue bilateral Tax Treaty. This accord, building upon last year's landmark U.S.-Armenia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, would help create jobs, foster hope, and generate economic opportunity in both countries. Legislators will also be asked to support continued U.S. assistance to Nagorno Karabakh, for de-mining of civilian areas and the urgently needed expansion of a regional rehabilitation center providing health care services to disabled children and adults from throughout the Caucasus area and beyond.

Justice: U.S. Senators and Representatives will be asked to support the adoption of S.Res.140 and H.Res.154, the Armenian Genocide Truth + Justice Resolution. H.Res.154, a reparations-oriented measure, goes beyond recognition, actively seeking to engage the full force of United States diplomacy in ending Turkey 's denial of both truth and justice for this still-unpunished crime against humanity.