White House seeks to close HALO Trust’s de-mining program in Artsakh

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Trump Administration—caving in to pressure from Azerbaijan’s authoritarian Aliyev regime—is targeting the humanitarian aid program in Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), attempting to shut down the HALO Trust’s de-mining program that has saved countless lives across the country, reported the Armenian National Committee of America.

U.S. Representatives Brad Sherman (D-CA) and TJ Cox (D-CA) are leading a Congressional campaign—backed by the ANCA—encouraging USAID Administrator Mark Green to reverse course and preserve the Nagorno-Karabakh de-mining program. Administrator Green testified before the Foreign Affairs Committee on April 9 of this year that USAID was committed to completing the clearance of landmines and unexploded ordnances within the traditional boundaries of Nagorno-Karabakh.

“President Trump is wrong to bow to Azerbaijani dictator Ilham Aliyev’s reckless demand that America end U.S. humanitarian aid to Artsakh,” stated ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “A modest expenditure that represents a major investment in peace, this aid program has, since Fiscal Year 1998, delivered desperately needed maternal health care, provided families with clean drinking water, and cleared farms and villages of deadly mines. We thank each and every U.S. legislator who is seeking to advance U.S. interests and American values by continuing U.S. humanitarian aid to Artsakh in the face of foreign attempts to meddle in American decision-making.”

The ANCA has mounted a nationwide grassroots Congressional calling campaign in support of continued Artsakh aid.