US will after all set humanitarian aid for Karabakh?

PanARMENIAN.Net - The version of the foreign aid bill approved last week by the State-Foreign Operations Subcommittee, while setting $40 million in aid to Armenia, did not include specific dollar amounts for a great many countries and assistance programs, including both Azerbaijan and

Nagorno Karabakh, said Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA )Executive Director Aram Hamparian. "This does not mean that these aid recipients have been zeroed-out, but rather that specific spending levels will either be determined during the remaining course of the House and Senate appropriations process or, once this measure is finally enacted, by the Administration."

Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) Monday wrote House Appropriations Committee Chairman Harold Rogers and Kay Granger, Chairwoman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs to express his concerns of reports that the Subcommittee has broken precedent by failing to provide funding for humanitarian and development assistance in Nagorno Karabakh.

In past years, funding for Nagorno Karabakh had broad bi-partisan support. Pallone expressed concerns about the repercussions this lack of funding would have in the region.

“Since 1998 USAID and other agencies have been providing funds for humanitarian and other assistance programs in Nagorno Karabakh as a result of the Appropriations Committee’s work. The decision to provide no funds to Nagorno Karabakh in Fiscal Year 2012 is a break with the practice of the Appropriations Committee, under both Democratic and Republican control,” Pallone wrote in the letter.

“There is no question that Nagorno Karabakh is an example of how democracy can be born from conflict and progress into a popularly supported government. The United States’ role in helping to facilitate this process cannot be overstated. I believe that it is more important than ever that the United States maintain a principled stand for peace in this region and support Nagorno Karabakh,” the letter runs.

July 27, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs approved the Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill, which calls for $40 million in economic assistance to Armenia, reported the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly).

The Subcommittee's Bill did not specify funding levels for Nagorno Karabakh. However, Congress has routinely called for up to $10 million in annual U.S. assistance.