Update on ANCA work

Dear LinkedIn friend:

I wanted to give you an update on what your support is helping us get done - the concrete pro-Armenian progress your financial generosity has helped us achieve against an angry Azerbaijan and an unleashed Turkey.

These anti-Armenian dictatorships are risking regional war (or worse) during a global pandemic - leveraging this crisis to realize their long-held Pan-Turkish designs.

We saw this during Azerbaijan’s deadly attack this July on the Tavush region of Armenia. And again in Turkey’s conversion of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral “Hagia Sophia” into a mosque.

They want a Turkey for the Turks. A region without Armenians. And ultimately, a “pure” Pan-Turkish Empire stretching from the Mediterranean to Central Asia.

We want peace. They want Armenia (without the Armenians).

These attacks by Azerbaijan and Turkey – and the relentless arm-twisting by their diplomats and lobbyists here in Washington – are meant to intimidate us, but they only make us stronger.

More resilient. Crisis-resistant.

We are, today, more than ever, fighting as a true second army of the Armenian nation – on political battlefields in Washington and across our nation.

Defending where we must. Advancing whenever we can.

On the offensive, advancing new pro-Armenian policy priorities across the American political landscape.

With your help, in just the past two months, we delivered these concrete pro-Armenian results:

• -- Passed the Speier-Cox Amendment (July 23) appropriating U.S. aid to complete life-saving humanitarian de-mining work in Artsakh.
• -- Adopted the Pallone Amendment (July 21) holding Azerbaijan accountable for human rights abuses committed by units that receive U.S. military aid or training.
• -- Facilitated U.S. reprogramming of millions of dollars from the existing U.S. aid package to help Armenia deal with the COVID-19 crisis and its economic aftermath.
• -- Backed robust U.S. support ($48 million to date) in the wake of the terrible explosion in Beirut, to help meet humanitarian, rebuilding, and development needs among Armenians and all Lebanese impacted by this disaster.
• -- Helped secure a commitment from the General Accounting Office that it will conduct an official assessment regarding the legality of U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan.
• -- Supported a provision of the Intelligence Authorization Act (July 31) to require the U.S. intelligence community to more closely monitor Azerbaijani aggression. This measure complements our Royce-Engel cease-fire monitoring initiative and the Chu Amendment (2019), which call for the withdrawal of snipers, the addition of observers, and the deployment of gunfire locators.
• -- Blocked the Cohen Amendment (July 22), an anti-Armenian measure that would have banned U.S. assistance to Artsakh.
• -- Generated Congressional protests against Azerbaijan’s attack (mid-July) on the Tavush region of Armenia, and headlines (Newsweek and Forbes) about Baku’s threat to bomb Armenia’s nuclear power station.
• -- In cooperation with coalition partners (Hellenic American Leadership Council and In Defense of Christians), supported statutory restrictions on Turkish participation in the joint-production of F-35 jets.
• -- Supported the growing partnership between the Congressional Armenian Caucus and the U.S.-Armenia Friendship Group in the Armenian Parliament, encouraged cooperation between Armenia and the U.S. House Democracy Partnership, and supported Armenia’s membership in the U.S.-led International Religious Freedom Alliance.

And, of course, late last year, we passed the Armenian Genocide Resolution in the House (H.Res.296 on October 29, 2019) and Senate (S.Res.150 on December 12, 2019), establishing permanent Congressional recognition of the Armenian Genocide. We are working now to ensure that the Library of Congress reflects this recognition by changing its outdated “Armenian Massacres” subject heading to “Armenian Genocide.” This change would cascade through libraries across America and around the world.

We’re planning virtual Capitol Hill lectures on Armenian Genocide reparations, and, in local communities across the country, are encouraging school districts to teach about the history and contemporary relevance of this crime.

And we are steadily upgrading the U.S.-Armenia strategic partnership – expanding trade, increasing aid, and raising the level of mutually-beneficial bilateral political, economic, military, and peacekeeping cooperation.

There’s a lot more to share. If you’d like additional details on our pro-Armenian advocacy priorities, check ANCA360: www.anca.org/anca360pdf

On the tech front, I am proud to report that our growing army of ANCA Rapid Responders (www.anca.org/Rapid) is now 12,000 strong. This select group of our most devoted activists (from each of our 50 states) takes action – on time, and on target – whenever their voices are needed. Alongside this program, we just launched our ANCA FrontRunner program (www.anca.org/FrontRunner) – which brings this same energy and innovation to promoting Armenian priorities on social media. If you’re not already a member, consider signing up.

With your help, we reached 2,000,000 Twitter impressions, had more than 1,000,000 Facebook engagements, and nearly doubled our Instagram followers – over just the past month.

Looking to the future, I am happy to report that we just wrapped up our Leo Sarksian summer internship – our first ever virtual program – and look forward to welcoming a new class of Hovig Apo Saghdejian Capitol Gateway Fellows.

As you know, over the past four decades, our internship has trained hundreds of university students as effective advocates and community leaders, while our Gateway program has helped hundreds of recent graduates start promising policy, political, government, media careers – in the White House, Congress, Federal agencies, World Bank, think tanks, major media outlets, and other highly respected organizations.

As you know, the best investments are those we make in our youth. These bright and ambitious men and women - the very best of our community – represent our hope for growing power, respect, and impact for decades to come.

We’ve been able to do all this because of you and devoted friends like you across America, who chip in, speak out, and stand up for our community and our cause.

It’s because of all the challenges we face – and my faith in all that we can do together – that I am turning to you, once again, for your financial support.

If you’ve read this far, I know you care.

If you can give, please help.

If you can’t right now, we understand. These are surely challenging times for so many.

If you like, honor a relative or friend who has helped during this emergency. Give in memory of a loved one. Or simply contribute as your investment in our shared future.

You can donate today to empower the political advocacy of the ANCA (not tax-deductible) – www.anca.org/donation - or to support the educational work of the ANCA Endowment Fund (tax-deductible) – www.anca.org/donate. As always, you can contribute by mailing a check, by giving online using your credit card, or through a gift of stock. The choice is yours.

Every dollar makes a difference.

Sirov,

Aram Hamparian, Executive Director

P.S. – I truly value your thoughts and warmly welcome your suggestions. Call my direct line or email me to discuss any topic that is important for you – (202) 742-8700 / [email protected].

To learn about donations of stock or planned giving options please visit www.anca.org/ways-to-give, or email me confidentially at [email protected].

Checks made out to the ANCA or the ANCA Endowment can be mailed to:

1711 N Street, NW

Washington, DC 20036