Friends of Armenia from across America will be calling-in to Capitol Hill on Monday, March 14th in support of the Armenian National Committee of America’s (ANCA) grassroots Fly-In advocacy campaign in the nation’s capital. Sample phone scripts and additional information on community advocacy concerns will be available at http://anca.org/call.
“Taking part in the ANCA’s March 14th National Call-In Day is a quick and easy way to show support for pro-Armenian issues,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “It’s also a really great way, from your home, office, or car, to stand with the advocates, young and old, who are flying to Washington for our two-day advocacy campaign.”
Callers will ask their U.S. Representatives to support the full range of policy priorities driving the ANCA’s March 15-16 grassroots advocacy campaign, including, notably, two bipartisan Congressional letters. The first, known as the Royce-Sherman letter, calls on President Obama to pressure Azerbaijan to accept life-saving peace initiatives (known as the Royce-Engel proposals) for Nagorno Karabakh. The second, the Dold-Pallone letter, voices support for pro-Armenian elements of the foreign aid bill, among them increased aid to Artsakh and robust funding to help Armenia transition refugees fleeing Syria.
In addition to the Royce-Sherman and the Dold-Pallone letters, Fly-In activists will be calling for:
— The Adoption of H.Res.154: The Armenian Genocide Truth + Justice Resolution seeks sustainable improvement in Armenian-Turkish relations through policies that encourage Turkey to end its denials of the Armenian Genocide and to truthfully and justly reckon with the moral and material consequences of this crime.
— A Double Tax Treaty with Armenia: This bilateral agreement would, by eliminating the threat of double taxation, foster the growth of U.S.-Armenia economic relations and, more broadly, help Armenia to complete its aid-to-trade transition in terms of its relationship with the United States.
— Support for the Azerbaijan Democracy Act, H.R.4264: This human rights legislation seeks to impose U.S. aid, travel, and economic sanctions as well as international lending restrictions upon the Azerbaijani government due to its well-documented abuse of its own citizens.
— House passage of H.Con.Res.75: This religious freedom measure encourages President Obama to properly condemns as genocide the mass murder taking place today against Christians (including Armenians and Assyrians), Yezides, Kurds, and other at-risk minorities in Iraq and Syria.
For a comprehensive review of the ANCA Fly-In advocacy agenda, read our ANCA Talking Points (anca.org/talkingpoints) or watch an ANCA video review (https://youtu.be/8jYRdAYskTY) of each of the policy issues we will be advancing.
The March 15-16 ANCA Fly-In will include advocates from across the U.S., participating in two-days of intensive Capitol Hill outreach on Armenian American concerns, focusing on peace, prosperity and justice. Joining the group in spotlighting the importance of ongoing U.S. assistance to Nagorno Karabakh will be Vardan Tadevosyan, the co-founder and Director of the Lady Cox Rehabilitation Center. The Center provides high-quality, specialized medical care each year to approximately 1,000 local and regional patients. Among those receiving treatment include patients – from Karabakh, Armenia, Russia, and Georgia – with spinal cord injuries, elderly stroke victims, and infants and children born with disabilities, such as cerebral palsy and spina bifida.
Tadevosyan and community advocates will be participating in a Capitol Hill reception on March 15th and, after a day of Congressional meetings, will be gathering at the Armenian Embassy the following evening to greet the new Republic of Armenia Ambassador to the United States Grigor Hovhannissian.
