The October 1st letter, signed by ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian,
comes as Armenian Americans across the country mobilize to stop
efforts by Azerbaijani President, former KGB General Geidar Aliyev,
to exploit the September 11th terrorist attacks to seek the repeal
of Section 907. In recent days, Aliyev has sought to condition
Azerbaijan's support for the war on terrorism on the repeal of this
long-standing provision of U.S. law.

First enacted in 1992, Section 907 limits certain types of direct
U.S. aid to the government of Azerbaijan until it has lifted its
blockades of Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh. This restriction was
reaffirmed in floor votes in the U.S. Senate and House, in 1999 and
1998 respectively.

In the letter, Hachikian mourned the victims of the September 11th
terrorist attacks on the U.S., noting that the Armenian American
community is "keenly aware of the consequences of failing to stand
up against violence, intolerance and intimidation." He noted that
the "failure, based on shortsighted political considerations, to
hold the perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide accountable paved
the way for a century of additional atrocities, including the
Holocaust, Cambodia, Rwanda, and the Balkans."

Hachikian went on to urge President Bush to maintain Section 907,
which, "has stood as our government's most powerful instrument to
end Azerbaijan's crippling blockades of Armenia and Nagorno-
Karabagh, which, for all intents and purposes, is the equivalent of
economic terrorism." He argued that the current statute "requires
that any presidential waiver of Section 907 be supported by your
certification assuring Congress that Azerbaijan has indeed taken
demonstrable steps to cease all blockades against Armenia and
Nagorno Karabagh. Unfortunately, the government of Azerbaijan has
given no evidence whatsoever that it is prepared to fulfill this
vital condition."

Concerned about the timing of Azerbaijan's efforts to repeal
Section 907, as the United States steps up efforts to eradicate
terrorism, Hachikian noted that, "We, as a nation, have a right to
expect that all our friends will offer us their unconditional
cooperation in this critical effort - as Armenia has done - without
trying to bargain for advantage against U.S. law. Indeed, in these
circumstances, Azerbaijan must demonstrate that it is a responsible
member of the international community by lifting its blockades,
consistent with the fundamental premise of Section 907."

Referring to extensive reports of Azerbaijani collaboration with
terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden, Hachikian expressed caution about
the inclusion of Azerbaijan in the international coalition to
battle terrorism. "A better solution would be to ask Azerbaijan to
turn over the terrorists to the U.S., close down their bases of
operation, and to end the economic blockade of Armenia," stressed
Hachikian. (See below for the full text of the ANCA letter.)

Congressional Armenian Caucus:

In a letter to be sent to Secretary of State Colin Powell as early
as tomorrow morning, the Congressional Armenian Caucus, under the
leadership of Reps. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg (R-
MI), is urging the Secretary to support the restrictions on
assistance to Azerbaijan. In its letter, the Caucus urges
Secretary Powell to "maintain Section 907 of the Freedom Support
Act in its current form and oppose efforts to repeal this important
provision of law." The letter goes on to state that, "given the
ongoing, sensitive peace negotiations, efforts to weaken or repeal
Section 907 only serve to legitimize Azerbaijan's immoral blockade
and would make its position at the negotiating table even more
intransigent. Moreover, repeal of Section 907 is no way to reward
Armenia's solidarity with America's campaign against international
terrorism. (See below for the full text of the Armenian Caucus
letter.)

Joining Reps. Knollenberg and Pallone as signatories to the letter,
to date, are Representatives: Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Shelley Berkley
(D-NV), Rod Blagojevich (D-IL), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Jerry
Costello (D-IL), Joseph Crowley (D-NY), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY),
Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), Nita Lowey (D-NY),
Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), James McGovern (D-MA), Michael McNulty (D-
NY), Constance Morella (R-MD), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), George
Radanovich (R-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), James Saxton (R-NJ), Brad
Sherman (D-CA), Mark Souder (R-IN), John Sununu (R-NH), John
Sweeney (R-NY), John Tierney (D-MA), and Peter Visclosky (D-IN)

================================================================
Action
================================================================

Contact your members of Congress today and ask them to defend
Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act.

1) Visit the ANCA Website and send an ANCA WebFax to Congress
http://www.anca.org

2) Phone calls are very effective.
Call your Senators and Representative
If you do not know who represents you in Congress,
visit http://www.anca.org

TEXT OF ANCA LETTER TO PRESIDENT BUSH

October 1, 2001

The Honorable George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

In the weeks and months ahead, as you lead our nation's response to
the September 11th terrorist attacks upon our nation and our
freedoms, please know that you have the prayers and full support of
the Armenian-American community. We join with you in mourning
those lost in this terrible tragedy and in your efforts to ensure
that they did not die in vain, but rather in the first battle of a
comprehensive campaign to end the scourge of terrorism upon the
people of the United States and the world.

As a community, we are keenly aware of the consequences of failing
to stand up against violence, intolerance, and intimidation. The
failure, based on short-sighted political considerations, to hold
the perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide accountable paved the way
for a century of additional atrocities, including the Holocaust,
Cambodia, Rwanda, and the Balkans.

In this regard, I would like to address the matter of Section 907
of the Freedom Support Act, which, as you know, was adopted by
Congress and signed into law in 1992. This law represents a
concrete manifestation of our nation's enduring belief in open
borders, free trade, and the peaceful resolution of regional
conflicts in the face of ethnic intolerance and violence. For
close to a decade, it has stood as our government's most powerful
instrument to end Azerbaijan's crippling blockades of Armenia and
Nagorno-Karabagh, which, for all intents and purposes, is the
equivalent of economic terrorism.

It is our understanding that the Administration has in recent days
supported efforts by members of Congress to repeal Section 907 of
the Freedom Support Act. We understand, as well, that the
Department of State has indicated that, in the event that the
Congress does not take this action, the State Department will
recommend that you waive this provision of law.

Mr. President, the current statute requires that any presidential
waiver of Section 907 be supported by your certification assuring
Congress that Azerbaijan has indeed taken demonstrable steps to
cease all blockades against Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh.
Unfortunately, the government of Azerbaijan has given no evidence
whatsoever that it is prepared to fulfill this vital condition. On
the contrary, Azerbaijan and Turkey have maintained a brutal,
coordinated stranglehold over the Armenian economy.

Nor are there any grounds for Congress to repeal Section 907. It
has been suggested by the State Department that, in the present
circumstances, the U.S. government needs Section 907 to be repealed
by Congress to ensure that Azerbaijan's cooperation is secured in
our war against terrorism. We, as a nation, have a right to expect
that all our friends will offer us their unconditional cooperation
in this critical effort - as Armenia has done - without trying to
bargain for advantage against U.S. law. Indeed, in these
circumstances, Azerbaijan must demonstrate that it is a responsible
member of the international community by lifting its blockades,
consistent with the fundamental premise of Section 907. There can
be no gray areas in dealing with this principle.

While the State Department may well be arguing for the inclusion of
Azerbaijan in the international coalition the U.S. is assembling in
the battle against terrorism, we are troubled that, in the process,
we appear to be overlooking the responsibilities of "friends" such
as Azerbaijan, which, according to Yossef Bodansky director of the
U.S. Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and an acknowledged
expert on Osama bin Laden, harbors and supports international
terrorists trained by bin Laden and which accepts "large quantities
of cash from diverse [terrorist] sources…" A better solution would
be to ask Azerbaijan to turn over these terrorists to the U.S.,
close down their bases of operation, and end the economic blockade
of Armenia.

We look forward to an ongoing dialogue with the Administration over
this and other issues of critical importance to the 1.5 million
Armenian-Americans in our country.

Respectfully,

[signed]
Kenneth V. Hachikian
Chairman

-----------------------------------------------------------------

TEXT OF ARMENIAN CAUSUS LETTER TO SECRETARY OF STATE POWELL

October 1, 2001

Dear Secretary Powell:

We are writing to urge you to maintain Section 907 of the Freedom
Support Act in its current form and oppose efforts to repeal this
important provision of law. Section 907 places reasonable
conditions on the use of U.S. assistance to the government of
Azerbaijan, until Azerbaijan has shown that it has taken
"demonstrable steps to cease all blockades and other offensive uses
of force against Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh."

We are concerned about credible reports that the Azerbaijani
government invited Osama Bin Laden and his network into its
country. Given this information, the U.S. government should
carefully review its relationship with Azerbaijan - not reward it
with repeal of Section 907. At a minimum, we believe U.S. interests
are best served by insisting that Azerbaijan arrest and turn over
those involved in the Al Queda cells operating there with the
government's approval since the early to mid 1990s. These cells
threaten all of us, and Armenia is on the front line of this
battle.

To date, Azerbaijan has done nothing to warrant repeal of Section
907 including continuing its war rhetoric, rejecting U.S./European
Union calls for cooperation with Armenia, rejecting specific
proposals by Armenia for economic and regional cooperation, and
backing away from the commitments made by Azerbaijani President
Aliyev during peace negotiations in Paris and Key West.

The effects of the Azerbaijani blockade on the east of land-locked
Armenia, in coordination with Turkey's blockade on the west, should
not be underestimated. The blockade has affected the entire
population of Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh, making the transport of
much needed food, fuel, medicine and other commodities
prohibitively expensive. Not only does the blockade defy U.S. law,
but it also violates OSCE mandates calling for the re-opening of
closed borders. Additionally, the effects of the blockade
continue to stall Armenia's economic development, impacting the mix
of U.S. inputs and indefinitely setting back the process of
economic integration among the nations of the south Caucasus and
Central Asia.

Given the ongoing, sensitive peace negotiations, efforts to weaken
or repeal Section 907 only serve to legitimize Azerbaijan's immoral
blockade and would make its position at the negotiating table even
more intransigent. Moreover, repeal of Section 907 is no way to
reward Armenia's solidarity with America's campaign against
international terrorism.

Armenia's early response to the attack was to first assist American
staff at our U.S. Embassy in Armenia's capital to insure the
Embassy's security. Armenia also offered to send an expert rescue
team to help with the rescue efforts underway in New York City and
at the Pentagon. Armenia's President, speaking on behalf of the
members of the Collective Security Treaty (CST) of the post-Soviet
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), called for joint action
against international terrorism. Armenia currently holds the
rotating presidency in this six-member defense grouping. Armenia
has also offered and the US has already used Armenia's airspace.
In addition, Armenia has offered intelligence sharing and other
unspecified offers of support.

In its current form, Section 907 constitutes a focused, appropriate
message to the government of Azerbaijan that the U.S. will not
support efforts to marginalize, via blockade, entire populations of
neighboring states. This law was enacted with the overwhelming
support of Congress and with the support of the Bush Administration
in 1992. Since enactment Congress, has affirmed the value and
importance of Section 907 as demonstrated in the floor votes in the
House and Senate in 1998 and 1999 respectively. Now, more than
ever, Congress must uphold the fundamental and enduring U.S.
principles of justice, democracy, and human rights.

Sincerely,

__________________

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