Armenian Assembly, U.S. NGO Kick-Off Mine-Detection Program in Armenia

On September 12, the Armenian Embassy in Washington, DC hosted a ceremony marking the donation of $100,000 by the Armenian Assembly of American to the Marshall Legacy Institute, towards canine training in the humanitarian demining project in Armenia. The Marshall Legacy Institute (MLI) leads a private-public partnership to provide dogs to needy countries to detect landmines and accelerate the pace of mine clearance operations. The Institute combines contributions from private donors with matching funds from the U.S. Government to train local handlers/leaders in establishing sustainable demining programs in affected states.

The program was proposed by the MLI and the U.S. State Department’s Office of Humanitarian Demining to the Armenian Government in January 2002, and will provide six specially trained mine-sniffing dogs and adequate training to dog handlers through the Armenian Defense Ministry Demining Center in Ejmiatsin, Armenia. Similar programs have been implemented by the MLI in Eritrea, Lebanon, and Nicaragua. Mine-sniffing dogs are especially useful in detecting and removing the plastic mines, typically undetectable by standard equipment.

The Armenian Government accepted the MLI proposal, in view of the acute mine clearance problem in Armenia. According to the government estimates, there are nearly 100,000 mines left along Armenia’s east and southeast border regions, as a result of the armed phase of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in 1992-1994. These mines are an ongoing source of danger to the life and property of the Armenian citizens living in the border zones. The Armenian Assembly of America donated $100,000 to the program, which will be matched by $300,000 in U.S. State Department funds, for creating infrastructure and effective training.

Armenian Assembly’s Executive Director John Jamian and Board of Directors Vice Chair Annie Totah presented the symbolic $100,000 check to Mr. Perry Baltimore, Executive Director of MLI. The ceremony was attended by Dr. Anthony Lake, former National Security Adviser to President Bill Clinton, MLI Founder and Chairman Emeritus Gen. Gordon Sullivan (Ret.), Armenian Ambassador to the U.S., Dr. Arman Kirakossian, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Robert Maggi and other State Department officials, representatives of the MLI, Armenian Assembly, Armenian National Committee of America, members of the Armenian-American community.

Fifth Anniversary of NFSAT Celebrated in Washington, DC

On September 4, 2002, a reception at the Armenian Embassy in Washington, DC celebrated the fifth anniversary of the National Foundation for Science and Advanced Technology (NFSAT) in Armenia. NFSAT was set up jointly by the U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) and the Government of Armenia in July 1997, and has provided an opportunity to dozens of Armenian scientists and science centers fund their R&D activities and find collaborators in the United States and other foreign countries. The objectives of NFSAT is to assist the Armenian scientists find private sector application of their scientific efforts and facilitate third-party financing of the Armenian science community; these are also long-term goals of the Armenian Government.

In his remarks during the ceremony, CRDF President Gerson Sher presented CRDF activities in Armenia, focusing on helping Armenian scientists adapt to the new conditions of market economy and decreased government spending. He noted the dedication and commitment of the Armenian scientific community, their counterparts in the U.S. universities, science centers, and labs, and the constant support of the governments of Armenia and the United States for these programs. Mr. Sher thanked the former U.S. Ambassadors to Armenia, Amb. Peter Tomsen and Amb. Michael Lemmon, for their vision and continued support of the NFSAT activities in Armenia during its existence. Ambassador Lemmon, who was also present, shared his impressions from the three-year tour as the American Ambassador to Armenia, and expressed optimism for the future of Armenia and its scientific community.

Armenian Ambassador to the U.S., Dr. Arman Kirakossian emphasized the importance of the existing scientific potential of Armenia and the human capital of the nation as essential factors in the long-term economic and social development of the country. He noted the challenges facing the Armenian scientists who were hard pressed to find new sources of financing and new venues of cooperation with the international scientific community, and thanked the CRDF for helping the Armenian scientific community help itself. Ambassador Kirakossian said that the Armenian Diaspora, as an active participant in the Republic's economic and social life, had supported the Armenian science and education sectors in many ways, both through organizations such as Armenian Engineers and Scientists of America and on individual basis. The Armenian Ambassador cited the American University of Armenia and the CANDLE program as shining examples of the involvement of the Diaspora in the Armenian science.