US embassy cable - 04YEREVAN2337

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 002337 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/CACEN AND EUR/SNEC 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/18/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, AM 
SUBJECT: DIASPORA ORGANIZATION INCREASES SUPPORT FOR N-K 
"REPOPULATION PROGRAM" 
 
REF: USUN NEW YORK 2328 
 
Classified By: CDA A.F. Godfrey for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
------- 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
1. (C) The Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) is 
increasing its efforts to support ongoing Armenian 
government-sponsored repopulation programs in 
Nagrono-Karabakh (N-K) through its "Centennial Project."  The 
AGBU, the Armenian Diaspora NGO with the largest membership 
worldwide, has reportedly already transferred forty new homes 
and a new elementary school in the N-K village of Norashen to 
the N-K authorities with plans to expand the program to 
include eight more villages around Stepanakert in the 
upcoming year.  AGBU sources told us October 18 that their 
recent Worldwide Congress (a bi-annual Board of Trustees 
meeting) produced so much excitement for the project that 
local chapters in Europe and South America have removed 
themselves from the AGBU's central financing in order to 
dedicate more resources (upwards of USD 5 million per country 
in some cases) to the project.  End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
PROJECT TO MAKE N-K A "MORE ATTRACTIVE PERMANENT ADDRESS" 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
2. (SBU) The Armenian General Benevolent Union is increasing 
its efforts to support ongoing Armenian government-sponsored 
repopulation programs in Nagorno-Karabakh through its 
"Centennial Project."  The project includes a large-scale 
rebuilding program (single-family homes, schools and 
community centers) in villages surrounding Stepanakert.  The 
project is being coordinated closely with local N-K 
authorities and GOAM representatives as part of the ongoing 
incentive program to attract Armenians to re-settle portions 
of Nagorno-Karbakh.  According to AGBU sources, the initial 
villages are part of a list of "artificially Azeri-populated" 
areas within N-K with relatively small populations. 
According to the AGBU, some within the N-K leadership view 
these villages as "liabilities" in proving their case that 
N-K is a wholly Armenian territory.  While the Embassy cannot 
confirm the reports, GOAM and AGBU sources claim that there 
are no plans to fund re-building projects in the occupied 
territories outside of N-K.  The Centennial Project chose the 
village of Norashen (east of Stepanakert) as the pilot site 
for the re-building program.  The next phase of the project 
will include building programs in the Hadrut and Martakert 
regions of N-K. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
ENTHUSIASTIC BOARD CHIPS IN LOCAL OPERATING BUDGETS 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
3. (C) AGBU sources told us October 18 that their recent 
worldwide Congress (a bi-annual Board of Trustees meeting 
held this year in Yerevan and N-K) produced considerable 
excitement for the project.  N-K "President" Arkady Ghukasian 
praised the initiative during his keynote address to over 300 
AGBU conference participants during a widely-publicized 
inaugural event in Yerevan.  Local chapters in Europe and 
South America, upon seeing the initial results of the 
project, offered to remove themselves from the AGBU's central 
financing for the upcoming year in order to dedicate their 
operating budgets to the Centennial Project.  This 
contribution could mean a USD 5 million increase in the cases 
of larger chapters in Brazil, France and the United Kingdom. 
French-Armenian Leon Kabandjian conceived the project in 2002 
as a way to systematically mobilize support for N-K in the 
wake of "dying interest" on the part of Diaspora Groups.  His 
efforts in France garnered sizable donations from AGBU donors 
in Paris and, according to rumors within the AGBU's ranks, 
spurred a funding race between chapters in France and 
England.  Donations from the London chapter will serve as the 
basis for the next tranche of Centennial Project funding. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
4. (C) The excitement surrounding the Centennial Project is 
the first big news about Diaspora initiatives in N-K to 
circulate in Yerevan over the past year.  The news coincides 
with the new level of political interest in N-K resettlement 
issues resulting from ongoing discussions in at UNGA (ref). 
Perhaps more important than the AGBU's decision to move from 
traditional humanitarian response into infrastructure 
development is the accompanying discussion of re-invigorating 
Diaspora involvement in N-K.  We will be paying close 
attention to comments coming out of Yerevan and Stepanakert 
as the next phase of the Centennial Project gets underway. 
GODFREY