DIASPORA ORGANIZATION INCREASES SUPPORT FOR N-K

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).

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SUMMARY
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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.

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PROJECT TO MAKE N-K A "MORE ATTRACTIVE PERMANENT ADDRESS"
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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.

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ENTHUSIASTIC BOARD CHIPS IN LOCAL OPERATING BUDGETS
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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.

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COMMENT
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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