White Paper on “Hayastan” All-Armenian Fund
Part III
By Ara K. Manoogian
When John Danilovich, Chief Executive Officer for the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), warned Robert Kocharyan on March 11, 2008, that the program may suffer because of Armenia’s retreat from democracy—the March 1st crackdown, political prisoners—Robert Kocharyan, then the outgoing self-declared president of Armenia, replied that we would find other sources of money. This irresponsible statement is reminiscent of the King of France Louis XV (1710-1774), who is known to have said: “Après moi, le déluge” (After me, the deluge).
The Millennium Challenges made a decision to cut the aid. As a result, 943 km of rural roads were left unrepaired in 265 rural communities of Armenia, and an estimated 6% poverty reduction remained on paper. The MCC press release issued on March 11, 2009 reads: “The Board’s decision today signals to the government that it has failed over several years to address concerns raised not only by MCC and other U.S. Government agencies, but the international community as well.” Moreover, Armenia has been denied eligibility for a second compact, unlike its northern neighbor, Georgia. At its winter quarterly meeting on January 5, 2011, MCC chose Georgia and Ghana as eligible to apply for second compacts, which are “contingent on successful completion of first compacts and continued good policy performance” (Center For Global Development). Continue reading »
