The U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has again refused to unblock
some of its promised economic assistance to Armenia, indicating that the
authorities in Yerevan have still not addressed its concerns about “the status
of democratic governance” in the country.



Armenia was due to receive US$236.5 million in additional U.S. government
assistance under the Bush administration’s Millennium Challenge Account (MCA)
program designed to promote political and economic reforms around the world.
Most of the sum was to be spent on rebuilding and expanding the country’s
irrigation networks. Another $67 million was set aside for reconstruction of
about 1,000 kilometers of rural roads.



Last May the MCC, which runs the aid scheme, blocked the release of the first
$7.5 million installment of the five-year aid package earmarked for road
construction, expressing serious concern about the Armenian government’s harsh
post-election crackdown on the opposition. MCC executives and other U.S.
officials have since repeatedly reiterated those concerns.



The move led the Armenian government in July to allocate $17 million worth of
its own funds to the planned road construction that got underway later in the
summer. A government statement on Wednesday quoted Ara Hovsepian, head of the
MCC office in Yerevan, as saying that most of the sum has already been spent on
roadworks in rural regions of the country. Hovsepian said he and Armenian
government officials expect the MCC’s governing board to disburse about $7
million in the first quarter of next year.



But meeting in Washington on Thursday, the MCC board again decided to keep the
$7.5 million payment on hold. “The Board reiterated its concerns about the
status of democratic governance in the country and underlined its expectations
that the government of Armenia fulfill commitments to implement substantive
reforms,” it said in a statement. “The Board noted that it would again review
Armenia’s performance and examine continued collaboration with the country
during its March meeting.”



According to U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza, Washington
remains “seriously worried” about the continuing imprisonment of dozens of
opposition members arrested following the disputed presidential election of
February 19. “It should be clear to everyone, for Armenia’s sake, that there are
no political prisoners,” Bryza told RFE/RL on Thursday. “The accusation that
Armenia holds political prisoners shouldn’t even surface.”



“All these cases should be resolved quickly and everyone ought to be released,”
he said.



Meanwhile, a deputy chairman of President Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party of
Armenia (HHK) expressed dismay at Washington’s refusal to resume MCA funding to
Yerevan. “This decision was really unexpected,” Razmik Zohrabian told RFE/RL on
Friday. “I hoped for a different decision. But what can we do? Democratic
developments are continuing and maybe they will allocate the sum in March.”



Zohrabian acknowledged “some shortcomings in the development of democracy in
Armenia” but said the Sarkisian administration has made considerable progress in
eliminating them.



But Vahagn Khachatrian, an Armenian opposition leader, strongly disagreed.
“There are still political prisoners, serious problems with democracy and human
rights, and the MCC’s stance is not accidental,” he said.