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With the
steady decline over the past decade in
Congressionally appropriated military and
economic assistance to the government of
Turkey, successive Administrations have
increasingly relied upon military sales and
transfers - either at no expense or on very
favorable terms - to support Turkey's
military-led government. The government of
Turkey, an over-armed and unrepentant
perpetrator of genocide against the Armenian
people, represents a clear and present
security threat to the Republic of Armenia.
Today, U.S. military grants and loans to
Turkey have been reduced to zero, from a
1991 high of over $600,000,000 a year, due
to Congressional concern over Turkey’s abuse
of human rights at home and aggression
abroad. Among the factors cited by Congress
as reasons for the elimination of
appropriated U.S. military aid were Turkey's
refusal to 1) abandon its shameful campaign
to deny the Armenian Genocide; 2) lift its
blockade of U.S. aid to Armenia; 3) improve
its human rights record; 4) remove its
troops from Cyprus; 5) recognize the rights
of the Kurds; and 6) lift unfair
restrictions on Christian communities.
Unfortunately, this decrease in appropriated
assistance to Turkey was matched by a
dramatic expansion of arms sales and
transfers to the Turkish military. As
indicated on the chart below, in the years
1980 to 1990, Turkey imported over $11.5
billion in U.S. arms, close to twice the
value of all grants and loans provided
during this same time period.
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