October 27, 2003

By Marc Benjamin
The Fresno Bee

The president of an 11-year-old country that once was part of the Soviet empire touted investment opportunities and appealed to a Fresno audience Sunday night for help in rebuilding his nation's roads, hospitals and schools.

In his first visit to the Valley, H.E. Arkady Ghoukasian of Nagorno-Karabakh spoke for about 30 minutes in the Haig Berberian Hall of St. Paul Armenian Church in east-central Fresno. He talked about creating a dignified life for his people.

Between 1991 and 1993, Armenians within what is now Nagorno-Karabakh warred with Azerbaijan, a former republic within the Soviet Union. Nagorno-Karabakh, a country with a population more than two-thirds Christian Armenian, became independent after the war.

Today, it's a country slightly larger than Rhode Island with a population of about 145,000. A shaky cease-fire has remained intact since 1994.

"We won on the battlefield, but unfortunately, the war is not over," Ghoukasian told the audience of about 200 at the church, speaking through an interpreter.

"We have started a new war, an economic one, and if we lose this one, the military war could also be lost."

In the past three or four years, he said, between $30 million and $40 million of investment has been funneled into his country from Armenians in the United States, France, Italy and Australia.

Ghoukasian encouraged such investment to continue and said his country's tax structure is attractive for additional investment. He said future investments will help his country deal with divergent needs.

"We are trying to rebuild our economy, and we are not starting from zero, but from minus," Ghoukasian said. "We have to rebuild our burned-down schools and hospitals but we must maintain our army or be subject to the Azerbaijan army.

"There is a saying that if you don't want to go to war, you have to be ready for war."

He is scheduled to meet today with Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Visalia, and visit a Madera packing plant before traveling to Sacramento. On Sunday, he also met with Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa.

For more information about how you can help Armenia's farmers, contact the ATG office at (559) 224-1000 or by e-mail (info@atgusa.org). Tax-deductible donations can be sent to ATG; 1300 E. Shaw, Suite 149; P.O.Box 5969; Fresno, CA 93755-5969.
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