According to “Liberty” radio station Gerard Cafesjian, a U.S. philanthropist of Armenian descent, has set up a new lobbying organization has been set up, which he hopes will “complement” the existing Armenian-American advocacy groups and match their considerable influence in Washington. The Cafesjian-funded U.S.-Armenia Public Affairs Committee (USAPAC) announced its creation in a mission statement last week, pledging to become a “powerful and effective addition to the Armenian-American lobby.” The group will be run by Ross Vartian and Rob Mosher, two former senior executives of the Armenian Assembly of America (AAA), which is led by another U.S.-Armenian tycoon, Hirair Hovnanian. Cafesjian himself has long been a member of the AAA board of trustees. Vartian, who was the Assembly’s chief executive, as recently as last year, insisted that the USAPAC is not a splinter group, arguing that Cafesjian will remain on the Assembly board. “Our primary purpose is to add to the community of the Armenian lobby in a unique and collaborative way and make the Armenian lobby stronger by doing it,” he said. “It’s quite clear that in any large lobby there are many voices,” he said. “The problem is not the number of voices, the problem is do those voices work together? And we pledge to do that.” The AAA and the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) have been instrumental in the passage of congressional bills making Armenia one of the largest per-capita recipients of U.S. aid in the world. They are also at the forefront of a long-running campaign for U.S. recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide.
