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ARARAT CENTER FOR STRATEGIC RESEARCH PROVIDES PERSPECTIVE OF CRITICAL ISSUES
http://www.asbarez.com/index.html?showarti cle=32350_7/1/2008_1
Friday, June 27, 2008
Armenia based political scientist and strategic analyst Armen Ayvazyan
was in Southern California earlier this month giving a series of
lectures and book presentations on the internal political situation in
Armenia and the security risks it faces. During his visit, Asbarez's
Allen Yekikan sat down with Ayvazyan to talk about the Ararat Center
for Strategic Research, its mission and its activities. Ayvazyan,
who holds a PhD in history and political science, is the director of
the Ararat Center for Strategic Research.
The following is the full text of the interview:
Allen Yekikan: Let's start with the obvious. What is the Ararat Center
for Strategic Research? What is its purpose, and mission?
Armen Ayvazyan: The Ararat Center for Strategic Research was
established two years ago. The major objective of the Ararat Center
is to serve as a platform that will bring like-minded Armenian
professionals together to organize, step by step, the creation of
the Armenian strategic school of thought.
Basically, the primary aim of the Ararat Center is to analyze current
developments in the international political arena that pertain to,
or affect, Armenia's interests and, based on those findings, to define
the needs and demands of its national security.
The Ararat Center also conducts research and analysis on issues related
to Artsakh, Javakhk, Genocide recognition and denial, Diasporan affair,
and military security.
A.Y.: Who is your research and analysis for, the Armenian Government,
non-governmental organizations?
A.A: Well, our research will be of use to Armenian decision makers,
basically the government and political and business elites, as well
as the general public.
A.Y.: The Ararat Center seems to be a foreign and security policy
think tank. Will it only be working to affect change in Armenian
political thought or will it also seek to influence ideas in the
broader international arena?
A.A: We want the Ararat Center to emerge as a force that can influence
Armenian issues on a global scale, not just in Armenia. One of the
primary goals of the Ararat Center is, through active publication,
to neutralize the growing anti-Armenian propaganda launched
internationally, on an almost daily basis by Azerbaijan and Turkey. It
is not easy and requires a concerted effort to steadily increase the
international community's awareness of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh's
positions in a comprehensible way.
A.Y.: Does the Ararat Center currently have any projects or initiatives
to counter the obvious bias toward Armenian issues in Foreign Media?
A.A.: Our latest project is an online project called the Foreign
Press Review (http://artmamul.ararat-center.org/) The FPR is actually
geared directly toward countering Turkish-Azeri influence in the
international press. It is an unprecedented project in the Armenian
reality. The FPR brings regular people, academics, professionals,
analysts and journalists together to collect and translate important
foreign media articles related and relevant to Armenia and Armenians,
as well as the region at large.
Priority is given to materials on security and foreign policy issues,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict and the current international
discourse on the Armenian Genocide.
A.Y.: What do you hope to accomplish with the Foreign Policy
Review? What progress has been made thus far?
A.A.: We hope the project will serve as a platform for healthy and
constructive debate and will facilitate the advancement of Armenian
political thought.
We have already posted many articles that have been translated into
Armenian from American, Russian, British, and Turkish sources and
we are expecting translation from the Arabic news sources. Some
volunteers have expressed their desire to occasionally provide us
with translations from Arabic and Persian sources.
A.Y.: Can people in the Diaspora get involved and contribute to this
project? If so, How?
A.A.: Sure. We would greatly appreciate the participation of
anyone who is willing to help and there are several ways to
participate. Along with the work the Ararat Center Staff does on
this front, FPR participants are invited to comment on the facts and
opinions expressed in each article that we flagged.
The participation of the Armenians from around the world could actually
be very multifaceted and dynamic. They could provide us with the actual
articles; they could translate the articles themselves; or just simply
comment on the articles. All of these ways are acceptable and will
be appreciated.
A.Y.: Earlier, you explained that this program was unique, how so?
A.A.: Well, the project is really an exceptional opportunity for
the Armenian public as well as the decision makers in our society
to be informed on how the international press is depicting Armenia
and Armenian issues. The project will also provide opportunities
for Armenian intellectual circles to become acquainted with the
international communities dominant opinions, analysis, and perceptions
are on our issues.
A.Y.: Are there any other projects the Ararat Center is working on?
A.A.: We have also begun a summer school course this July that
is available to Armenian students from the ages of 19 to 28. The
Summer school will center on Armenia and the region in the current
international political system.
This is a very important project, since the basic knowledge about
Armenian security issues is still not comprehended by Armenia's youth,
as well as by its decision makers, the elite and the society at large.
Armenians are still very weak in identifying and recognizing the
threats to their national security and they heavily relying on foreign
research and analysis, which is in many instances not only incorrect,
but also misleading.
We need to analyze and teach our own Armenian issues by ourselves,
independently. We need to identify the threats and the means to counter
these threats, again, by our own independent capacities. Otherwise,
we will always be supplied with biased and insufficient analysis. So
this school is going to provide to young Armenians, perhaps for the
first time, the latest and most recent product of Armenian thought
on our strategic security, historical issues.
We also provide direct links to the original sources of the articles,
so that those who cannot read Armenian well can go and read the
article in the original language. At the same time they can try and
use this opportunity to learn more Armenian, to enrich their knowledge
of their national language.
A.Y.: What are some topics or issues you will be teaching or discussing
during the summer school?
A.A.: We are going to talk about Azerbaijani and Turkish propaganda in
the international arena, as well as ways to counter this propaganda. We
hope that these students will eventually use the knowledge we impart
on them to produce quality work for the good of the nation.
We are doing this rather time consuming job with very scarce human
as well as financial resources.
We also have the Ararat Center Blog, which is another project we have
begun and it includes many activities, including video interviews,
TV interviews, talk shows, radio interviews, lectures and so on. Our
readers themselves can also participate by commenting on each issue.
A.Y.: The Government doesn't provide public grants?
A.A.: No the Government doesn't provide financial assistance in the
form of grants. We are not supported financially by any government.
A.Y.: Why is that? Does it not see the value of the research and
analysis the Ararat Center provides?
A.A.: No they do see the value; the appreciate it too. But they do
not support us, at least they haven't until now. Hopefully, sooner
or later, they will come around and support us, but who knows when
or whether or not they will.
A.Y.: Are there other think tanks like the Ararat Center operating
in Armenia right now? What issues do they work with?
A.A.: We have several think tanks working on internal and external
political issues. Three of those think tanks are state run, while
there are many that are supported by other foreign grants or perhaps
internal grants.
But I can say that the Ararat center is unique in its analysis of
the international and internal security issues by taking interests
and security of Armenia at the at the heart of all of its research.
For us, the analysis of everything is conditioned by the interests
of Armenia's security. The focus is Armenia's security and I think
this makes us unique from one side, and from the other side, I think
our professionalism in the manner in which we analyze has also been
noticed and appreciated by the public both in Armenia and the Diaspora.
A.Y.: What type of research has or does the Ararat Center usually
publish?
On what issues have you been working?
A.A.: Until now the Ararat Center has concentrated and focused mostly
on military security issues, on the Artsakh and Javakh issues. We
have several important publications and books, as well as anthologies
of articles.
"Studies on Strategy and Security," which has actually received the
best book award in Armenia, contains more than 20 articles and analysis
on regional military forces, Artsakh and the liberated territories,
the significance in ensuring the national and military security of
Armenia and balancing the military security situation in the Caucasus.
Some of the articles in the book deal with Military Psychology,
Armenian-Turkey relations and its psychological perspectives, on
Armenian military history, the Armenian Turkish war of 1920, and
Artsakh war.
One of the articles in this book was written by the first commanding
chief of forces in Artsakh, General Arkady "Komandos" Der-Tatevosian.
We have also published a translation in Armenian of the classic book
on military energy by the famous Chinese strategist Tsun Tsu.
The Ararat Center has and continues to write and publish book
reviews. Some very important reviews we have done, for example deal
with the much-propagated book "Black Garden" by British author
Thomas de Waal. The book is completely biased and incorrect in
its analysis and conclusions. It takes the traditional so-called
American neutral and middle ground and sacrifices the truth along the
way. This middle way is only superficial, and although it is seen as
unbiased, it is in fact not. De Waal's book is very pro Azeri and
Anti Armenian. Unfortunately the review we did is in Russian and
there are no resources to translate it right now.
Another recent publication was a translation of British author Norman
Copeland's "Psychology and the Soldier," which is a classic on military
psychology. This book was very well received in the Armenian army and
although it was written during World War II, it still represents a
clear presentation of many applied psychological methods and issues
that armies deal with.
A.Y.: I want to turn to the situation on the ground in Armenia. What
are some of the security threats the country faces today?
A.A.: Well first we need to make it clear that what happened in
February and March in Armenia, with a disputed election, riots, and
a violation of the Artsakh cease-fire, show the lack of awareness
on the part of the Armenian public about the existential security
threats that Armenia faces.
The Armenians do not now understand, or clearly comprehend what could
happen if Azerbaijan attacks and succeeds in overtaking Artsakh. Such
a scenario would automatically result in the fall of Syunik (Southern
Armenia) and without Syunik there is no Armenia. Without Artsakh
there is no Syunik. This is an elementary concept, which is not being
recognized. The Armenians, and the Armenian political elite, or part
of this elite, does not recognize or realize the whole breadth of
the Turkish animosity toward Armenia. They do not assess correctly
the Turkish policies towards Armenia and they also do not comprehend
the dynamics of the Armenian-Turkish and Armenian-Azeri relations.
Instead they hope for an unbelievable and incredible breakthrough to
occur, again counting on western analysis and ideas about regional
integration and Turkey soon becoming a member of the European Union.
A.Y.: So what are the dynamics of Turkish-Armenian-Azeri relations?
A.A.: Turkish animosity will not end in the near future. The objective
of Turkey and its junior ally Azerbaijan is not only the occupation
of Artsakh, But the destruction of Armenia as a country, as a state,
and as a nation.
But this threat is not being recognized. Otherwise, both the public
and the authorities, or at least segments of public and elite,
would have behaved much more responsibly, and would have mobilized
their resources for building a real democratic society in Armenia,
built on social justice and the fundamental of democracy.
A.Y.: Do you think its the responsibility of think tanks, or research
centers like the Ararat Center to push government and society to see
this reality?
A.A.: Absolutely, we need to raise awareness, to analyze the possible
developments and to give correct, or more correct prognosis.
A.Y. Some may argue that, in the Diaspora, we know or understand
even less the threats that Armenia faces. But at the end of the day,
how can one teach the new generation in the Diaspora what they don't
know, and how can the Diaspora be engaged and activated the Diaspora,
to prepare them for the threats that lay ahead.
A.A.: There has only been one practical way of engaging the Diaspora.
Unfortunately until now that engagement has been about the issue of
genocide, which after Armenia became independent, in fact, ceased to
be the number one issue of Armenians and Armenia.
he recognition of genocide by international community is the only
visible front where the Armenians of Diaspora could have acted before
Armenian became independent, but after independence the situation on
the ground has completely changed and after that the approaches to
Armenian Diaspora relations and the priorities of lobby activities
should have been revised and reviewed more thoroughly.
Until now Armenian lobby organizations in the US, continue to
work mostly toward the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Ninety
percent of the Diaspora's events are devoted to the Genocide issue. It
shouldn't have been this way.
Armenia's security, Artsakh, Javakhk, and Armenian-Turkish relations
should have been dealt with much more actively and proactively and they
should have been protected on information front in the international
press. No article, for example, representing the Armenian position
on Artsakh has ever been published in the leading journals of
international studies in the west.
We brag about the powerful Armenian lobby in the United States,
but I don't agree with such assessments.
A.Y.: What do you think needs to be revised in the Diasporas lobbying
policies or strategies? And Why?
A.A.: One example, is the Armenian Lobby's goal for pressuring Turkey,
through the US, to open its end its blockade of Armenia and open
its border.
These organizations have, however, never tried to raise the question of
ending Georgia's blockade of Armenia's railway coming through Abkhazia.
Turkey can resist American pressures and keep their border closed,
but Georgia cannot resist American demands.
Russia would like to see this border opened, Armenia would like to
see it open, if America were to pressure its juniors ally Georgia
to open it, then we would not even need the Turkish border to be
opened. The Turkish blockade wouldn't be felt the way we feel it now.
On the other hand, the opening of the Turkish border at this stage
could have detrimental affects on Armenia's economy, national security,
psychology, demography and her cultural perceptions and so on.
I'm not propagating the closure of this border, but it should be
opened only if some preconditions are met.
A.Y.: What are those preconditions?
A.A.: The border should only be opened when Turkey changes its attitude
toward Armenia; when turkey does not pursue the same hostile policies
toward Armenia. Only after that, could the opening of this border
have some positive affects on Armenia.
I also think the Diaspora's organizations should revise their
policies when they talk about the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide. Genocide Recognition should be very effectively tied up
to the real needs of Armenia; to the situation on the ground; and
to the security of Armenia, otherwise we have now, some 20 states,
which have recognized the Armenian Genocide, but have not revised
their policies towards Armenia.
We have Canada and Poland, which have recognized the genocide but
so what?
Have their policies on Artsakh and Armenia changed? No. Has France's
position on the Artsakh issue changed? No. These countries still
do not recognize the right of the Armenians to have secure borders,
and to have Artsakh free of any Azerbaijani threat. In that regard,
we are failing to capitalize on the issue of these international
recognitions of the Armenian Genocide.
But because both the Armenian state and the Diaspora have been
concentrating on the Genocide issues, we fail to see the real
issue. You know, we can lose Armenia tomorrow and have the Genocide
still be recognized by the world. Who cares about recognition after
Armenia is destroyed? Turkey itself will recognize the Genocide and
start making movies about it when there is no Armenia and when the
Armenian nation is destroyed and spread all over the world. So the
priorities should be reviewed again, revised. We have no time; we
have lost a lot of time.
A.Y.: Based on what you are saying, it sounds as though there might
be a vacuum, or a void in Armenian political consciousness. Do you
think we need to start having a real dialogue on these issues?
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
http://www.asbarez.com/index.html?showarti cle=32350_7/1/2008_1
Friday, June 27, 2008
Armenia based political scientist and strategic analyst Armen Ayvazyan
was in Southern California earlier this month giving a series of
lectures and book presentations on the internal political situation in
Armenia and the security risks it faces. During his visit, Asbarez's
Allen Yekikan sat down with Ayvazyan to talk about the Ararat Center
for Strategic Research, its mission and its activities. Ayvazyan,
who holds a PhD in history and political science, is the director of
the Ararat Center for Strategic Research.
The following is the full text of the interview:
Allen Yekikan: Let's start with the obvious. What is the Ararat Center
for Strategic Research? What is its purpose, and mission?
Armen Ayvazyan: The Ararat Center for Strategic Research was
established two years ago. The major objective of the Ararat Center
is to serve as a platform that will bring like-minded Armenian
professionals together to organize, step by step, the creation of
the Armenian strategic school of thought.
Basically, the primary aim of the Ararat Center is to analyze current
developments in the international political arena that pertain to,
or affect, Armenia's interests and, based on those findings, to define
the needs and demands of its national security.
The Ararat Center also conducts research and analysis on issues related
to Artsakh, Javakhk, Genocide recognition and denial, Diasporan affair,
and military security.
A.Y.: Who is your research and analysis for, the Armenian Government,
non-governmental organizations?
A.A: Well, our research will be of use to Armenian decision makers,
basically the government and political and business elites, as well
as the general public.
A.Y.: The Ararat Center seems to be a foreign and security policy
think tank. Will it only be working to affect change in Armenian
political thought or will it also seek to influence ideas in the
broader international arena?
A.A: We want the Ararat Center to emerge as a force that can influence
Armenian issues on a global scale, not just in Armenia. One of the
primary goals of the Ararat Center is, through active publication,
to neutralize the growing anti-Armenian propaganda launched
internationally, on an almost daily basis by Azerbaijan and Turkey. It
is not easy and requires a concerted effort to steadily increase the
international community's awareness of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh's
positions in a comprehensible way.
A.Y.: Does the Ararat Center currently have any projects or initiatives
to counter the obvious bias toward Armenian issues in Foreign Media?
A.A.: Our latest project is an online project called the Foreign
Press Review (http://artmamul.ararat-center.org/) The FPR is actually
geared directly toward countering Turkish-Azeri influence in the
international press. It is an unprecedented project in the Armenian
reality. The FPR brings regular people, academics, professionals,
analysts and journalists together to collect and translate important
foreign media articles related and relevant to Armenia and Armenians,
as well as the region at large.
Priority is given to materials on security and foreign policy issues,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict and the current international
discourse on the Armenian Genocide.
A.Y.: What do you hope to accomplish with the Foreign Policy
Review? What progress has been made thus far?
A.A.: We hope the project will serve as a platform for healthy and
constructive debate and will facilitate the advancement of Armenian
political thought.
We have already posted many articles that have been translated into
Armenian from American, Russian, British, and Turkish sources and
we are expecting translation from the Arabic news sources. Some
volunteers have expressed their desire to occasionally provide us
with translations from Arabic and Persian sources.
A.Y.: Can people in the Diaspora get involved and contribute to this
project? If so, How?
A.A.: Sure. We would greatly appreciate the participation of
anyone who is willing to help and there are several ways to
participate. Along with the work the Ararat Center Staff does on
this front, FPR participants are invited to comment on the facts and
opinions expressed in each article that we flagged.
The participation of the Armenians from around the world could actually
be very multifaceted and dynamic. They could provide us with the actual
articles; they could translate the articles themselves; or just simply
comment on the articles. All of these ways are acceptable and will
be appreciated.
A.Y.: Earlier, you explained that this program was unique, how so?
A.A.: Well, the project is really an exceptional opportunity for
the Armenian public as well as the decision makers in our society
to be informed on how the international press is depicting Armenia
and Armenian issues. The project will also provide opportunities
for Armenian intellectual circles to become acquainted with the
international communities dominant opinions, analysis, and perceptions
are on our issues.
A.Y.: Are there any other projects the Ararat Center is working on?
A.A.: We have also begun a summer school course this July that
is available to Armenian students from the ages of 19 to 28. The
Summer school will center on Armenia and the region in the current
international political system.
This is a very important project, since the basic knowledge about
Armenian security issues is still not comprehended by Armenia's youth,
as well as by its decision makers, the elite and the society at large.
Armenians are still very weak in identifying and recognizing the
threats to their national security and they heavily relying on foreign
research and analysis, which is in many instances not only incorrect,
but also misleading.
We need to analyze and teach our own Armenian issues by ourselves,
independently. We need to identify the threats and the means to counter
these threats, again, by our own independent capacities. Otherwise,
we will always be supplied with biased and insufficient analysis. So
this school is going to provide to young Armenians, perhaps for the
first time, the latest and most recent product of Armenian thought
on our strategic security, historical issues.
We also provide direct links to the original sources of the articles,
so that those who cannot read Armenian well can go and read the
article in the original language. At the same time they can try and
use this opportunity to learn more Armenian, to enrich their knowledge
of their national language.
A.Y.: What are some topics or issues you will be teaching or discussing
during the summer school?
A.A.: We are going to talk about Azerbaijani and Turkish propaganda in
the international arena, as well as ways to counter this propaganda. We
hope that these students will eventually use the knowledge we impart
on them to produce quality work for the good of the nation.
We are doing this rather time consuming job with very scarce human
as well as financial resources.
We also have the Ararat Center Blog, which is another project we have
begun and it includes many activities, including video interviews,
TV interviews, talk shows, radio interviews, lectures and so on. Our
readers themselves can also participate by commenting on each issue.
A.Y.: The Government doesn't provide public grants?
A.A.: No the Government doesn't provide financial assistance in the
form of grants. We are not supported financially by any government.
A.Y.: Why is that? Does it not see the value of the research and
analysis the Ararat Center provides?
A.A.: No they do see the value; the appreciate it too. But they do
not support us, at least they haven't until now. Hopefully, sooner
or later, they will come around and support us, but who knows when
or whether or not they will.
A.Y.: Are there other think tanks like the Ararat Center operating
in Armenia right now? What issues do they work with?
A.A.: We have several think tanks working on internal and external
political issues. Three of those think tanks are state run, while
there are many that are supported by other foreign grants or perhaps
internal grants.
But I can say that the Ararat center is unique in its analysis of
the international and internal security issues by taking interests
and security of Armenia at the at the heart of all of its research.
For us, the analysis of everything is conditioned by the interests
of Armenia's security. The focus is Armenia's security and I think
this makes us unique from one side, and from the other side, I think
our professionalism in the manner in which we analyze has also been
noticed and appreciated by the public both in Armenia and the Diaspora.
A.Y.: What type of research has or does the Ararat Center usually
publish?
On what issues have you been working?
A.A.: Until now the Ararat Center has concentrated and focused mostly
on military security issues, on the Artsakh and Javakh issues. We
have several important publications and books, as well as anthologies
of articles.
"Studies on Strategy and Security," which has actually received the
best book award in Armenia, contains more than 20 articles and analysis
on regional military forces, Artsakh and the liberated territories,
the significance in ensuring the national and military security of
Armenia and balancing the military security situation in the Caucasus.
Some of the articles in the book deal with Military Psychology,
Armenian-Turkey relations and its psychological perspectives, on
Armenian military history, the Armenian Turkish war of 1920, and
Artsakh war.
One of the articles in this book was written by the first commanding
chief of forces in Artsakh, General Arkady "Komandos" Der-Tatevosian.
We have also published a translation in Armenian of the classic book
on military energy by the famous Chinese strategist Tsun Tsu.
The Ararat Center has and continues to write and publish book
reviews. Some very important reviews we have done, for example deal
with the much-propagated book "Black Garden" by British author
Thomas de Waal. The book is completely biased and incorrect in
its analysis and conclusions. It takes the traditional so-called
American neutral and middle ground and sacrifices the truth along the
way. This middle way is only superficial, and although it is seen as
unbiased, it is in fact not. De Waal's book is very pro Azeri and
Anti Armenian. Unfortunately the review we did is in Russian and
there are no resources to translate it right now.
Another recent publication was a translation of British author Norman
Copeland's "Psychology and the Soldier," which is a classic on military
psychology. This book was very well received in the Armenian army and
although it was written during World War II, it still represents a
clear presentation of many applied psychological methods and issues
that armies deal with.
A.Y.: I want to turn to the situation on the ground in Armenia. What
are some of the security threats the country faces today?
A.A.: Well first we need to make it clear that what happened in
February and March in Armenia, with a disputed election, riots, and
a violation of the Artsakh cease-fire, show the lack of awareness
on the part of the Armenian public about the existential security
threats that Armenia faces.
The Armenians do not now understand, or clearly comprehend what could
happen if Azerbaijan attacks and succeeds in overtaking Artsakh. Such
a scenario would automatically result in the fall of Syunik (Southern
Armenia) and without Syunik there is no Armenia. Without Artsakh
there is no Syunik. This is an elementary concept, which is not being
recognized. The Armenians, and the Armenian political elite, or part
of this elite, does not recognize or realize the whole breadth of
the Turkish animosity toward Armenia. They do not assess correctly
the Turkish policies towards Armenia and they also do not comprehend
the dynamics of the Armenian-Turkish and Armenian-Azeri relations.
Instead they hope for an unbelievable and incredible breakthrough to
occur, again counting on western analysis and ideas about regional
integration and Turkey soon becoming a member of the European Union.
A.Y.: So what are the dynamics of Turkish-Armenian-Azeri relations?
A.A.: Turkish animosity will not end in the near future. The objective
of Turkey and its junior ally Azerbaijan is not only the occupation
of Artsakh, But the destruction of Armenia as a country, as a state,
and as a nation.
But this threat is not being recognized. Otherwise, both the public
and the authorities, or at least segments of public and elite,
would have behaved much more responsibly, and would have mobilized
their resources for building a real democratic society in Armenia,
built on social justice and the fundamental of democracy.
A.Y.: Do you think its the responsibility of think tanks, or research
centers like the Ararat Center to push government and society to see
this reality?
A.A.: Absolutely, we need to raise awareness, to analyze the possible
developments and to give correct, or more correct prognosis.
A.Y. Some may argue that, in the Diaspora, we know or understand
even less the threats that Armenia faces. But at the end of the day,
how can one teach the new generation in the Diaspora what they don't
know, and how can the Diaspora be engaged and activated the Diaspora,
to prepare them for the threats that lay ahead.
A.A.: There has only been one practical way of engaging the Diaspora.
Unfortunately until now that engagement has been about the issue of
genocide, which after Armenia became independent, in fact, ceased to
be the number one issue of Armenians and Armenia.
he recognition of genocide by international community is the only
visible front where the Armenians of Diaspora could have acted before
Armenian became independent, but after independence the situation on
the ground has completely changed and after that the approaches to
Armenian Diaspora relations and the priorities of lobby activities
should have been revised and reviewed more thoroughly.
Until now Armenian lobby organizations in the US, continue to
work mostly toward the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Ninety
percent of the Diaspora's events are devoted to the Genocide issue. It
shouldn't have been this way.
Armenia's security, Artsakh, Javakhk, and Armenian-Turkish relations
should have been dealt with much more actively and proactively and they
should have been protected on information front in the international
press. No article, for example, representing the Armenian position
on Artsakh has ever been published in the leading journals of
international studies in the west.
We brag about the powerful Armenian lobby in the United States,
but I don't agree with such assessments.
A.Y.: What do you think needs to be revised in the Diasporas lobbying
policies or strategies? And Why?
A.A.: One example, is the Armenian Lobby's goal for pressuring Turkey,
through the US, to open its end its blockade of Armenia and open
its border.
These organizations have, however, never tried to raise the question of
ending Georgia's blockade of Armenia's railway coming through Abkhazia.
Turkey can resist American pressures and keep their border closed,
but Georgia cannot resist American demands.
Russia would like to see this border opened, Armenia would like to
see it open, if America were to pressure its juniors ally Georgia
to open it, then we would not even need the Turkish border to be
opened. The Turkish blockade wouldn't be felt the way we feel it now.
On the other hand, the opening of the Turkish border at this stage
could have detrimental affects on Armenia's economy, national security,
psychology, demography and her cultural perceptions and so on.
I'm not propagating the closure of this border, but it should be
opened only if some preconditions are met.
A.Y.: What are those preconditions?
A.A.: The border should only be opened when Turkey changes its attitude
toward Armenia; when turkey does not pursue the same hostile policies
toward Armenia. Only after that, could the opening of this border
have some positive affects on Armenia.
I also think the Diaspora's organizations should revise their
policies when they talk about the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide. Genocide Recognition should be very effectively tied up
to the real needs of Armenia; to the situation on the ground; and
to the security of Armenia, otherwise we have now, some 20 states,
which have recognized the Armenian Genocide, but have not revised
their policies towards Armenia.
We have Canada and Poland, which have recognized the genocide but
so what?
Have their policies on Artsakh and Armenia changed? No. Has France's
position on the Artsakh issue changed? No. These countries still
do not recognize the right of the Armenians to have secure borders,
and to have Artsakh free of any Azerbaijani threat. In that regard,
we are failing to capitalize on the issue of these international
recognitions of the Armenian Genocide.
But because both the Armenian state and the Diaspora have been
concentrating on the Genocide issues, we fail to see the real
issue. You know, we can lose Armenia tomorrow and have the Genocide
still be recognized by the world. Who cares about recognition after
Armenia is destroyed? Turkey itself will recognize the Genocide and
start making movies about it when there is no Armenia and when the
Armenian nation is destroyed and spread all over the world. So the
priorities should be reviewed again, revised. We have no time; we
have lost a lot of time.
A.Y.: Based on what you are saying, it sounds as though there might
be a vacuum, or a void in Armenian political consciousness. Do you
think we need to start having a real dialogue on these issues?
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress