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ARMENIA NOT BOLD IN FOREIGN POLICY - SASSOUNIAN
TERT.AM
09.10.12
Armenia's foreign policy over the past years was marked by neither
big achievements nor major failures, according to Harout Sassounian,
the publisher of the California Courier newspaper.
At a news conference on Tuesday, the US-Armenian journalist expressed
what he called his small protest over the Armenian authorities'
foreign policy trends.
"Being a small country, Armenia fails to pursue a bold foreign policy,
without of course, resorting to extremes. I think it is possible to
be braver from time to time," he said, adding that the country should
never miss its chance, be it though a very small one.
"We know the country is surrounded by enemies and facing economic
problems; we are obliged to take all this into consideration, but
as regards the Armenia-Turkey relations, for example, we could have
prepared a better document," he added.
Addressing the Armenian Genocide, Sassounian said he has a special
approach to the issue. According to him, Armenia does not have
to proceed with the efforts towards demanding the recognition of
the crime.
"We all the time speak about pursuing the international recognition of
the Genocide but I don't think it makes sense. The Armenian Genocide
has already become widely acknowledged," he said, enumerating the
countries, including the international organizations which have
recognized the tragedy.
As for the Turks, Sassounian called for reproofing the country by
putting forward a new resolution
"We know that the Genocide has taken place; the world is aware of
the fact. We cannot make the Turks recognize it by either force or
documents, so let them do whatever they like," he said, adding that
efforts to demand justice should constitute the resolution..
"This is probably a global expression, but Armenia's government has to
pursue its steps, protesting against the injustice committed against
our nation," he said, stressing the need of involving Diaspora's
potential in demanding compensation from the powerful neighbor.
As for the Armenia-Diaspora relations, Sassounian noted that they
are far from perfect,
"The Ministry of Diaspora is doing certain things, but there are lots
of issues that remain imperfect," he said, considering Armenia's
failure to seek closer ties to be among the key reasons of such
failtures.
"The next thing to say is that by saying diaspora we mean a single
structure, a unit. But the diaspora is not just one structure; it
includes hundreds of communities," Sassounian said. "Each Armenian
elects a parliament member or a representative from his or her
district. There are probably 350 members of parliament, so it is
necessary to combine the activities."
TERT.AM
09.10.12
Armenia's foreign policy over the past years was marked by neither
big achievements nor major failures, according to Harout Sassounian,
the publisher of the California Courier newspaper.
At a news conference on Tuesday, the US-Armenian journalist expressed
what he called his small protest over the Armenian authorities'
foreign policy trends.
"Being a small country, Armenia fails to pursue a bold foreign policy,
without of course, resorting to extremes. I think it is possible to
be braver from time to time," he said, adding that the country should
never miss its chance, be it though a very small one.
"We know the country is surrounded by enemies and facing economic
problems; we are obliged to take all this into consideration, but
as regards the Armenia-Turkey relations, for example, we could have
prepared a better document," he added.
Addressing the Armenian Genocide, Sassounian said he has a special
approach to the issue. According to him, Armenia does not have
to proceed with the efforts towards demanding the recognition of
the crime.
"We all the time speak about pursuing the international recognition of
the Genocide but I don't think it makes sense. The Armenian Genocide
has already become widely acknowledged," he said, enumerating the
countries, including the international organizations which have
recognized the tragedy.
As for the Turks, Sassounian called for reproofing the country by
putting forward a new resolution
"We know that the Genocide has taken place; the world is aware of
the fact. We cannot make the Turks recognize it by either force or
documents, so let them do whatever they like," he said, adding that
efforts to demand justice should constitute the resolution..
"This is probably a global expression, but Armenia's government has to
pursue its steps, protesting against the injustice committed against
our nation," he said, stressing the need of involving Diaspora's
potential in demanding compensation from the powerful neighbor.
As for the Armenia-Diaspora relations, Sassounian noted that they
are far from perfect,
"The Ministry of Diaspora is doing certain things, but there are lots
of issues that remain imperfect," he said, considering Armenia's
failure to seek closer ties to be among the key reasons of such
failtures.
"The next thing to say is that by saying diaspora we mean a single
structure, a unit. But the diaspora is not just one structure; it
includes hundreds of communities," Sassounian said. "Each Armenian
elects a parliament member or a representative from his or her
district. There are probably 350 members of parliament, so it is
necessary to combine the activities."