Royal Seal On Armenia
On May 28, the 95th anniversary of the First Republic, Prince Charles
will arrive in Armenia for a two-day private visit. He will be the
first member of the royal family to visit Armenia.
Notably, Prince Charles visits Armenia on the anniversary of the First
Republic. The role of Great Britain was not secondary in the
developments of the early 20th century. In addition, this role did not
favor Armenia. And though the first republic had a short life and was
destroyed by bolshevist Russia, Armenia is again independent, and the
visit of the British royal family could be interpreted as a
compensation of moral debt to our state.
On the other hand, the visit of Prince Charles to Armenia was not
perceived straightforwardly. A greater part of the society perceives
his visit as part of interest of the British capital in Armenian
mines, namely the gold mine of Amulsar, which will be produced by a
British company. Environmentalists are worried about violation of
environmental rules there.
The U.K. Ambassador Jonathan Aves says the British company follows
environmental requirements in Amulsar.
The word British is relative because the name of the ex-prime minister
of Armenia Armen Sargsyan is among the heads of the company producing
gold there. Armen Sargsyan has included Prince Charles in Yerevan My
Love Fund founded by him.
Besides the meetings with Serzh Sargsyan and the Catholicos, the
agenda of the prince includes only the events of the Fund, including
public and social projects.
Prince Charles may assure that Yerevan is his love. The official
agenda does not mention remote Amulsar.
Prince Charles does not have a political status but his status has a
political importance. It is hard to tell whether Prince Charles visits
Armenia because he could not pursue his mine interests from London.
That would not be a problem for Charles and he would hardly have to
come to Yerevan for that. So the intrigue or core is other than the
interests of the British capital in mines.
On the other hand, the deputy foreign minister would be sufficient for
the level of Armenia.
The Armenian visit of Prince Charles is a British message to the
region, it is the royal seal on Armenia.
Is this a seal of protection or denial? This is the question.
Obviously, Great Britain has enlarged its presence in the regional
political processes. Naturally, it should have closer relations with
Armenia rather than any other country because Armenia is the only
political raw material of the region the production of which will
generate political income.
By the way, Russia's behavior is interesting recently. It is trying to
win over Azerbaijan and takes tough steps and statements against
Armenia. The problem is not the European Union which is further than
British interest. Russians hardly ever live at present, they are the
hostage of history both in life and politics and live with the
patterns and scopes of the past. In this context, the geopolitical
confrontation with the British has a key role for Russia.
Unfortunately, the intellectual potential of Armenia was not enough to
`obtain' the `license' for production of Armenia's political raw
material, and it remains in the hands of the apolitical system.
Now Armenia has lost control over the processes, and all one can do is
hope that Prince Charles really loves Yerevan, and not only Yerevan
but also Armenia.
Hakob Badalyan
20:28 24/05/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/index/eng/0/comments/view/29970
On May 28, the 95th anniversary of the First Republic, Prince Charles
will arrive in Armenia for a two-day private visit. He will be the
first member of the royal family to visit Armenia.
Notably, Prince Charles visits Armenia on the anniversary of the First
Republic. The role of Great Britain was not secondary in the
developments of the early 20th century. In addition, this role did not
favor Armenia. And though the first republic had a short life and was
destroyed by bolshevist Russia, Armenia is again independent, and the
visit of the British royal family could be interpreted as a
compensation of moral debt to our state.
On the other hand, the visit of Prince Charles to Armenia was not
perceived straightforwardly. A greater part of the society perceives
his visit as part of interest of the British capital in Armenian
mines, namely the gold mine of Amulsar, which will be produced by a
British company. Environmentalists are worried about violation of
environmental rules there.
The U.K. Ambassador Jonathan Aves says the British company follows
environmental requirements in Amulsar.
The word British is relative because the name of the ex-prime minister
of Armenia Armen Sargsyan is among the heads of the company producing
gold there. Armen Sargsyan has included Prince Charles in Yerevan My
Love Fund founded by him.
Besides the meetings with Serzh Sargsyan and the Catholicos, the
agenda of the prince includes only the events of the Fund, including
public and social projects.
Prince Charles may assure that Yerevan is his love. The official
agenda does not mention remote Amulsar.
Prince Charles does not have a political status but his status has a
political importance. It is hard to tell whether Prince Charles visits
Armenia because he could not pursue his mine interests from London.
That would not be a problem for Charles and he would hardly have to
come to Yerevan for that. So the intrigue or core is other than the
interests of the British capital in mines.
On the other hand, the deputy foreign minister would be sufficient for
the level of Armenia.
The Armenian visit of Prince Charles is a British message to the
region, it is the royal seal on Armenia.
Is this a seal of protection or denial? This is the question.
Obviously, Great Britain has enlarged its presence in the regional
political processes. Naturally, it should have closer relations with
Armenia rather than any other country because Armenia is the only
political raw material of the region the production of which will
generate political income.
By the way, Russia's behavior is interesting recently. It is trying to
win over Azerbaijan and takes tough steps and statements against
Armenia. The problem is not the European Union which is further than
British interest. Russians hardly ever live at present, they are the
hostage of history both in life and politics and live with the
patterns and scopes of the past. In this context, the geopolitical
confrontation with the British has a key role for Russia.
Unfortunately, the intellectual potential of Armenia was not enough to
`obtain' the `license' for production of Armenia's political raw
material, and it remains in the hands of the apolitical system.
Now Armenia has lost control over the processes, and all one can do is
hope that Prince Charles really loves Yerevan, and not only Yerevan
but also Armenia.
Hakob Badalyan
20:28 24/05/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/index/eng/0/comments/view/29970