InternationalArmenia and diaspora alike pursue affirmation
Published: Thursday February 05, 2009
Speaking of efforts to improve relations between Armenia and Turkey, the Turkish prime minister said a few days ago, "The Armenian diaspora is plotting."
The Turkish government could "see very clearly and sharply" that the diaspora is "utilizing" against Turkey the issue of the Genocide, he said. "This is obvious. But I also see that the current administration in Armenia doesn't take part in this" (Today's Zaman, Jan. 29).
Is there any truth to the prime minister's assertion?
Is the quest for universal affirmation of the Armenian Genocide primarily the diaspora's issue? Are Armenia and the diaspora are at odds over this issue? Does Armenia not support universal affirmation of the genocide?
The prime minister certainly knows that almost the entire population of Armenia comes out every April 24 to make the pilgrimage to the Armenian Genocide memorial at Tzitzernakaberd. And that Armenia's national security strategy explicitly calls for pursuing universal affirmation. But perhaps he wants us to think that "the current administration in Armenia" doesn't really take this commitment seriously.
A fund-raising event in Dubai on February 2 showed clearly that the Turkish prime minister was mistaken.
What was remarkable about the event, organized by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation in support of its advocacy activities in Europe and the Middle East, was the range of support it got from Armenia.
First, the fund-raiser was supported by the president of Armenia, Serge Sargsian. In a letter dated January 25, Mr. Sargsian reminded participants in the event of the importance of united support for "our collective national goals," including the "international recognition of the Armenian Genocide."
Second, the head of the Prosperous Armenia Party, a prosperous entrepreneur, attended the event and made a significant donation.
Thus, the heads of the two political parties with the largest delegations in the National Assembly - the president's Republican Party of Armenia and the Prosperous Armenia Party - set aside partisanship to support the efforts of another political party, the one with the third-largest parliamentary mandate, to pursue the "Armenian Cause," and above all, universal affirmation of the Armenian Genocide.
Add to this the fact that the event also had the support of prominent Russian-Armenian and Middle Eastern Armenian figures, and the message is unmistakable: when it comes to affirmation of the Armenian Genocide, there is no distance between Armenia and the Armenian diaspora.
But who would have thought otherwise?
