If we don't somehow stop pro-Washington activists and operatives in the Armenian community from doing what they do (many of whom don't even realize they are doing Washington's dirty work), Armenia will eventually suffer the same fate that befell Serbia, Iraq, Syria, Libya and Iran. The Armenian government needs to closely monitor every single individual and organization that has any kind of connection with the political West, especially Washington. The media blitz campaign, the US government sanctioned psyop to sow anti-Armenia sentiments and societal despair within the English speaking Armenian community is continuing in full force. This is a long-term campaign and it will be a multi-pronged approach.
With Armenians still politically asleep... with various sociopolitical issues plaguing Armenia as a result of the global economic crisis and the region's geopolitical circumstances... with significant numbers of Armenian political and social activists getting recruited by Washington... the masterminds of war and exploitation are currently preparing their future battlefield in Armenia.
The following articles recently appeared on the web. The first one is written by a Neocon vermin named Michael Rubin and the second one is written by a prominent American-Armenian named Nubar Dorian (who incidentally may be suffering from either hallucinations or senility). This Nubar Dorian character (who unsurprisingly is affiliated with the Armenian Assembly of America) is not a unique case, there are many deeply ignorant and self-hating Armenians like him in the US. Most American-Armenian today, regardless of age, education level, financial status and/or mental heath, exhibit Nubar's unique form of psychological disorder. Although I wouldn't say it was entirely unexpected, the American-Armenian community is fast becoming an obstacle to the forward progression of the Armenian state. Nevertheless, Nubar's silly nonsense about Armenia does not warrant a response, for it would be an utter waste of time. However, Micheal Rubin's Armenophobia does deserve a second look. Immediately following my commentary, I have posted an appropriate response to Rubin's anti-Armenian rant. The piece in question is written by a colleague of mine who's identity shall remain anonymous and it is aptly titled - "What's Wrong With Michael Rubin?"
For the sake of perspective and context, I have also reposted Garin Hovannisian's article from last September 21 at the bottom of this page. This is the article in which Garin shamelessly chose Armenian Independence day to publicly attack Armenia in a shameless self-serving effort to pander to his family's handlers in Washington.
Arevordi
April, 2011
The following is a link to my blog page devoted to the psyop campaign in question: http://theriseofrussia.blogspot.com/p/media-blitz.html
With Armenians still politically asleep... with various sociopolitical issues plaguing Armenia as a result of the global economic crisis and the region's geopolitical circumstances... with significant numbers of Armenian political and social activists getting recruited by Washington... the masterminds of war and exploitation are currently preparing their future battlefield in Armenia.
The following articles recently appeared on the web. The first one is written by a Neocon vermin named Michael Rubin and the second one is written by a prominent American-Armenian named Nubar Dorian (who incidentally may be suffering from either hallucinations or senility). This Nubar Dorian character (who unsurprisingly is affiliated with the Armenian Assembly of America) is not a unique case, there are many deeply ignorant and self-hating Armenians like him in the US. Most American-Armenian today, regardless of age, education level, financial status and/or mental heath, exhibit Nubar's unique form of psychological disorder. Although I wouldn't say it was entirely unexpected, the American-Armenian community is fast becoming an obstacle to the forward progression of the Armenian state. Nevertheless, Nubar's silly nonsense about Armenia does not warrant a response, for it would be an utter waste of time. However, Micheal Rubin's Armenophobia does deserve a second look. Immediately following my commentary, I have posted an appropriate response to Rubin's anti-Armenian rant. The piece in question is written by a colleague of mine who's identity shall remain anonymous and it is aptly titled - "What's Wrong With Michael Rubin?"
For the sake of perspective and context, I have also reposted Garin Hovannisian's article from last September 21 at the bottom of this page. This is the article in which Garin shamelessly chose Armenian Independence day to publicly attack Armenia in a shameless self-serving effort to pander to his family's handlers in Washington.
Arevordi
April, 2011
***
What’s Wrong with Michael Rubin?
After reading a recent article by Michael Rubin, who’s from the neo-con think tank, American Enterprise Institute, I felt it was only proper to dissect his ill-thought-out analysis on a point by point basis. To begin with, Rubin claims that the Armenian Genocide is still debated by historians. No, it isn’t. The preeminent genocide studying organization, I’m of course referring to the International Association of Genocide Scholars, has described the massacres of over 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Turks as a genocide on two separate occasions, in 1997 and once again in 2007. The only ‘historians’ who deny the genocide are those on a Turkish payroll. Someone should point out to Rubin that the Holocaust is also debated but no one pays attention to the revisionists in this case. Next, Rubin claims that the demands of the American-Armenian community to have the U.S. officially recognize the Armenian Genocide are “doing a disservice to U.S. national security.” Yet, he fails to mention how a non binding Congressional resolution will hurt American national security interests. Turkey has made threats to other nations that have recognized the Genocide, most notably France, yet time and again, the threats proved to be little more than a short term diplomatic spat, with no lasting impact on military or commercial ties. Furthermore, if the U.S. really is the champion of human rights and democracy, then recognizing genocides and calling a spade a spade will go a long way in proving America’s stated commitment to human rights and democracy promotion. This in turn would be another useful tool in American soft-power, and thus a boost to U.S. national security, not a hindrance. Otherwise, the U.S. should drop any pretensions to being a champion of human rights.
Following the above, Rubin makes the absurd claim that Armenia has been “largely antagonistic” toward the U.S. He cites two points to support this. First, he compares Armenia’s voting record in the U.N. to that of the U.S. and Israel, and then brings in Armenia’s ties with Iran. Let me start off by saying that U.S.-Armenia relations are quite cordial. The Armenian government has been a reliable partner in the U.S. led War on Terror, allowing American military planes to fly over Armenian airspace, as well as sending a small contingent of Armenian soldiers to Iraq and Afghanistan. Since Rubin brought up the U.N., he should look at the voting record of Turkey and the U.S., they are not in unison either. In fact, last May, Turkey, along with Brazil, drafted a proposal with Iran concerning its alleged nuclear weapons program, which went against perceived American interests and was thus voted down by the U.S. and its European allies. As for Armenia’s relations with Iran, Rubin fails to cite the main reason behind this, energy, and the ongoing illegal blockade of Armenia by Turkey. Because of the blockade imposed by Ankara, Armenia relies on its sole nuclear power plant in Metsamor for 40% of its energy needs and the rest from imported Russian gas that is piped in through volatile Georgia. Armenia needed to diversify its energy sources and providers, and it found a willing partner in Iran, which has large quantities of oil and gas.
Staying on the topic of Iran, Rubin claims that Armenia has supplied Iran with weapons before, using as his source a leaked diplomatic cable from the early 2000s. While it is difficult to verify the accuracy of this claim, recent reports have alleged that American military trainers have been helping to train the snipers of the Azeri army, who are positioned only a few hundred meters from the Armenian position. The Azeris continue to ignore the 1994 ceasefire that brought an end to the war over Nagorno-Karabakh, and have killed a number of Armenian soldiers and even innocent villagers over the last few years. Should the Armenian government now consider the U.S. as a hostile nation? If we follow Rubin’s logic, yes.
Finally, Rubin suggests that the Armenian lobby and American-Armenians in general, should attempt to convince the Armenian government and natives of Armenia to pursue a military, economic, security, and diplomatic partnership with the U.S. He claims he is using a ‘realists’ approach to the situation but it would seem he skipped the class on realism and particularly the section on geopolitics. Though one can write a great deal on this topic, for my purposes it will suffice it to say that while Armenia should continue to have cordial relations with Washington, and be open to furthering economic and military relations, it should not abandon its strategic ties with Moscow or close economic relations with Tehran. Iran provides Armenia with energy security, while Russia guarantees that Armenian sovereignty will not be violated by Turkey. This is interesting to note because contrary to Rubin’s claim that there is something wrong with Armenia, the truth is that there’s something wrong with Turkey. As long as it denies the genocide of Armenians, as long as it provides direct military assistance to Azerbaijan, and as long as it maintains the illegal blockade of Armenia, it will remain an existential threat to the Armenian state and people. So next time Mr. Rubin decides to write an article on Armenia, he should first research properly, before putting pen to paper. Otherwise, he is just another hack with a two bit agenda to push.
Following the above, Rubin makes the absurd claim that Armenia has been “largely antagonistic” toward the U.S. He cites two points to support this. First, he compares Armenia’s voting record in the U.N. to that of the U.S. and Israel, and then brings in Armenia’s ties with Iran. Let me start off by saying that U.S.-Armenia relations are quite cordial. The Armenian government has been a reliable partner in the U.S. led War on Terror, allowing American military planes to fly over Armenian airspace, as well as sending a small contingent of Armenian soldiers to Iraq and Afghanistan. Since Rubin brought up the U.N., he should look at the voting record of Turkey and the U.S., they are not in unison either. In fact, last May, Turkey, along with Brazil, drafted a proposal with Iran concerning its alleged nuclear weapons program, which went against perceived American interests and was thus voted down by the U.S. and its European allies. As for Armenia’s relations with Iran, Rubin fails to cite the main reason behind this, energy, and the ongoing illegal blockade of Armenia by Turkey. Because of the blockade imposed by Ankara, Armenia relies on its sole nuclear power plant in Metsamor for 40% of its energy needs and the rest from imported Russian gas that is piped in through volatile Georgia. Armenia needed to diversify its energy sources and providers, and it found a willing partner in Iran, which has large quantities of oil and gas.
Staying on the topic of Iran, Rubin claims that Armenia has supplied Iran with weapons before, using as his source a leaked diplomatic cable from the early 2000s. While it is difficult to verify the accuracy of this claim, recent reports have alleged that American military trainers have been helping to train the snipers of the Azeri army, who are positioned only a few hundred meters from the Armenian position. The Azeris continue to ignore the 1994 ceasefire that brought an end to the war over Nagorno-Karabakh, and have killed a number of Armenian soldiers and even innocent villagers over the last few years. Should the Armenian government now consider the U.S. as a hostile nation? If we follow Rubin’s logic, yes.
Finally, Rubin suggests that the Armenian lobby and American-Armenians in general, should attempt to convince the Armenian government and natives of Armenia to pursue a military, economic, security, and diplomatic partnership with the U.S. He claims he is using a ‘realists’ approach to the situation but it would seem he skipped the class on realism and particularly the section on geopolitics. Though one can write a great deal on this topic, for my purposes it will suffice it to say that while Armenia should continue to have cordial relations with Washington, and be open to furthering economic and military relations, it should not abandon its strategic ties with Moscow or close economic relations with Tehran. Iran provides Armenia with energy security, while Russia guarantees that Armenian sovereignty will not be violated by Turkey. This is interesting to note because contrary to Rubin’s claim that there is something wrong with Armenia, the truth is that there’s something wrong with Turkey. As long as it denies the genocide of Armenians, as long as it provides direct military assistance to Azerbaijan, and as long as it maintains the illegal blockade of Armenia, it will remain an existential threat to the Armenian state and people. So next time Mr. Rubin decides to write an article on Armenia, he should first research properly, before putting pen to paper. Otherwise, he is just another hack with a two bit agenda to push.
Anonymous
***
What’s Wrong with Armenia?
By Michael Rubin
Source: http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2011/04/22/whats-wrong-with-armenia/
Every year, efforts by the Armenian Diaspora in the United States to win formal Congressional and Presidential recognition of the Armenian Genocide culminate on April 24, the date Armenians mark as their Genocide Remembrance Day. It’s a hot-button issue which historians still debate. Genocide scholars and Armenian historians declare that deliberate genocide occurred, while many Turkish historians and Ottoman specialists question argue that Ottoman officials did not conduct premeditated genocide, but rather that between 600,000 and 1.5 million Armenians died in the fog of war. Regardless, the deaths of so many are a tragedy, and one that should not be forgotten. Still, questions and aspersions of denial and negation will only be settled when both the Turks and Armenians open their archives to everyone without regard to nationality or ethnicity.
I do not deny the sensitivity of the genocide issue, but Armenian American organizations are doing both themselves and U.S. national security a disservice by making the genocide issue the community’s marquee issue. History must be respected, but the future is as important as the past—if not more so. To the present day, Turkey and Armenia remain adversaries. Traditionally, the American alliance with Turkey has driven a wedge between Washington and Yerevan. Sadly, Armenia remains largely antagonistic to the United States. In 2009, Armenia voted with the United States on important issues at the United Nations less than half the time; In contrast, Israel voted with the United States 100% of the time.
Armenia has also embraced Iran to the detriment of U.S. interests and security. Armenia has even reportedly supplied Iran with weapons, which the Islamic Republic used to kill Americans.
It is long past time for Armenian organizations in the United States and the congressmen who partner with them to demand change in Armenian behavior. By ignoring Armenia’s orientation, the Armenian American community squanders an unprecedented opportunity to build a true partnership. Turkey has transformed from an ally into an adversary. From a strictly realist perspective, never before have the constellations oriented in such a favorable way to make the United States receptive to Armenia, should Armenia seize the opportunity.
Yet the Armenian community in the United States appears asleep at the switch. It need not drop its interest in the genocide resolution, but it might nevertheless prioritize strengthening the diplomatic and strategic partnership between Washington and Yerevan. That partnership, however, will not develop if the Armenian Diaspora cannot convince its cousins in the Armenian homeland that a successful Armenian state could be a military, security, economic, and diplomatic partner to the United States—not a proxy for Iran or a puppet to Russia. Perhaps it’s time for the good Congressmen and Congresswomen from California and New Jersey to push back the next time Armenian lobbyists come knocking on their doors.
I do not deny the sensitivity of the genocide issue, but Armenian American organizations are doing both themselves and U.S. national security a disservice by making the genocide issue the community’s marquee issue. History must be respected, but the future is as important as the past—if not more so. To the present day, Turkey and Armenia remain adversaries. Traditionally, the American alliance with Turkey has driven a wedge between Washington and Yerevan. Sadly, Armenia remains largely antagonistic to the United States. In 2009, Armenia voted with the United States on important issues at the United Nations less than half the time; In contrast, Israel voted with the United States 100% of the time.
Armenia has also embraced Iran to the detriment of U.S. interests and security. Armenia has even reportedly supplied Iran with weapons, which the Islamic Republic used to kill Americans.
It is long past time for Armenian organizations in the United States and the congressmen who partner with them to demand change in Armenian behavior. By ignoring Armenia’s orientation, the Armenian American community squanders an unprecedented opportunity to build a true partnership. Turkey has transformed from an ally into an adversary. From a strictly realist perspective, never before have the constellations oriented in such a favorable way to make the United States receptive to Armenia, should Armenia seize the opportunity.
Yet the Armenian community in the United States appears asleep at the switch. It need not drop its interest in the genocide resolution, but it might nevertheless prioritize strengthening the diplomatic and strategic partnership between Washington and Yerevan. That partnership, however, will not develop if the Armenian Diaspora cannot convince its cousins in the Armenian homeland that a successful Armenian state could be a military, security, economic, and diplomatic partner to the United States—not a proxy for Iran or a puppet to Russia. Perhaps it’s time for the good Congressmen and Congresswomen from California and New Jersey to push back the next time Armenian lobbyists come knocking on their doors.
Source: http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2011/04/22/whats-wrong-with-armenia/
Wrong Path in Armenia
By Nubar Dorian
All Armenians in the diaspora are quite familiar with the sadness, grief, suffering, exile and relocation of those who escaped the Genocide. Here in the US, drawing from lessons and experiences from our past, we developed a value system, making us obedient to law and order, love of education, rewards of hard work and blessings of freedom. As a consequence, we have been extremely proud citizens of America. Next to the Holy Bible, the greatest treasure we possess is the document that proclaims us American citizens.
We also forgot our homeland of Armenia and by all accounts and means, have always helped her. Long before Turkish occupation and the Genocide, the Soviet regime and the great earthquake of 1988, every Diasporan Armenian gave support, love, talent, time and treasure to the precious homeland. When Armenia declared independence some 20 years ago, it was a most thankful moment of prayer, pride and joy for us all. With foremost and firmest promise, we determined to help the homeland in every way possible to ensure her security, health and progress.
The people of Armenia, in turn, were deeply appreciative of our help. They demonstrated honest appreciation, deep love and heartfelt admiration for all that we did and still do, to improve their lot. Diasporan Armenians who visited the homeland experienced greatest warmth, deep love and fellowship and never forgot this most unique experience.
Since the election of Serge Sargisian as president of Armenia, unprecedented and somewhat questionable practices were sought by him and his cabinet to further solidify relations with Diasporan Armenians. The government started to shower some leaders, philanthropists and wealthy Armenians in the diaspora with royal banquets, citations, honors and medals. His government even created a new position of Commissioner For Armenia-Diaspora Relations, who traveled across the Armenian world, extolling us to love Armenia more, give more, care more and promise never to forget the homeland. Not satisfied with all these and to further offer gloss and flattery to diaspora, the president of Armenia is offering dual citizenship to certain Diasporan Armenians of his choosing. The who and why is still obscure and highly questionable. The very idea of dual citizenship is divisive, misguided and totally absurd. This idea, or practice, should be buried in the deepest pit in Armenian soil and never see daylight again.
Unfortunately, this is not all. Lo and behold, the president of Armenia is considering restructuring the constitution of Armenia to include a number of Diasporan Armenians as members of parliament. This misbegotten and misguided concept seems not only unprecedented, but ridiculous. Is it to satisfy the ego of some Diasporan Armenians, who receive this honor? There must be a thousand-and-one questions regarding this scheme and before any more time is spent on it, it should join the same pit and never see sunrise or sunset again. President Serge Sargisian and his governing body are rushing from the ridiculous to the sublime and spending precious time to seduce Diasporan Armenians.
It is tragic, disturbing and sad to read or hear of demonstrations, protests, hunger strikes, discord and chaos in Armenia. Are we to assume that our beloved homeland is becoming like a kite whose line has been cut off? Truth, stark naked truth, demands that good government work for the governed and abandon all schemes, pretense and misrule.
As sure as I am that God’s sun breaks into a hundred million sapphires over Armenian Lakes, and that any Diasporan Armenian visiting Armenia feels he or she has stepped on the earth of God’s Eden of Genesis, that sure I am that all Diasporan Armenians — some eight million of us — will love more, do more, sacrifice more for homeland Armenia, if the president of Armenia and his governing body make more effort, put more passion, zeal and dedication and eliminate disunity, discord and especially, all dramatics.
All Armenians in the diaspora are quite familiar with the sadness, grief, suffering, exile and relocation of those who escaped the Genocide. Here in the US, drawing from lessons and experiences from our past, we developed a value system, making us obedient to law and order, love of education, rewards of hard work and blessings of freedom. As a consequence, we have been extremely proud citizens of America. Next to the Holy Bible, the greatest treasure we possess is the document that proclaims us American citizens.
We also forgot our homeland of Armenia and by all accounts and means, have always helped her. Long before Turkish occupation and the Genocide, the Soviet regime and the great earthquake of 1988, every Diasporan Armenian gave support, love, talent, time and treasure to the precious homeland. When Armenia declared independence some 20 years ago, it was a most thankful moment of prayer, pride and joy for us all. With foremost and firmest promise, we determined to help the homeland in every way possible to ensure her security, health and progress.
The people of Armenia, in turn, were deeply appreciative of our help. They demonstrated honest appreciation, deep love and heartfelt admiration for all that we did and still do, to improve their lot. Diasporan Armenians who visited the homeland experienced greatest warmth, deep love and fellowship and never forgot this most unique experience.
Since the election of Serge Sargisian as president of Armenia, unprecedented and somewhat questionable practices were sought by him and his cabinet to further solidify relations with Diasporan Armenians. The government started to shower some leaders, philanthropists and wealthy Armenians in the diaspora with royal banquets, citations, honors and medals. His government even created a new position of Commissioner For Armenia-Diaspora Relations, who traveled across the Armenian world, extolling us to love Armenia more, give more, care more and promise never to forget the homeland. Not satisfied with all these and to further offer gloss and flattery to diaspora, the president of Armenia is offering dual citizenship to certain Diasporan Armenians of his choosing. The who and why is still obscure and highly questionable. The very idea of dual citizenship is divisive, misguided and totally absurd. This idea, or practice, should be buried in the deepest pit in Armenian soil and never see daylight again.
Unfortunately, this is not all. Lo and behold, the president of Armenia is considering restructuring the constitution of Armenia to include a number of Diasporan Armenians as members of parliament. This misbegotten and misguided concept seems not only unprecedented, but ridiculous. Is it to satisfy the ego of some Diasporan Armenians, who receive this honor? There must be a thousand-and-one questions regarding this scheme and before any more time is spent on it, it should join the same pit and never see sunrise or sunset again. President Serge Sargisian and his governing body are rushing from the ridiculous to the sublime and spending precious time to seduce Diasporan Armenians.
It is tragic, disturbing and sad to read or hear of demonstrations, protests, hunger strikes, discord and chaos in Armenia. Are we to assume that our beloved homeland is becoming like a kite whose line has been cut off? Truth, stark naked truth, demands that good government work for the governed and abandon all schemes, pretense and misrule.
As sure as I am that God’s sun breaks into a hundred million sapphires over Armenian Lakes, and that any Diasporan Armenian visiting Armenia feels he or she has stepped on the earth of God’s Eden of Genesis, that sure I am that all Diasporan Armenians — some eight million of us — will love more, do more, sacrifice more for homeland Armenia, if the president of Armenia and his governing body make more effort, put more passion, zeal and dedication and eliminate disunity, discord and especially, all dramatics.
(Nubar Dorian is former co-chair of the Armenian Assembly in Washington DC.)
Source: http://www.mirrorspectator.com/2011/04/20/wrong-path-in-armenia/
Who will decide Armenia's destiny -- patriots or tyrants?
By Garin Hovannisian
Across an ocean and a continent, on a sliver of land tucked between two seas, a little republic today enters its 20th year of independence. I know a man there, an American by birth – except that 20 years ago, he quit his law firm in Los Angeles, decided he had no further business in the United States, and went to search for his destiny in Armenia. It was a romantic time. One by one, the 15 Soviet satellites were breaking from the Kremlin’s orbit, and exiled sons were returning to their homelands to share in the creation of new republics.
As for my father, Raffi K. Hovannisian, once the football star of the Pali High Dolphins, he left a promising legal career and moved with wife and children to Yerevan, the capital of Soviet Armenia. After independence was officially declared on Sept. 21, 1991, my father was handed a fax machine and a first month’s paycheck of 600 rubles – $143. He was told he was the republic’s first minister of foreign affairs.
Across an ocean and a continent, on a sliver of land tucked between two seas, a little republic today enters its 20th year of independence. I know a man there, an American by birth – except that 20 years ago, he quit his law firm in Los Angeles, decided he had no further business in the United States, and went to search for his destiny in Armenia. It was a romantic time. One by one, the 15 Soviet satellites were breaking from the Kremlin’s orbit, and exiled sons were returning to their homelands to share in the creation of new republics.
As for my father, Raffi K. Hovannisian, once the football star of the Pali High Dolphins, he left a promising legal career and moved with wife and children to Yerevan, the capital of Soviet Armenia. After independence was officially declared on Sept. 21, 1991, my father was handed a fax machine and a first month’s paycheck of 600 rubles – $143. He was told he was the republic’s first minister of foreign affairs.
Post-Soviet seeds of democracy
All across the Soviet plains, the seeds of democracy were being sown into soil tyrannized for generations, but no one doubted that they would grow. My father certainly didn’t. Within a year, he had established diplomatic relations with every major democracy in the world. At United Nations headquarters in New York, he had raised the red, blue, and orange Armenian flag.
That was nearly 20 years ago. Everything was possible then. But the shadow of history soon closed in on the Armenians. The capital went dark. Faucets dried up. Grain shipments stopped coming in. And suddenly, as if for the first time, the Armenians realized where they were. To the west: a history of horror with Turkey, the memory of an unrequited genocide in 1915. To the east: the anticipation of war with Azerbaijan, occupant of the ancient American enclave of Artsakh, or Mountainous Karabagh.
It is a dangerous thing, when survival becomes the sole ambition of a people. But that is what happened to the Armenians in the years after independence. They lost their hope, their cause, their conviction. They were not as generous as they used to be. And the old Soviet symptoms reappeared.
That was nearly 20 years ago. Everything was possible then. But the shadow of history soon closed in on the Armenians. The capital went dark. Faucets dried up. Grain shipments stopped coming in. And suddenly, as if for the first time, the Armenians realized where they were. To the west: a history of horror with Turkey, the memory of an unrequited genocide in 1915. To the east: the anticipation of war with Azerbaijan, occupant of the ancient American enclave of Artsakh, or Mountainous Karabagh.
It is a dangerous thing, when survival becomes the sole ambition of a people. But that is what happened to the Armenians in the years after independence. They lost their hope, their cause, their conviction. They were not as generous as they used to be. And the old Soviet symptoms reappeared.
Corruption and failure
On the streets of Yerevan, a generation of child beggars emerged. Policemen waved batons for two-dollar bribes. Teachers worked for bribes, too. The presidents came to control every judge, prosecutor, and public defendant who wanted to keep his job. Fair trials and free elections became failed promises. Incumbents almost always “won” – while losers almost never went home without first leading a mob of a hundred thousand citizens through the capital. In 1999, during a session of parliament, all the president’s key adversaries were assassinated.
My father long ago resigned from the Yerevan government, but he, at least, never gave up the dream. Instead, in 2001, he gave up his American passport once and for all. The following year, he founded Heritage, a national-liberal party, which now represents the opposition in the Yerevan parliament. To this day, my father is admired by his people. In a recent poll, Gallup pegged his popularity at 82 percent – but not for the obvious reasons.
“Achke kusht e,” the people say of him, “His eye is full.” In other words: the man has seen the world, and he’s not in politics for the money. In Armenia, that is enough. Today the Yerevan government is linked to a group of powerful businessmen called “oligarchs,” who invest in and control the political game. One of them has the monopoly on gas, another the monopoly on sugar and flour. All of them have nicknames, armies of bodyguards, and fleets of luxury cars escorting them ostentatiously through the city.
My father long ago resigned from the Yerevan government, but he, at least, never gave up the dream. Instead, in 2001, he gave up his American passport once and for all. The following year, he founded Heritage, a national-liberal party, which now represents the opposition in the Yerevan parliament. To this day, my father is admired by his people. In a recent poll, Gallup pegged his popularity at 82 percent – but not for the obvious reasons.
“Achke kusht e,” the people say of him, “His eye is full.” In other words: the man has seen the world, and he’s not in politics for the money. In Armenia, that is enough. Today the Yerevan government is linked to a group of powerful businessmen called “oligarchs,” who invest in and control the political game. One of them has the monopoly on gas, another the monopoly on sugar and flour. All of them have nicknames, armies of bodyguards, and fleets of luxury cars escorting them ostentatiously through the city.
Power-hungry tycoons
The rulers are multimillionaires, the lot of them, though they have incurred great debts to the original power tycoons surrounding the Kremlin in Moscow, to whom they have been selling the country’s gold mines and electricity plants. And they are ready to sell much more than that.
Last month, Armenia hosted a summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a post-Soviet alliance including Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan – republics unclaimed by the West, republics that are now following an ancient gravity to its source in mother Russia. During the August meeting, Russia secured a 24-year extension of its lease on a key military base in Armenia. Actually, lease isn’t the word. The base is funded and sustained entirely by the Armenian state.
Now you see why today, in Yerevan, there is not much independence or democracy left to celebrate. And by now my father, too, must see what his romanticism has long prevented him from seeing: Armenia is not free, not independent, not united. The Soviet soil has spit out the seeds of democracy.
Last month, Armenia hosted a summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a post-Soviet alliance including Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan – republics unclaimed by the West, republics that are now following an ancient gravity to its source in mother Russia. During the August meeting, Russia secured a 24-year extension of its lease on a key military base in Armenia. Actually, lease isn’t the word. The base is funded and sustained entirely by the Armenian state.
Now you see why today, in Yerevan, there is not much independence or democracy left to celebrate. And by now my father, too, must see what his romanticism has long prevented him from seeing: Armenia is not free, not independent, not united. The Soviet soil has spit out the seeds of democracy.
Hope foreshadows freedom
Of course my father still keeps the faith, and there is some evidence to support it. For the first time in Armenia, a civil society is taking shape to bridge a government and a people, so far disenfranchised from each other. Denied television airwaves, opposition media are now transmitting their protest through the Internet. And that little party in parliament, though it has not realized a revolution, can at least symbolize – and foreshadow – a free and independent Armenia.
And so we hope, and we even know, that the tree of liberty will grow from Armenian soil one day. But not today, not until, in the words of another founding father, “it is refreshed by the blood of patriots and tyrants” – both of which, I’m afraid, Armenia has plenty.
And so we hope, and we even know, that the tree of liberty will grow from Armenian soil one day. But not today, not until, in the words of another founding father, “it is refreshed by the blood of patriots and tyrants” – both of which, I’m afraid, Armenia has plenty.
Source: http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2010/0921/Who-will-decide-Armenia-s-destiny-patriots-or-tyrants/%28page%29/2#
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