news.am, Armenia
May 8 2010
Turkish, Azeri diasporas integrate in foreign states’ policy, ARFD rep
13:33 / 05/08/2010The Armenian and Turkish diasporas have recently
shown a new tendency ` not only stepping up lobbying, but also
politicizing their communities in different countries by getting
involved in the political processes there, Coordinator of Hay Dat
offices, Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutyun (ARFD) Giro
Manoyan, told NEWS.am.
He believes it is a new challenge to Armenia, the Armenian Diaspora
and lobbyist organizations. But the Armenian people may benefit from
the process as well, he said. `For example, in many countries
political forces agree to include Turkish candidates in their slates,
demanding, however, that the candidates accept the policy denouncing
the Armenian Genocide, which is quite logical,’ Manoyan said. In this
context, he said, the politicizing of Turkish and Armenian communities
may have both positive and negative consequences for Armenians. He
stressed the need for keeping pace with the developments and meeting
the challenges. `In any case, we should not get panicky,’ he stated.
The ARFD Bureau member Levon Lazarian addressed the issue at the
conference of Hay Dat Committees in Yerevan. He stressed that the
Turkish and Azerbaijani diasporas are trying to intensify their
activities by building up their diasporan organizations `according to
the Armenian pattern.’ According to him, they have also stepped up
their efforts to cause a split within the Armenian Diaspora. The ARFD
Bureau discussed the issue as well.
T.P.