Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel. (202) 775-1918
Fax. (202) 775-5648
Email. [email protected]
Internet
PRESS RELEASE
September 25, 2006
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
ANCA CALLS FOR ASSERTIVE ADVOCACY AT ARMENIA-DIASPORA CONFERENCE
— Remarks at Armenia-Diaspora Conference in Yerevan
Stress need to Further Develop the Armenian Nation’s
“Far-reaching Network of Identity and Strength”
“We must constantly challenge, and when necessary
confront, forces aligned against the Armenian nation.”
— ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian
WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
stressed the vital necessity for the continued growth of a
“confident, assertive brand of Diasporan advocacy that builds upon,
but is not bound by, our past,” during the third Armenia-Diaspora
Conference, held in Yerevan from September 18-20.
In his remarks to the opening session of the conference, attended
by over 2,000 Armenians from around the world, ANCA Chairman Ken
Hachikian, stressed the need to “expand Armenian power and
influence globally, building a far-reaching network of identity and
strength that serve as both sword and shield for our nation.” He
added that, “We must carve out spheres of influence in the power
centers of the world, including in areas traditionally controlled
by our opponents, and we must constantly challenge, and when
necessary confront, forces aligned against the Armenian nation,
whoever they may be.”
Hachikian emphasized that, “our greatest challenges lie ahead; for
the independence of the Republic represents both the realization of
our shared hopes and the foundation upon which we will build a
strong and healthy, free, independent and united homeland.”
Participating in the opening ceremonies, which featured remarks by
a range of pan-Armenian organizations, were the President of
Armenia, Robert Kocharian, the President of Nagorno Karabagh,
Arkady Ghoukassian, leaders of the Armenian Church, notably His
Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, His Holiness Aram
I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, and the spiritual and
lay leaders of the Armenian Catholic and Evangelical communities.
ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian took part in the
Conference’s panel discussion on “The Mechanics of Diaspora-
Homeland Relations: A Two-Way Street,” which was moderated by
Kevork Bardakjian, Director of the Armenian Studies Program at the
University of Michigan.
The theme of the conference, which was televised in Armenia, was
“New Answers to Old Questions – Armenians in the 21st Century.”
The full text of the ANCA’s address is provided below. The ANCA
invites Armenians, in the homeland and throughout the Diaspora, to
share their views regarding these remarks by writing to
[email protected].
#####
Armenian National Committee of America
Presentation to the 2006 Armenia Diaspora Conference
Yerevan, Armenia – September 18, 2006
In the best tradition of our ancient people, we are gathered once
again around this table – the sons and daughters of the Armenian
nation – to mark our progress and to chart our way forward through
the ever-evolving landscape of the Armenian reality.
Armenians in the United States, along with Armenians around the
world, take special pride that we have come together on this 15th
anniversary of the Republic of Armenia. An independent Armenia – a
dream that many doubted, as others doubt today the full realization
of our national aspirations.
We celebrate this milestone in our nation’s long journey with a
profound appreciation of the will and wisdom – the service and
sacrifice – that have brought us to this proud moment in our
history.
We recognize, as well, that our greatest challenges lie ahead; for
the independence of the Republic represents both the realization of
our shared hopes and the foundation upon which we will build a
strong and healthy, free, independent and united homeland.
In this spirit, we welcome the very appropriate theme of this third
Diasporan Conference: “New Answers to Old Questions – Armenians in
the 21st Century.”
In searching for new answers, we are inspired that, throughout our
long history, each Armenian generation has, with the benefit of the
experience of our forbearers, reinvented the Armenian Cause. For
more than 3,000 years, our people and leaders have borne the unique
burdens of their time, struggling always to leave a better future
for those who followed.
As Armenians, we are at our best when we remain true to our
fundamental values while adapting to new realities.
We are at our best when we recognize that both our nation and the
international community around us continue to change; but that, in
addressing this new world, we have many lessons to draw upon:
* Leadership: Artashes, Tigran, and the cumulative experience of
our leaders throughout the liberation struggles for each of our
three republics
* Courage: Avarayr, Sardarabad, and Nagorno Karabagh
* Wisdom: Khrimian Hyrig’s “iron ladle” insight into securing the
leverage we needed to shape our own destiny
* Unity: Consensus among Armenians and a common front to the
outside world.
* Perseverance: The will to prevail through long years under
Persians and Parthians, Romans and Russians, Arabs and Ottomans.
As well as the extraordinary rebirth of our nation after Genocide
and exile.
We have much to learn from our history, for little that we will
face in the future will be without precedent in our past.
We have much to be inspired by, for the challenges we face will
require the courage of our forefathers.
Our history has taught us that we will remain true to our fathers,
not by tracing their footsteps, but by committing ourselves, as
they did, to understanding the challenges of our time and facing
them directly.
We all know our history. We understand that time and again we have
fought bravely to maintain our identity and preserve our homeland.
The war for Artstakh in our own lifetimes speaks to this powerful
tradition, as do countless fallen solders in hundreds of battles
over the past 3,000 years.
At other times – for far too long in fact – we have, during our
long history, relied upon accommodations and affiliations that
compromised Armenian national interests – bitter realities imposed
by the strong on the weak.
Today, 15 years after independence, as we develop strength here in
the homeland and assert our rights abroad, we have much to gain
from a hard look at our past, the good and the bad.
Historians can study whether accommodation with outside powers was
the cause or simply the result of the difficulties we have faced as
a nation – the imposition of centuries of foreign rule, the brutal
partition of our homeland. Some may see a survival strategy,
others the source of the challenges we face today.
What is certain, however, is that today – given the realities we
face, Turkey and Azerbaijan’s aggression among them, simple
accommodation cannot serve as a useful guide to Armenia’s
interaction with neighboring states, regional powers, or the
international community.
Equally certain is that Armenia’s security cannot be ensured by
affiliating with one side or another in the regional and global
balance of power, but rather by navigating an authentically
Armenian path forward, one governed by the core interests of the
Armenian nation.
Both of these realities come with great challenges. And we must,
Hairenik and Diaspora together, meet them head on.
In the United States – and throughout the Spiurk:
* We must continue to pursue a confident, assertive brand of
Diasporan advocacy that builds upon, but is not bound by, our past.
* We must expand Armenian power and influence globally, building a
far-reaching network of identity and strength that serve as both
sword and shield for our nation.
* We must carve out spheres of influence in the power centers of
the world, including in areas traditionally controlled by our
opponents.
* And we must constantly challenge, and when necessary confront,
forces aligned against the Armenian nation, whoever they may be.
The ANCA takes on these challenges daily. While many challenges
remain, there has also been significant progress. The examples are
many, among them:
* Our successful efforts to confront PBS, a major television
network, that sought to provide a very public national platform for
Armenian Genocide deniers.
* Our successful efforts to confront the misguided actions of the
U.S. Justice Department, which sought, without any reasonable
cause, to place Armenian nationals on an intrusive terrorist watch
list.
* Our successful efforts to challenge the New York Times and the
Boston Globe to reverse their long-standing refusal to properly
recognize the Armenian Genocide.
* And most recently, our successful efforts to confront a White
House leadership which fired an able and devoted ambassador, John
Evans, simply for speaking the truth, and is now seeking to replace
him with a nominee clearly unacceptable to a broad cross-section of
the U.S. Congress as well, of course, to our own community.
We must do all these, and more, for an engaged and effective
Diaspora represents a vital and essential key to Armenia’s freedom
and the prerequisite for the realization of our national ideals.
We bring to this task, an organization, built upon a powerful
grassroots foundation that has – with devotion and sophistication –
carried the Armenian Cause forward in America for more than a
century.
Our more than 50 chapters throughout the United States and
affiliates in Brussels, Moscow, Beirut, and in over 40 countries
throughout the world, work tirelessly on behalf of the Armenian
Cause across a full range of issues. These efforts are familiar to
many of you here today.
As you know, we continue to work to end U.S. complicity in Turkey’s
denials of the Genocide, isolating Ankara internationally, and
forcing its leaders to come to terms with their crimes. Our aim
remains a reformed and repentant Turkey that accepts a just
resolution of the Armenian Genocide – a resolution that, to the
extent possible, makes our nation secure, healthy, and whole once
again.
Justice, beyond its profound moral implications, remains an
essential ingredient of Armenia’s security. Simply put, Armenia
cannot be safe as long as it remains bordered by an over-armed and
unrepentant perpetrator of genocide against our nation.
We continue to defend Nagorno Karabagh’s right to self-
determination within secure borders, while countering the efforts
of Caspian oil interests and others to tilt U.S. policy in favor of
Azerbaijan.
We are working every day to strengthen Armenia through the
promotion of:
* Increased trade and investment
* A strong and vibrant economy free of debilitating corruption
* Generous foreign assistance to Armenia
* Continued direct aid to Nagorno Karabagh
* Bilateral agreements designed to increase U.S.-Armenia
commercial activity
We are fighting against the illegal and immoral Turkish and
Azerbaijani blockades, as well as against their efforts to isolate
Armenia from the benefits of the Caspian energy sector.
In each of these issues, we face powerful and well-funded
opposition. Arrayed against us are some of the most influential
groups in the American political system.
We have more than met their challenge by expanding our own
resources, establishing a new permanent headquarters in Washington,
DC and building an endowment fund to finance our growth in the
years to come. We have matched these monetary gains with a renewed
focus on strengthening our grassroots, both in our larger
communities, such as Los Angeles and Boston, as well as in areas
not traditionally populated by large numbers of Armenian Americans,
among them Texas, Louisiana, Florida, the Carolinas, and the
Pacific Northwest.
We have, of course, invested heavily in our youth through our
Capital Gateway Program. This innovative program secures career-
track public policy positions in Washington, DC for talented young
Armenian American university graduates. Over the course of the
past several years, we have helped dozens of Armenians enter the
fabric of our nation’s policy-making establishment, working for
Congress and the Executive Branch, the media, think tanks, and
other policy-oriented professional organizations.
We are ready to do our part, today and for years to come.
And so, in closing, let me say that the key to our collective
success is to remain confident in our strength, the abilities of
our youth, the ultimate morality of our positions, and the devotion
of the Armenian people to the cause of our nation.
We must – here today on the free soil of our independent homeland
and long after we have left this hall – carry the burden of our
generation so that we may realize – for ourselves and for
generations to come – the promise of a prosperous, free,
independent and united Armenia.
We will only achieve this by activating our communities at the
grassroots level to take on the mission of our national struggle.
I invite each and every one of you to join with us in this fight
for our ideals and our rights. I am confident that united together
and with perseverance, we will ultimately prevail.
Thank you.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
ANCA Calls for Assertive Advocacy at Armenia-Diaspora Conference
www.anca.org