DIASPORA’S ELECTION
Naira Hayrumyan
Story from Lragir.am News:
Published: 11:42:14 – 28/02/2012
Yesterday, Head of the Union of Armenians of Russia, Ara Abrahamyan
initiated a great show in support of the presidential candidate
Vladimir Putin. Ara Abrahamyan convinced the representatives of the
national minorities to announce loyalty to Putin.
The Armenian television actively covered this event focusing on the
circumstance that previously Armenians didn’t feel comfortable in
Russia, while for the last years, everything has changed. Those,
who say these words, perhaps, forget Russia has had Medvedev as
the president for the last years, while Putin was the “previous”
president when it was uncomfortable for Armenians. They also forgot
to count how many Armenians were killed in Russia in 2011.
But the point is not about this, but the fact that the Armenian
Diaspora, all over the world, will face a hard decision this year.
Presidential elections are ahead in the countries with the largest
Armenian communities – Russia, U.S. and France. What do the Armenian
representatives take into account issuing support to this or another
candidate- the interests of the community, those of Armenia or the
major Armenian business in those countries? What is the issue on which
their election is based – the opinion on the genocide, the Karabakh
issue or democracy issues?
Whom the French Armenians will vote who have recently celebrated the
victory of the Armenian lobby which had the law on the criminalization
of the genocide denial pass in the French senate? Will they vote
Sarkozy who has not signed the aforementioned law, or the socialist
Holland, who promises to go up to the end?
Whom the American Armenians will vote – Obama, who promised to
recognize the Armenian genocide but his Secretary of State has recently
said the genocide is rather a historical than a political matter,
or the yet undetermined Republican candidate? Or, Obama will whisper
in the ear of Armenians that if he is elected, he will recognize the
genocide by 2015.
Nothing is clear with regards to the Armenians of Russia. The Union
of Armenians of Russia has of course called to vote Putin, but how
will Armenians act if protests are held after the elections?
It is difficult to set up the priorities for the voting. Moreover,
Armenians failed to create a unique structure, which could direct the
vectors of activities of the communities of all the countries. It
is comprehensible that each community has its own priorities and
particularities. Say, Armenians of Syria prefer neutrality. But
if the Armenian Diaspora could unite its efforts in one direction,
it would be a powerful strike.
Say, that direction could be the recognition of Nagorno Karabakh. The
Armenian communities in all the countries could raise this issue as
the priority for their relation to this or another candidate. This can
seem not relevant in the election period, but the issue is a key one
for the Armenian nation and can be a good orienteer for the Armenian
communities before elections.
For now, there is no orienteer and the election of the communities
will be based on the business interests of wealthy Armenians, like in
Russia, or on the interests of the bureaucratic structures in Western
countries, where the Armenian parties fail to agree among each other.
http://www.lragir.am/engsrc/politics25271.html