Author: Kanayan Tamar

Armenia’s Ambassador to the United States Varuzhan Nersesyan on Wednesday met with the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Western U.S. Central Committee at its headquarters in Glendale.

During the meeting, which lasted more than the an hour, the sides discussed issues of concern to Armenia’s foreign policy priorities, as well as the role the Western U.S. community can play in advancing those concerns.

At the onset of the meeting, Nersesyan expressed his deep gratitude and respect to the ARF and the important role it plays in advancement of Armenia.

Nersesyan shared with the ARF leaders his efforts in Washington to strengthen U.S. Armenia relations and briefed them about the recent visits by Foreign Minister Zorhab Mnatsakanyan and Parliament Speaker Ararat Mirzoyan to Washington. He explained that Mnatsakanyan’s participation in the State Department’s Second Annual Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom was greatly important in strengthening and forging relations with other colleagues. Nersesyan added that during Mirzoyan’s meetings with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell the issue of strengthening U.S.-Armenia relations were discussed.

Nersesyan also applauded community’s role in the recent pro-Armenia and pro-Artsakh legislation that passed the House, among them Congresswoman Jackie Speier’s amendment to include an additional $40 million to Armenia; Rep. Brad Sherman’s measure to block the transfer of U.S. defense articles to Baku that could potentially be used by the Azerbaijani government to act upon its threat to shoot down civilian aircraft operating out of Artsakh’s Stepanakert Airport; and Rep. Judy Chu’s initiative to strengthen the Artsakh Ceasefire by deploying gunfire locators, add observers, and withdraw snipers, heavy arms, and new weaponry from the Artsakh line-of-contact.

The meeting also focused on the recent developments in the Karabakh peace process.

Nersesyan was accompanied by Armenia’s Consul General to Los Angeles Ambassador Armen Baibourtian and Counselor Varazdat Pahlavuni.

ARF Central Committee co-chairs Avedik Izmirlian and Dr. Carmen Ohanian were joined by fellow CC members Levon Kirakosian and Melkon Melkonian, as well as Asbarez English Editor Ara Khachatourian.

A gathering of foreign ministers from around the world in Washington this week is a great opportunity to collectively identify effective ways and partnerships for better protection and promotion of the freedom of religion or belief, according to Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan who is attending what is known as the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom organized by the In Defense of Christians.

During the conference, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke on behalf of the United States, and Vice President Mike Pence delivered a keynote address on Thursday.

Mnatsakanyan explained that Armenia has twice participated in the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom hosted by the U.S. Department of State. He said that as a strong proponent of universal human rights, Armenia promotes adherence to international human rights conventions and strong commitments to ensuring freedom of religion within the framework of the overall democratization of the society.

The non-violent Velvet revolution that took place in Armenia in last year once again demonstrated the power of tolerance, non-discrimination and respect for human rights and their importance in the Armenian society.

“Religion represents an institution of identity and the protection of the identity. Our history is a telling story about that. Tolerance and respect for all religions is based on our national experience, Christian heritage and long history of living together and sharing with other faiths. Freedom of religion and belief is an absolute human right which cannot be abolished or curtailed under any circumstances including in conflict situations. Protecting religious minorities played a crucial role in establishing modern systems of human rights which clearly established that grave and massive violations of human rights cannot be considered as a domestic affair but should be of legitimate concern of all members of the international community,” said Mnatsakanyan.

He added that protection of religious groups has been well-defined in international agreements such as the Universal Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

“Preventing mass atrocities against members of religious groups is an absolute priority for Armenia. We know what it means to be a persecuted religious group within the oppressive framework. It is a duty for us to pledge support to all those who are persecuted, including on the basis of their religion and belief today,” said Mnatsakanyan.

“Armenia became a safe haven for a number of vulnerable religious minorities particularly Yezidis and Assyrians. Today Yezidis are the strongest minority group in Armenia, and we are very proud that the biggest temple of this ancient people very soon will open in their Armenian homeland. Together with the most ancient Christian churches of the world and magnificent Blue Mosque of Yerevan it will symbolize beauty of faith and tolerance,” explained Armenia’s Foreign Minister.

“Unfortunately, we have been witnessing recurrence of mass atrocities including acts of genocide against Yezidis and Christians in the Middle East. These persecutions occur in the name of religion, as religion is often misused and abused by those who perpetrate violence or justify it,” added Mnatsakanyan.

Armenia’s top diplomat explained that attempts to equate victims and perpetrators by referring to their religious differences is misleading for a simple reason: perpetrators unlike the victims do not represent any religion and attempts to justify grave crimes including genocide by summoning religious solidarity or hiding behind religion is an insult to any religion.

“The rehabilitation of persecuted communities, the return and restitution of the places of worship, educational and other property are essential components of protection of the freedom of religion. Today we have received more than 20 thousand refugees from the Middle East and provided assistance to them on the ground,” said Mnatsakanyan.

“Armenia stands ready to cooperate with all interested parties to recover ancestral presence of Christians in the Middle East by rebuilding their lives, communities and churches. The Armenian people historically have been significant contributors to diversity, harmony and prosperity of the countries and societies of the Middle East.  This conference provides an excellent platform to initiate partnerships to this end,” added the minister.

BY GAREN YEGPARIAN

It seems like the Soviet Era is reaching out from the grave and grabbing the Republic of Armenia. The level and style of ARF criticism is very reminiscent of those sad times. It is pathetic and, at best, unhelpful to the ongoing political development of the country’s polity.

The latest manifestation of this ridiculous stridency might be said to have begun with the attack on Hrant Markarian, the former ARF Bureau Reperesentative, while walking with his grandchildren. A participant in the fray was Vartan/Vardan Haroutiunian who incited the group of attackers to violence. This guy himself got beaten up a few days ago. Now, everyone is all a twitter about the ARF being a terrorist group. There have even been references to the Dro/Tro incident of the 1990s in which the RoA’s then president, Levon Der Bedrosian brought extremely inflated, if not patently false, charges against many ARF members as a means of eliminating the party as a political competitor.

These two examples alone ought to be enough to substantiate the Soviet flavor of the anti-ARF melee besetting the country. It was very popular for the Soviets to try to tarnish the ARF as a gun-wielding bunch of reckless terrorists. Levon Der Bedrosian is a product of the Soviet system and used what he had been taught against the ARF. So, when I encounter this faux-criticism of the ARF today, I recoil in disgust and concern for the country.

What makes it all worse is the unbelievable heights of hypocrisy achieved by the “criticisms” voiced against the ARF. At least some of the commentary stems form the fact that a few dozen ARF members reported to the police and asserted “I did it” in reference to the attack on Haroutiunian. This piece of political protest has been twistedly represented as “proof” that the ARF is violent and should be shunned.

Of course, the most obvious question that arises is: where were these voices of condemnation when Markarian’s attack was incited by Haroutiunian? Is not incitement to violence and battery just as contemptible as the actual act? Isn’t hate speech and incitement to violence prohibited and punishable in most modern countries?

Then we have the example of Nigol Pashinian’s chest thumping demand of law enforcement last summer to “lay them down on the asphalt”, referring to those he deemed culpable of releasing a surreptitiously taped phone conversation. Even worse, he repeated that comment (disguised in the form of saying “I don’t want to repeat what I said before about laying people down on the asphalt”) just a few days ago in the context of the fracas over the Markarian attack. Why is he not the target of the same anti-violence vitriol?

Also the examples are two incidents related to a newly formed political party, Adekvad, described in a piece by Ani Mejlumian as conservative. One of its prominent members, Narek Malian was attacked, in March, by a group of pro-Pashinian students. In May, a member of the Civil Contract party, Arthur Ispirian, claimed that members of Adekvad had attacked him. Where was the hue-and-cry over these acts of political violence?

The other telling, and recent, example of the anti-ARF hysteria being whipped up is a pair of public gatherings/rallies. One was called by Nigol Pashinian who demanded “the people” barricade courthouse entrances, the response to which was a few hundred people, cumulatively, showing up at different locations. The other was the ARF’s recent really calling on Pashinian to get serious, attended by some four or five thousand people. Not much was made of the meagre response to the prime minister’s call. Yet, using a picture of the ARF’s rally site taken BEFORE the gathering started, which shows only people setting up for the event, there is much ado about how “poorly” attended it was. Can anyone spell d-o-u-b-l-e s-t-a-n-d-a-r-d?

The double-standards and hypocrisy underlying the current criticism of the ARF is all the evidence needed to show that this is all just political jockeying, devoid of substance, and more discrediting of the critics than of the ARF. This is not to say that the ARF is perfect. Nor do I expect any group/party, especially the ARF that is so thoroughly engaged and active in the life of our nation, not to be criticized. But please, let’s be reasonable (if not constructive) when critiquing what any political actor does. Otherwise, we’ll descend into a cacophony of pointless, endless, and mutually destructive recrimination.

Those engaged in this type of anti-ARF criticism for its own sake, especially if they think they are helping Pashinian, are on the wrong path. They are discrediting the hope and possibilities of the movement that brought him to power.

Let’s all speak out against this type of political pseudo-discourse. Today, it’s the ARF, tomorrow it could be Pashinian, or someone else, who is the target.