TCA VICE-CHAIRMAN EDMOND AZADIAN’S SPEECH AT ARMENIA-DIASPORA CONFERENCE

AZG Armenian Daily
19/09/2006

The third Armenia-Diaspora Conference is geared to break new ground
toward uniting the two segments of the Armenian people, because without
cooperation and interaction between the two, the rejuvenation of our
historic homeland will be nearly impossible.

Some people who entertain unrealistic expectations from these
convocations return with a degree of skepticism, displeased
with finding no instant results, with the exception of making new
acquaintances. But that very acquaintance is the first step towards
the anticipated progress, because, even after 15 years of independence,
the diaspora does not fully recognize Armenia – and vice-versa.

Moving a step further, Armenia and the diaspora have yet to come
together to assess the full significance of the challenges we face
as a nation.

The main theme of this conference is the development of rural areas in
Armenia. The bright and bustling Yerevan does not provide an accurate
overall gauge of the economic development of the country. There is a
stark contrast between Yerevan’s construction boom and the desolation
of rural Armenia.

We should also be mindful that commerce and tourism alone are not
enough to build a country’s future. A healthy and comprehensive
economy can only be based on the proper harnessing of the natural
resources as well as increasing the educational level of the country,
both of which will eventually yield increases in exports.

Political factors play a role in resolving our problems, yet some of
those factors are beyond our control. What remains within our reach
is achieving unity between different segments of our people so that
we may put their potentials into prudent use.

These conferences are significant in achieving precisely that sort
of coming together. Early in the 20th century, our first independent
republic barely survived for 2-2.5 years. Admittedly, political
and historical conditions were very challenging and we could not
expect more under the circumstances. Having said that, the current
regional and political conditions are no less challenging, yet our
current republic already has a 15-year history. Therefore, somewhere,
something has worked properly. Not only that, but our thousand-year-old
losing streak seems to have been reversed and a piece of our historic
homeland in Karabagh has been liberated from Azeri tyranny.

These developments merit historic evaluations.

The Armenian people won – through independence – the freedom of speech,
conscience and thought. But we need to question how wisely we use these
freedoms. Freedom of conscience is being abused by foreign quarters
who unleash there religious sects which undermine the foundations
of our Armenian Apostolic Church, one of the essential components of
our national identity.

The area of freedom of the press is nothing to cheer about. Yellow
journalism there has reaped more success than the variety practiced
by responsible journalists seeking news and offering constructive
criticism.

The onslaught of irresponsible, unwarranted and libelous attacks is
upon us, trampling and distorting the truth. The fallout from that
onslaught also reaches the diasporan shores to cover the pages of
some of the traditional press. This distractive campaign robs people
of any future hope, forcing the depopulation of the homeland. And
on the diaspora front, that press misguides people, thereby denying
their support to – and their investments – in Armenia.

Does this mean that we should not criticize the authorities in Armenia
for their abuses, plundering and general deficiencies? We certainly are
duty bound to criticize. But the boundaries of freedom of speech should
not be the law, but morality; because the law is the last refuge of the
rascal. On the other hand, the news media, which exercises objective
and conscientious criteria, can bring forth positive results. It
is not surprising, therefore, that annual fundraising telethons,
whose purpose is to unite our people and direct their resources
toward Armenia, fail, to a degree, to achieve their purported goals,
despite the fact that All Armenia Fund, which organizes those events,
is one of the few transparent and accountable entities that can be
proud of its achievements.

Indeed, a single diaspora benefactor alone can donate the total amount
of funds raise every year. This lackluster result may be attributed
mainly to the negative campaign conducted by the yellow journalists,
perhaps as well as some organizational failures.

We are at a stage where we need a distinct departure from the
traditional ways of supporting the homeland.

Yesterday’s orphan funds and charitable deeds are not enough for
nation building. Today, we need a different – and more comprehensive –
level of thinking to build a state.

Many diaspora organizations continue operating in the same old way,
often demanding accountability but not delivering much support in
return. However, it is heartwarming to see a new trend developing,
especially among individual benefactors, who rise above the negative
drumbeat of the press and positively focus on the needs of the country.

Indeed, the Lincy Foundation, the Cafesjian Family Foundation, the
Tufenkjians, Louise Manoogian Simone, Ara Abrahamian and Charles
Aznavour, among others, sometimes individually, contribute more than
diaspora organizations collectively. They do not attach strings to
their munificence, as do some organizations and members of the press,
and they operate independently, certainly having confirmed reliability
on the side of the recipient, namely the government of Armenia.

Many Armenian organizations lend their support to the republic inspired
by patriotism and sometimes by ulterior motives, working at cross
purposes, but seldom in a coordinated fashion. I would even include
the organization I represent, the Tekeyan Cultural Association,
which sponsors schools, orphans education funds and many cultural
and literary projects in Armenia.

The division of our church plays a disheartening role too in our
endeavors to unite Armenians. Some people, who believe that ignorance
is bliss, dismiss the issue as if the problem could fade away simply
by being ignored. There have been instances in our history where, due
to political circumstances, one of the religious centers has grown
stronger than the Holy See at Etchmiadzin, but the center and the
symbol of unity have always resided at the Mother See in Vagharshabad.

Any attempt to degrade Etchmiadzin or compete with it is tantamount to
weakening our church and dividing our people. Similarly, the uncanny
games of substituting the idea of cooperation with the principle
of unity are neither constructive, nor will they lead to church
unity. Cooperation between our religious centers can restore the
unity of our church only if they are based on the ultimate principle
of unity. It is as unnatural to have a church body with two heads as
it is ridiculous to entertain ideas of having four heads, which may
render our church into a square wheel leading us nowhere.

Also, it was incompatible with the historic role of the Holy See of
Etchmiadzin for it to be excluded from the last draft of Armenia’s
constitution, through sheer short-term political expediency.

Another dividing factor, which some people would have loved to forget,
is the issue of a common orthography for the Armenian language, which
hopefully one fortunate day may also lead to the unity of the two
dialects. There are people who have been using this issue to pit the
diaspora against Armenia, without realizing that they may be adding
a new dimension to an already sad state of affairs.

On one hand, dodging the issue, and on the other hand, naively
believing that reversing the 1922 decree that changed the rules
of spelling in Armenia may solve the issue by a miracle, are not
conducive to a solution.

The only reasonable way to tackle the issue is to tame the emotions
and to refer the problem to a panel of scholars who will decide that
a change is necessary in principle, leaving the rest to the future
and to the conditions, which may evolve to help resolve the dispute.

In addition to the challenges of unified orthography and language,
we still face the challenge of a unified culture; Western Armenian
literature has an uneven and spare representation in Armenia’s
schools. Also we have yet to find the names of Tekeyan, Zohrab and
other classics in Yerevan streets or their likeness on the Armenian
dram, along Eastern Armenian classical icons.

The challenge of the republic’s economic development has led the
diaspora and Armenia to render patriotism into financial capital
and vice versa. Although these may sound as very positive wishes,
unfortunately they do not work in the real world and have no prospects.

Suffice it only to adopt laws based on international norms and
especially bring those laws out of the books and enforce them
rigorously to create an even playing field, allowing everyone to
invest – Armenian and non-Armenian business people alike.

There is residual resistance – a legacy of the Soviet mentality –
to close the gap which exists between the laws as they exist on the
books and their application.

This environment, already not conducive to healthy investment, is
further marred by the periodic unexplained political and factional
assassinations.

When such crimes go unpunished, the outside world is left to deduce
collusion or impotence; labels which are not complimentary to any
self-respecting country.

We are already at the threshold of a hot pre-election political
atmosphere. We are faced with the elections of the National Assembly
first, followed by the presidential election. Previous elections did
not meet international standards. The world has been changing and 15
years after independence, if we cannot hold transparent elections,
Armenia may compromise the resolution of its international problems.

With very rare exceptions, the political parties have an unstable
image. Switching principles and positions, changing political labels
at a whim, show political immaturity. Therefore, we should not be
surprised that the general public is apathetic and does not take part
in those maneuvers. Without the participation of the people we cannot
build a genuine democracy and keep pace with the rest of the world.

Dear friends. All these problems are the legacies of the past and they
are ripe for resolution. This conference is attempting to address
those issues, so that together we -Armenians within and without the
republic – may face new issues, which unfortunately challenge Armenia
and the Armenian people every day.

We cannot tackle all our problems with divided forces.

If we have to expect any results today, this conference has to afford
us the opportunity to rise above our selfish personal inhibitions
and factional interests, which have atrophied, so that we may face
the future with real and complete unity.