‘DO NOT DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN AN ARMENIAN AND AN ARMENIAN’

Yerkir.am
February 16, 2007

Writer Aghassi Ayvazian comments on the issue of dual citizenship in
an interview given to Yerkir.

Q: Mr. Ayvazyan, a new process of consolidating the relations between
Armenia and the Diaspora has started today. Before commenting on it,
what do you think has changed in these relations after Armenia’s
independence?

A: Many things have changed and these changes started even before
repatriation. There was a necessity to unite, we understood that we
are not alienated from each other, because in 1946-1947 there was
alienation between Armenia and the Diaspora.

I could not accept this thinking. In 1990’s I was publishing
a newspaper called "Armenians". It was aimed at uniting all
Armenians. I have supported the idea of dual citizenship from the
very beginning. There can be no disagreements on this issue. We are
one nation. And there is a very subtle issue here – every Armenian
living even in Yerevan is from Van, or from Kars, or from Georgia. You
cannot say this person is from Yerevan, the other is not.

Yerevan was established in 1828, and it was established mostly by
Armenians from Persia or from Tbilisi. We are a homogenous nation,
I think dual citizenship is not an issue. There are administrative,
political issues. This is a matter to be addressed by the government,
by experts but dual citizenship should be in place.

Q: Mr. Ayvazian, you spoke about united Armenian nation but we can
notice some jealousy in the debates around dual citizenship that
implies some people’s concerns that Armenia is for those who live
here. What causes this jealousy?

What should be done to change this approach to the issue of dual
citizenship?

A: I think this is to some extent an expression of our daily
lives. Today we differentiate between Armenians from Karabagh, Tbilisi,
Gyumri, Iran. Many Armenians come to Armenian from Iran today, they
buy houses here, they start their businesses. Many Armenians live
in Russia and USA. They went there from Armenia. Who are they? What
citizenship do they have?

This is a matter of secondary importance. It is not necessary to
live in Armenia to be a citizen of Armenia. I have lived in Yerevan
for 40 years. Before that I used to live in Tbilisi. My parents
are from Erzerum. Can you see the connection? We all have similar
biographies. We are a unique nation and this makes us different from
others. We did not have a state for several centuries. We are one
nation, Armenia is the homeland for all of us, we should all come here.

Q: What results and opportunities do you think adoption of a law on
dual citizenship have?

A: I think dual citizenship is already in place, even if
informally. Many Armenians come back to Armenia. I know many people
who have houses both in Los Angeles and in Armenia.

Yes, they are citizens of America but they also live here. I think
in this case they are already citizens of two countries even though
they do not have a passport. It will be better if they are given
an opportunity to get a passport. We now have to bring all this to
the legislative domain. I want to repeat, it is a very subtle task,
and we have to negotiate with other countries as well.

Q: Do you think it is correct to view this issue of pan-Armenian
importance in the context of internal political processes and
relations?

A: I don’t know what we might gain if we leave this task for the
future.

There are the issues of army, elections, etc. Maybe some people are
not currently living in Armenia but lived here in the past.

But if he has very good knowledge and can serve our nation why not
give him this opportunity? The Prime Minister of the First Armenian
Republic Khatissian lived in Tbilisi. It was a hard time and it did
not matter where he lived.

National interests are above everything. And this interest requires
that we have dual citizenship, that we unite and become one body. I
speak here as a writer and my words might sound pompous but this is
the truth.

State officials are to deal with down-to-the-earth issues. And if
they are patriotic they will definitely find ways to solve this
problem. We should be united, we should have one homeland, we should
not differentiate between an Armenian and an Armenian. We have many
enemies and we are facing a challenge of survival today. There are
eight million Armenians in the world. This is a big potential, we
can even strengthen our army with this potential.

Interview conducted by Karine MANGASSARIAN