FOREIGN DIPLOMAT – A DEMONSTRATOR?
Kima Yeghiazaryan

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
March 25, 2008

This Is Called "Mission"

The March 21 gathering of Levon’s supporters (in which the activists
were participating with flowers, candles and photos of the "political
prisoners") was different from the previous ones with the presence
of fresh faces.

Particularly Charge D’Affairs of Lithuania in RA Stankiavichus
Kyastutis hurried to the Northern Avenue to appear among the
demonstrators.

Of course it is a unique phenomenon. During the whole history of our
independent country we don’t remember a case when a foreign diplomat
participates in a demonstration. It is equal to interfering in our
internal political affairs. In this case the loyalty of the Charge
D’Affairs of Lithuania towards the "pan-Armenian movement" headed by
Levon Ter-Petrosyan is strange, mildly speaking.

And naturally, the strange, if not suspicious behavior manifested by
the Lithuanian diplomat gave rise to lots of questions.

First: does the law on the "diplomatic service" allow the diplomats
in Lithuania to publicly adopt a political stance and posture
in the country where he is realizing his mission? Which means, in
non-diplomatic language, to poke his nose into the internal political
affairs of that country. If not, then what did Mr. Kyastutis lose
in the Northern Avenue, among the activists of Armenian Pan National
Movement.

Second: What made the Charge D’Affairs to hurry to the
demonstrators? Maybe the political action was so interesting, but he
couldn’t see the whole scene of the provocations from the window of
his office. But the March 1 demonstrations in the territory of the
French embassy, which turned into a mass disorder, extending the
"geography" was not visible to French Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary, but Serge Smesoph, not only avoided appearing around
Myasnikyan Statute, to "honor" the aggressive demonstrators with his
presence, but also didn’t even look out of the window of the Embassy.

Third: Probably S. Kyastutis was inspired with the behavior of LTP’s
kinsmen Armenian diplomats and he had also joined the "pan-national
movement" with an announcement made before March 1, and he was
hiding this or maybe Ter-Petrosyan’s nephew, Arakel Semirjyan, who
has been deprived of his diplomatic rank, challenged him to appear
in the Northern Avenue. If so, the former employee of the European
Department of the Foreign Ministry, A. Semirjyan, did well in the
position of an adviser…

Had LTP’s nephew been more diligent, he could have persuaded the
Charge D’Affairs of Lithuania to hold the photo of former outstanding
diplomat, a "political prisoner" at present, Alik Arzumanyan.

Forth: Or maybe we must evaluate the step taken by S. Kyastutis as
"people’s diplomacy". But real diplomats, in this case revolutionary
attorneys, treat similar missions, with irony.

Fifth: Most probably the diplomat was touched by the speech delivered
by LTP, in Azatutyun Square, on February 29, where he brought
Lithuania as an example of a legislative, civilized country. That day
LTP appealed to the West – the United States and certain European
structures not to manifest a formal approach towards Armenia,
because: " the fate of Armenian democracy is in the hands of their
representative – observers. In 10 days the before mentioned powers,
countries and structures have chance to contribute to the formation
of a civilized and democratic state with free-market economy like
Lithuania or like the most regressive country like Middle Asia,
in Armenia.

Most probably the Charge D’Affairs of Lithuania was really touched to
hear this. That is why the diplomat hurried to meet LTP’s activists
who have exhausted the methods of their struggle, to pass on the
experience of Lithuanian democracy to the demonstrators.

Sixth: Maybe LTP’s supporters have managed to convince Kyastutis,
that "it is not a political struggle it is the struggle of the society
for the restoration of democracy and freedom." And he really believed
that he was participating in the social movement. But this statement
would sound really ridiculously.

It would have been very interesting to get an answer of at least one
of the before mentioned questions.