RUSTAMYAN’S EAST COAST TOUR A SUCCESS

Armenian Weekly Staff
December 15, 2009

Community Support for ARF’s Protocols Position Strong

Armenia National Assembly member Armen Rustamyan concluded his East
Coast tour on Dec. 13 after a guest appearance in New York at an
even commemorating the ARF’s 119th anniversary. During his Dec. 9-13
visit, Rustamyan, who is chair of the National Assembly’s Committee
on Foreign Relations and the representative of the ARF Supreme Body
in Armenia, was welcomed in Washington, Philadelphia, Providence,
Watertown, New Jersey, and New York, where the ARF hosted community
meetings and arranged for private meetings with local, government,
and community representatives.

During his six-city tour, Rustamyan spread the ARF’s unwavering
message of opposition to the controversial Armenia-Turkey protocols,
which were signed by the foreign ministers of Armenia and Turkey in
October. Armenian President Serge Sarkisian billed the protocols
as a positive economic move for Armenia with the promised opening
of the Armenia-Turkey border. But the ARF opposed the protocols and
warned that an open border in exchange for heavy concessions could
only damage the national interests of the Armenian nation.

Rustamyan explained the ARF’s current strategy to derail the protocols
and warned that the party would press for regime change in Armenia
if the protocols’ constitutionality is approved by Armenia’s
Constitutional Court in January and if the National Assembly
subsequently ratifies the document.

Look for full coverage of Rustamyan’s visit in the Armenian Weekly
and Hairenik Weekly this week, or online at
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