REPORTING TO THE ARMENIAN NATION
Yerkir.am
December 22, 2006
Member of ARF’s Board Albert Achemian says the events celebrating
ARF’s 116th anniversary are a unique opportunity of reporting to
the Armenian nation and the circles supporting the party. Below we
present Achemian’s statement made during the event held at KANAZ
Cultural Center.
The decision to celebrate the Day of ARF was taken at ARF’s X general
convention in Paris. The Day of ARF was celebrated for the first
time on October 1, 1925 far away from Armenia, in "the gloomy and
unfortunate times" that followed sovietization of Armenia, as was
written in Droshak newspaper’s publication on celebration of the
first ARF Day. Ever since then, the ARF Day is celebrated in every
country of the world where ARF is present as an organization.
It is celebrated to keep alive among the new generation the traditions
of our ideological movement, to report to the Armenian nation and
circles supporting the ARF as a way of self-appraisal.
In 1990, when ARF returned to the homeland, it brought back this
tradition and the ARF Day was celebrated in Armenia on the occasion
of ARF’s 100th anniversary.
During this celebration, the ARF presented to the Armenian public
its Platform that was a consolidation of the main tasks facing the
Armenian politics, tasks that were inspired by the ARF’s history
of 100 years. The concluding paragraph of this document states,
"… We, the members of ARF, are aware of the great and tremendous
work that we all will have to fulfill in the coming years. Today,
when we once again launch our national-political struggle in the
homeland and from the homeland, we repeat our oath that has been the
purpose of our existence for one century:
To serve the Armenian nation with no reservations, To serve with no
expectations and ambitions, To serve with honestly and with complete
dedication, To struggle in a manner of Christapor Mikayelian’s
"Perpetual fight", for restoration of our nations full rights from
Artsakh to Mush, from Van-Vaspurakan to Yerevan".
This has been the purpose of ARF’s existence and the road it has
taken in its activities.
Struggle, action and service – 116 years of service and action aimed
at liberation of the homeland and the Armenian nation.
– Service and action that turned the poor Armenian peasants, the
oppressed Armenians into a society conscious of its rights through
the sacrifice of its founders, activists and soldiers.
– Struggle and action that restored the Armenian statehood from the
ashes of six centuries.
– State building whereby the statespersons did not become rulers
oppressing their people, but were dedicated servants who believed in
ARF’s principles of democracy and socialism.
– Service, action and sacrifice that turned the pieces of Armenian
nation spread throughout the world into organized Armenian communities,
and politicized youth that carried the flag of Armenian Question and
fought the struggle of Hay Dat sacrificing their lives.
Yes, this was the road the ARF took, these were the moral principles
of ARF activists, and they will be upheld in the future. And today,
when the ARF is celebrating its 116th anniversary, when it is back to
Armenia, when Armenia and Artsakh are independent states, ARF has the
challenges and problems facing the homeland and the Armenian nations
on its agenda, it has its own place and role in the Armenian reality
in general and Armenia’s multi-color political spectrum in particular.
The issues of Artsakh, Javakhq and Hay Dat remain as a constant agenda
and the purpose of its existence. Therefore, we do not believe it
is necessary to comment on ARF’s role, position and accomplishments
in pursuing these issues since the public is well informed about the
details of these issues through the press and media. We would like to
concentrate on the strategic challenges that Armenia and the Armenian
nation are facing today presenting the ARF’s position and role in
these challenges.
a. The issue of preservation of our independence and our
national-civilizational values
After the collapse of the totalitarian Soviet order, in a transition
period intensified by globalization, under conditions of absence of a
concept of nation state and national security, our nation, especially
our youth, are overwhelmed by the so-called market economy and the
business of culture whereby values and behavior models are imported and
imposed that are not compatible with our national values, perceptions
and that damage our independence. The ARF denies this outrageous
liberalist policy and believes that "the issue of cultural, spiritual
and intellectual development should be one of the most crucial areas
of state policy. Special attention should be paid to the role of the
Armenian family and the Church in preserving the national identity"
(ARF Platform).
b. Ensuring competitiveness of our country and the nation to ensure
survival and development
The only guarantee of our existence and development is our
competitiveness.
– Competitiveness in the economy, – Competitiveness in the politics
and propaganda, – Competitiveness in science, – Competitiveness in
the military and defense sector, – Competitiveness in culture and arts.
We are not, and cannot be competitive as long as oligarchs and
monopolies dominate our economy.
Our manufacturers are not competitive as long as there are no clearcut
policies and programs for encouraging and supporting industry and
exports.
Meanwhile, we are witnessing a tremendous increase of imports.
– We can be competitive and in some cases even accomplish success in
foreign policy and propaganda if we manage to mobilize our pan-National
and Diaspora potential.
– We could have been very competitive in science had we not wasted
our scientific potential due to lack of government support. We had
a potential: according to UN data, in 1980’s Armenia had the largest
number of scientists per the number of population. Fortunately, the
National Academy of Sciences was saved from being subjected to the
"free market" relations that threatened to turn it into merely an NGO.
– We are, and should stay, competitive in the military and defense
sector taking into consideration the difficult geopolitical situation
of our country.
We should be very grateful that this sector was not subjected to
the logic of "neoliberalism" that was voiced by our first president,
"Our defense is in our absence of defense."
c. The issue of integration of Armenia and the Diaspora, mobilization
of the unified nation and working towards one pan-national agenda
It is an unquestionable reality that today, after Armenia has gained
independence, the situation with the Diaspora has changed.
Today we have a Diaspora that is completely different from the Diaspora
of the past.
– in terms of territory and location (the former Soviet countries,
etc.), – in terms of its image and the organizational issues it
is facing.
Who deals with Diaspora issues today? It might seem that the Armenian
state should be dealing with it, but, unfortunately, this is not
so. Therefore, the issue of giving new energy, content and quality
to organize the Diaspora remains one of ARF’s greatest challenges.
– integration of new communities in the classical Diaspora, –
preservation and organization of the poorly-organized communities,
– integration of the entire Diaspora as a political actor with the
homeland.
The relations between Armenia and the Diaspora after Armenia’s
independence developed slowly and in limited areas. This does not
satisfy ARF’s expectations and views. On June 5, 1920, the parliament
of the First Republic of Armenia decided, "to grant citizenship of
the Republic of Armenia to all persons that have Armenian ancestry
but live outside of the Republic." With this decision, the Armenian
state considered Armenia as the homeland of the entire Armenian
nation, and the Armenian government as the government of the entire
Armenian nation.
The underlying principle was to have one homeland and one Armenian
nation.
It is ARF’s desire that the independent Republic of Armenia should
follow the same road to integrate the Diaspora and let it participate
in the life of the homeland instead of only asking its assistance, and
cooperation, in the best case. And the first step of this approach,
as stated in ARF’s Platform, can be ensuring the right of every
Armenian individual to become a citizen of Armenia.
d. The issue of establishing a modern system of public administration
striving for social justice A state system that must: – ensure equal
opportunities and conditions for entrepreneurship and initiative, –
ensure equal accessibility of law, – prevent any possibilities for
discrimination threatening the human life, development and social
security.
These are tasks that fully coincide with ARF’s socialist views on the
state’ s role and obligations vis-a-vis the society and individuals.
The state system would be imperfect if it is not consolidated
with democracy, with the people’s checking and balancing role and
participation. As the ARF’ s Platform states, "The ARF believes that
socialist ideals cannot be realized without democracy, and democracy
is limited without socialism".
Our people are facing this phenomenon today: we can see that due to
the unfair socio-economic conditions democracy becomes a tool in the
hands of the rich and the strong who get a majority in the parliaments
and the executive.
Therefore, for ARF, the main guarantees for strengthening the Armenian
state are creating of a rule-of-law country, ensuring the well-being
of the population, establishment of democracy and social justice. ARF
pursues these goals with the actions and services of its dedicated
members and the wide support of the people.
* * * The challenges Armenia and the Armenian nation are facing make
ARF’s main principles of perpetual struggle and action, readiness to
sacrifice one’s life, and the revolutionary will to deny and counter
any unjust oppression, whether internal or external, more than relevant
for our today’s reality.
This is the mission that ARF with its history and actions has embodied
and pursued.