Letter to Editor
Re: Citizens of Armenia and Diaspora Armenians SHOULD stand behind the new government and help the reform process — GARBIS KORAJIAN
USA Armenian Life Live 07 03 20 English APPO JABARIAN | GARBIS KORAJIAN
How do we unchain our sacred homeland from thieving kleptocrats who are trying to prevent the anti-corruption reforms of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Is it really possible to eradicate the multi-pronged, ubiquitous, networks of greedy people entrenched by decades of selfish leaders?
Their greed has destroyed so many parts of our existence. For instance, Levon Ter- Petrosyan not only sold factory and railroad metal to Iran depriving people of jobs and transportation, he willingly conceded Nakhichevan to Azerbaijan. The ancient Julfa Cemetery with over 10,000 world heritage Khatchars where my maternal ancestors are buried was bulldozed by the Azeris who made It into a military base where they are driving over my ancestors bones.
I was very interested in the information that Garbis Korajian was presenting on Ethical Leadership. It is important to realize that we even have to clean up the corrupt church leaders in Armenia like Karekin II who are in the pocket of corrupt ex-leaders. So many children in Armenia are hungry! How can these corrupt guys live with themselves?
I was fortunate to know Archbishop Mesrob Ashjian In NY. It makes a big difference in a stressful world to see an honorable spiritual guide. How many members of the church have the guts like his to stand up for justice?
Making the anti corruption visions of the Velvet Revolution a reality is going to take a lot of people willing to pay the price for speaking out. In Artsakh I was subjected to a lot of character assassination and called “a bad woman” for exposing corrupt leaders stealing aid for the soldiers and having a web of bribery charging $100 under the table to sign pension papers.
I fought for justice, but when I took a commander to court for attempted rape and won, I felt I could never live safely there because his family would always want revenge. I had already sacrificed my health for Artsakh.
I found out they were going to build a gold mine on the lake I would swim in, poisoning the fish and harming the people who lived there. Before I left I decided to swim across and back the lake at night savoring the Armenian mountains breath and shimmering water.
Later in NYC Green Armenia gave a lecture at Columbia University and showed the lake with a huge plastic tarp filled with the toxic sledge of the gold mine that would destroy so much. Which awful leaders signed so many treacherous mining permits?
All power to you Appo Jabarian, Garbis Korajian and everyone in the reform movement for continuing to uncover the truth to help save our sacred homeland. Tyrants want to resurface in many ways. The Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan needs the help of all of us to reform unfair laws and return the power to people.
Anoush Ter Taulian
New York, NY, USA