BY APPO JABARIAN
Executive Publisher / Managing Editor
USA Armenian Life Magazine (English-language print edition)
USA Armenian Life E-Newsletter (Electronic Distribution — e-blast)
Hye Kiank Armenian Weekly (Armenian-language print edition)
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www.armenianlife.com
On December 31, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan issued his message on 2021 New Year and Armenian Christmas.
PM Pashinyan’s message compassionately addressed a litany of vital issues concerning Armenia, Artsakh and Diaspora. (Read complete message http://www.armenianlife.com/2021/01/03/pm-pashinyan-issues-2021-new-year-and-armenian-christmas-message/).
However, a number of issues of national urgency were left unaddressed or mentioned:
1) ECONOMIC MONOPOLIES: The importance of the beak-up of economic monopolies controlled by a group of former kleptocratic regimes’ leaders and collaborators. Armenia should confiscate from the former kleptocratic regimes’ leaders and collaborators all the looted state and private assets and reallocate them to national urgent needs such as modernization of Armenian Army, provide financial assistance to thousands of martyred or wounded Armenian soldiers and their families;
2) MEDIA MONOPOLY: The media monopoly is controlled by a group of former kleptocratic regimes’ leaders and collaborators. The so-called new ‘opposition’ media has carried out infamous disinformation campaign both during and after the 44-day war in Artsakh; and devised fake news intended to demoralize the soldiers on the frontline in order to orchestrate the defeat of Armenia-Artsakh and the old regime’s return to power;
3) GOVERNMENT BUREAUCRACY: The government bureaucracy monopoly is still largely controlled by a group of former kleptocratic regimes’ leaders and collaborators;
4) JUDICIAL SYSTEM MONOPOLY: The Justice system monopoly is still largely controlled by a group of former kleptocratic regimes’ leaders and collaborators. The primary reason why former regime leaders and collaborators have so far escaped Justice is because of aborted justice under corrupt judges and prosecutors still bankrolled by Ter-Petrosyan, Kocharyan and Sargsyan. All the corrupt judges and prosecutors should be fired and be held accountable for their willful neglect of legal duties;
5) ARMENIAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH MONOPOLY IN ARMENIA AND FORMER SOVIET SPACE: It continues to be controlled by corrupt and nepotistic Catholicos Karekin II, U.S. Western Diocese’s Arch. Hovnan Derderian, Russia Diocese’s Arch. Yezras and their international crime cartel. Unlike Armenians of the Free world in the Diaspora, Armenians in Armenia and former Soviet space continue to be deprived from their (constitutional) parishioner rights within the church. Armenia’s judicial system should allow each church community to get organized as autonomous parishes throughout Armenia and Artsakh.
6) ARMENIA-DIASPORA RELATIONS MONOPOLY: It is controlled by a tiny group of individuals and ‘paper-tiger’ organizations in Armenian Diaspora to the detriment of Armenia’s national interests. The monopolists of the relations can hardly represent even 1% of Diaspora;
7) ARMENIA-RUSSIA STRATEGIC RELATIONS MONOPOLY: These vital relations shouldn’t be monopolized by the former kleptocratic regimes’ leaders Ter-Petrosyan, Kocharyan, Sargsyan and Karekin II who have been systematically defrauding Armenia, Artsakh and Diaspora by abusing Moscow’s trust.
In his message, PM Pashinyan stated: “On this New Year’s Eve, our hearts and thoughts are with our compatriots in the Diaspora. Your continued love and daily affection matter even thousands of kilometers away from Artsakh and Armenia, and our unity cannot be disrupted in any way.”
During the past 30 years Armenian Diaspora could have done exponentially more but it didn’t. Why?
Over the course of the last 30 years, 99.5% of Diaspora Armenians have been systematically left out of the process of umbilical integration between Armenia and Diaspora. In other words, the monopolists of Diaspora-Armenia relations such the corrupt leaders of various Diaspora organizations have deprived Armenia and Artsakh from wider and sweeping participation by resourceful Diaspora. Only a fraction of the real potential of Armenian Diaspora has been harnessed for the benefit of Armenia’s political, social, economic and technological development.
During the last 30 years, Armenia has lost a set of golden opportunities in large-scale and fast-track development primarily because 99.5% of Diaspora have been sidelined by the former Diaspora power brokers such as AGBU autocrat Berge Setrakian, ARF Western US/ANCA WR autocrats Viken and Nora Hovsepian and other abusers of power such as Edmond Azadian and Western Diocese embattled Arch. Hovnan Derderian.
Armenia and Diaspora should get rid of the so-called a set of narrow circles in Diaspora that has long-been hijacking the relations between Armenia and her formidable national resource – Armenian Diaspora.
PM Pashinyan did right by heeding a number of Armenian public speakers’ advice not to allow the phony Pan Armenian Council of Western US to hijack community representation during his recent official visit to Los Angeles. AGBU’s Sinan Sinanian, ARF Western US/ANCA WR Viken and Nora Hovsepian and Western Diocese’s Arch. Hovnan Derderian have failed to misappropriate community leadership titles.
PM Pashinyan further said: “We should further strengthen the relations with our primary security partner – Russia, and create new security guarantees in this context.”
Armenia and her Diaspora should no longer allow former kleptocratic leaders Levon Ter-Petrosyan, Robert Kocharyan, Serzh Sargsyan and Mafiosi Catholicos Karekin II to abuse their relationship with Russia and defraud the Armenian nation.
In the aftermath of the 2020 Artsakh War for Existence, Kocharyan, Ter-Petrosyan, Sargsyan and Karekin II have been taking posturing as if Russia is covertly backing their return to power in Armenia. To their detriment Pres. Vladimir Putin has called their bluff and declared that PM Pashinyan is a good leader for Armenia. On Dec. 2, 2020, Pres. Putin hailed Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s “courage” in agreeing to a peace deal over Nagorno-Karabakh.
To his credit, through an official October 31 letter, PM Pashinyan activated the Article 2 of the August 29, 1997 “Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance” executed between Armenia and Russia.
In a Nov. 4, 2020 letter to Appo Jabarian, Founder of USA ARMENIAN LIFE MAGAZINE, Sara Anjargolian, Chief of Staff of the Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs of the Republic of Armenia stated: “Honorable Mr. Jabarian, in response to your letter to Republic of Armenia Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan dated October 23, 2020, we hereby inform you that taking into consideration the (enemy) military activities in the immediate vicinity of the Republic of Armenia’s borders; attempted infringements on the territory of the Republic of Armenia, on October 31, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia has already presented a request to the President of the Russian Federation to earnestly start consultations to determine the level and the types of assistance. The Russian Federation can allocate these assistance to the Republic of Armenia in order to fulfill its security needs in accordance with Article 2 of the August 29, 1997 “Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance” executed between Armenia and Russia.”
Anjargolian added: “At the same time, we would like to inform you, that Armenia continues its efforts to find a solution to the conflict through its diplomatic efforts with United States which is an OSCE Minsk Group co-chair state.”
PM Pashinyan underlined: “In this difficult time of sorrow and anxiety we must not forget about happiness, about the happiness of our children, of our generations, because no other goal gives us as much strength to live as the goal of our children’s happiness. And in order to be stronger, we must have more and more children, a large family with 4-5 children must become a rule in us. We must implement new state programs to promote maternity in 2021, because birth and motherhood are the undeniable symbol of our vitality and strength.”
Armenia is in a major demographic war which the Armenian nation must win. Comprehensive and sustainable world Armenian population growth is vital both in the Homeland and Diaspora. For Armenia and Armenian nation to become a viable state and a nation, they need to create the critical mass.
PM Pashinyan quoted the following words of the New Testament regarding the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the mourners, for they shall be comforted… Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those persecuted for the sake of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven!”
The Armenian national church – Armenian Apostolic Church has been taken over by an international criminal cartel headed by Catholicos Karekin II, Arch. Hovnan Derderian of Los Angeles, and Arch. Yezras of Moscow. The Church must be freed from internal parasites. Without the Armenian Church’s liberation from the current ‘institutionalized’ criminal activities, corruption and nepotism under Karekin II, the spiritual health and the strength of the nation will continue to be undermined and sabotaged.
PM Pashinyan concluded: “Our optimism should be reinstated through labor and learning; national happiness should be built against the background of work and education.”
Optimism comes from not just academic education but also from spiritual education and training. Under Karekin II and his cartel, the Armenian Church in Armenia, Artsakh and the former Soviet space has miserably failed in its mission.
The new year 2021 brings world Armenians new opportunities to put their National House in order.