We constantly write about how the Third Republic easily took over the Armenian communities, preventing them from realising their intellectual, human, and lobbying potential for the formation of a meaningful and truly independent Armenian state. Indeed, the so-called community leaders, who did not represent their communities, fraternised with the equally illegitimate leaders of Armenia. Individuals with a potential preferred to pay off only with money, and then become disillusioned, and (or) delegate state- and nation-building to the obviously anti-national elite, implementing social and humanitarian projects in return for the latter’s approval.
In general, it is not surprising that the parties that brought discord into our communities – Dashnaktsutyun, Hnchak and Ramkavar – shifted their competition to the field of competition for the favour of the Yerevan leaders, successively selling themselves to them and receiving in return no political influence – only a place in the feudal-oligarchic system. In this case, it is not surprising that this trend continues under Nikol Pashinyan, and those, who shake his hands, if desired, could even buy out his entire corrupt ‘family’ (recall that the marriage of the chief Turk Nikol Pashinyan and Anna Hakobyan is registered by neither the Armenian church, nor the Armenian state). It is also not surprising that Pashinyan manages to receive the support of community structures that oppose themselves to other structures, representing, for example, the Dashnaktsutyun party, which has grown together with Robert Kocharyan. Among the first, in particular, the Armenian Assembly of America and Fonds Arménien de France (the Armenian Foundation of France) were noted. However, we are not talking about individual organisations, but about a phenomenon that we will only partially analyse by their example.
So, Armenpress news agency, which is the exclusive property of the Republic of Armenia established already under the First Republic, reports on the meeting of the Turkish commandant with one of the board members of Fonds Arménien de France, established in 1993. What does its correspondent consider to be the most important information for its true owners – the citizens of Armenia? And what has now, apparently, become part of the protocol of meetings with the Prime Minister of Armenia? That is right: the expression of ‘support for the ‘Real Armenia’ ideology’.
Well, an obligatory part of trips to Azerbaijan is an expression of support for the ‘territorial integrity’ of the terrorist entity. Since supporting these mythical constructs is equivalent, Pashinyan can easily rewrite Azerbaijan’s ‘blacklist’ into Armenia’s ‘non grata’ list – and vice versa. However, there will still be at least naive people, who will call this a misunderstanding and will still aim for the ‘white list’ of the Armenian Prime Minister, be it, for example, Murad Papazyan from France or Samvel Karapetyan from Russia. As we can see, although the ‘crossroads of peace’ has stalled for the time being, Armenia’s ‘integration’ into Azerbaijan is in full swing, not only geographically, politically and economically, but also culturally: the ‘leaders’ of the communities have never stooped so low as to express approval of pseudo-ideologies that exclude their existence and role – both on paper and on camera – in the style of oriental despotism, which is Azerbaijan.
But even that is not the worst. Even in the absence of Armenia’s independence, both Moscow and Washington tried to ‘adapt’ to the Armenian communities. During the Cold War, the Armenian world was a valuable asset, for the minds and hearts of which a serious struggle was waged, which allowed Armenia to gain at least the tacit consent of the major players during the liberation of Artsakh. Today, in the days of the Third Republic, which should and could have become communicating vessels with the Armenian world, mutually reinforcing each other, the Armenian world is more fragmented and demotivated than ever, happily serving foreign governors in Yerevan and demanding nothing for their communities and people in return.
In the context of Turkey’s colonisation of Armenia, the authorities commit to bring their most coveted asset – the Armenian world – to the new owners on a platter, which Turkey has for centuries dreamed of turning into a liability forever. And these are the people and forces that terrified Turkey, that were at the forefront of the adoption of sanctions against Turkey and Azerbaijan, and that were a factor that Turkey needed to take into account, when building relations with global leaders. And these are the people and forces, to whom Armenia owes a significant part of its well-being, but who will no longer survive as a subject, if the ‘Real Armenia’ project is implemented, where there is no place for Armenians outside the patch of the Armenian Highlands, over which the Armenian flag is yet flying, and even more so – if the Armenian statehood once again sinks into oblivion. The descendants of people who survived the Genocide and expulsion, who managed to preserve their Armenianness through generations and at the same time become successful citizens of their countries of residence, who experienced the joy of victory and who were forced to swallow the bitterness of their defeats, play imitation and sycophancy in order to serve their worst enemy – the Turkish world.
Contracts, grants for money once donated by fellow Armenians, and the opportunity to take a picture with the undertaker of Armenia – this is the motivation of those, who will continue to participate in this dirty farce. And each of them will think that if it is not them, then it will be another person with a similar last name. And, if necessary, each of them will create another ‘Armenian’ quasi-structure in order to achieve these goals, sparing no energy and time to participate in the dismantling of the Armenian statehood and identity. Their descendants will not ask them, if they regret their choice, because they will no longer know what Armenians and Armenia are.
The Armenian world is facing an existential choice. Either it will become a network of colonial lobbies promoting the interests of ‘Real Armenia’ – that is, its Turkish masters (oh, how much they would be willing to pay not even for service, but at least for the silence of Armenians), or, finally, it will choose those who are worthy of representing it, form a national aristocracy and a transnational political nation that will formulate a national interest and realise it without intermediaries, communicating on an equal basis with the powerful of this world. A nation, for which Armenia will be the centre of its own interests, and not the ‘crossroads’ of others.
The Turkish governors understand the value and potential of our global communities, but will we realise it before it is too late?
