Opinion
Hovannisian: ‘Armenia-Diaspora Relations: 20 Years Since Independence’
Raffi K. Hovannisian, the first foreign minister of Armenia and the founder of the Heritage Party, delivered the following keynote address during the 2nd Annual PFA Forum at Georgetown University in Washington on March 1.
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As an Armenian christian, I feel the comments about the church’s inactivity are poignant when it comes to the free hand the oligarchs have in Armenia. Ive been waiting a long time for my church to become proactive for our christian beliefs. I understand the church’s influence was minimal during Soviet times but now? The civilian population had gripes against the church before the republic and have no reason to change their mind even now in the 21st century, Truly a sad commentary. Doesn’t Etchmiadzin realize what the people expect from them? Why must comfort have to come from a proxy?
Former first Foreign Minister of Armenia summarize quite well Turkish positon form Prime Minister to Foreign Minister and live two alternatives…either to put all on the table or to establish diplomatic relation then try to solve our problems. He also to be commended suggesting that diasporas and Armenia shall find form of process and structure in order to coordianate peoples input into collective policy in different spheres.
Darwin/Garo:
well said. The issues of the role of the Church as well as the room for collective action on the side of Diaspora and Armenia (which will incorporate new concepts and factor in new paradigms) are discussed in full detail in Policy Forum Armenia’s (PFA) Diaspora Report issued recently (downloadable from: http://www.pf-armenia.org). The presentation of the Report was–in addition to Mr. Hovannisian’s historic speech–one of the highlights of PFA’s Diaspora Forum that took place on February 28-March 2, 2010 in Washington. We would welcome you comments on the Report and other presentations made during the Forum (all available on PFA’s website).
David Grigorian
Co-Founder, Senior Fellow
Policy Forum Armenia
exrelations@pf-armenia.org
I find it very surprising, that Mr. David Grigorian spends his time bombarding people with invitations to ‘his” forum, he is now using this opportunity to draw attention to his website, yet when one writes him (as I did) to participate in ‘his’ so-called forum, he never even bothered to answer.
I draw the readers’ attention to an exchange I have had with one of their senior fellows on the Armenian Weekly comment section. The reader can draw his own conclusion as to the type of people we have here pretending to run a forum:
http://armenianweekly.com/2010/02/20/second-annual-pfa-forum-on-armenia-diaspora-relations/ please go down to the comment section to see the exchange.
I have since learned that Mr. Grigorian used very uncouth language in an email exchange over a month ago with a fellow Armenian who raised the same issue with him. I hope the moderators working with the Armenian Weekly will help avoid this same type of fiasco from repeating itself.
To this day, I have not heard from the so-called PFA forum organisers, any expression of regret over the way they have treated fellow Armenians, yet they keep wanting people to read their website and anabashedly advertise freely on any comment section they can find. Why advertise, when you do not want people to come?
Armen Vahramian
Who in the government speaks for the disenfranchised?
Mr. David Grigorian
You have ducked the issue I have raised (that the so-called ‘forum’ you pretend to have co-founded did not bother to respond to Armenians who expressed interest in participating).
Please address my main issue with your so-called organization (the object of my comment) and avoid personal attacks in the future.
I would also like to add: had I been the person in charge of organizing an Armenian Forum, I would have expressed some remorse at ignoring (hopefully unintentionally) some fellow Armenians’ requests to participate. I would have gone further and stated unequivocally that ‘all’ Armenians are welcome to the Armenian forum I organise.
Armen Vahramian (simply Armenian)