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Guest Contributor
Guest contributions to the Armenian Weekly are informative articles or press releases written and submitted by members of the community.
E-Mail 'Providence Celebrates 126th Anniversary of the ARF' To A Friend
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Very proud of Providence. Keep up the good work
It’s great to see Mourad Topalian, along with his experience & wisdom, making the rounds around America.
Congratulations to the Providence ARF and to the community in general. In a broader sense, I would like to comment on the role of the ARF in Armenia vis a vis the government. What is missing today on the Armenian political scence is a strong opposition. The absense of such creates a power vacuum that the ruling Republican Party takes advantage. What seats remaIn in the Parliament are diluted into several groups with no unity of thought….thus the absense of an important oppostion. When street protests take place, the government simply waits out the events since there is no political groups strong enough to represent those interests.
I have always felt the ARF was a logical choice for an opposition party in the short term. With its populist history and widespread support in the diaspora , it would be an opportunity to engage common citizens and the diaspora. Of course the decision on how to optimize influence is always up for debate. Do you operate more effectively as an opposition party or do you collaborate in a power sharing deal to manifest change from the inside. The ARF has chosen the latter path currently with ministerial posts and governors posts. Time will tell whether this worked along with the Karapetyan government. At this stage in Armenia’s evolution, the only change that counts is that which improves the daily lives of the common citizen. This has always been the ARF’s core value….. the people. Whether during the tragic period of 1890-1923 when they gave hope to an oppressed people or the post 1923 diaspora era when their popular support and organizational skills built much of the diaspora, the ARF strength is to be a party of the citizens of our nation. We pray for peace and prosperity.