DETROIT, Mich.—The Armenian National Committee (ANC) of Michigan hosted a virtual event featuring an Armenia Alliance candidate ahead of Armenia’s snap parliamentary elections last week.
Friday’s discussion was led by ANC of MI chairperson Dzovinar Hatsakordzian and ANC of MI committee member Apraham Keyvanian. It featured Oxford scholar Aspram Krpeyan and Weekly columnist and regional analyst Yeghia Tashjian.
Krpeyan, who joined the Armenia Alliance upon receiving an invitation from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), says she was inspired by her father and National Hero Tatul Krpeyan. She described her father as a “devoted Tashnagtsagan” and “a true hero who sacrificed his life for strong, independent, united Hayasdan.”
“The Armenia Alliance has a unique advantage because it has the support of the diaspora and a strong global network, especially coming from the ARF,” noted Tashjian, “It also has a sophisticated and very experienced foreign policy coming from Kocharyan’s team,” he continued.
Like many Armenians, Krpeyan said she was devastated by the unbearable losses and the decisions of the current administration in the aftermath of the Artsakh War. “We were expecting this traitorous government to resign right away, but as time proved, we were expecting far too much from those whose only agenda was and still is to destroy Armenian statehood and everything Armenian,” she stressed.
Tashjian, who studied public policy and international affairs at the American University of Beirut, emphasized the geopolitical miscalculations that brought Armenia to this point, especially Armenia’s relations with Russia, Turkey and Iran. He mentioned the key points that played a role in the outcome of the Artsakh War, such as Russia’s interest in the region, Iran’s fear of extremist Azeri nationals living in northern Iran and Turkey’s military interest in the South Caucasus. “Any future war with Azerbaijan means we are also fighting Turkey,” said Tashjian. “The outcome of the elections will not only shape the future of Armenia but of the entire region of the South Caucasus,” he added, while underscoring Armenia’s domestic and regional challenges.
“We need strong leadership, but also harmony, because if our stronghold is not well defended, then the enemy may walk and destroy everything,” said Tashjian. “We have seen the worst, we have survived a genocide, the loss of homeland, occupation, but I think that we have the immunity to overcome similar events and maneuver…Diaspora and fatherland must cooperate, we need to love the state, not just the country.”
Hatsakordzian closed the program by wishing Krpeyan success and encouraged Armenian citizens to vote for the Armenia Alliance.
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