Armenian Diaspora becomes important political factor

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Pan-Armenian tour of the President of Armenia seems to have raised the significance of the Diaspora to a new level. Let us recall that all the attempts to attract seven or eight million Armenians scattered all over the world with the aim to solve problems inside Armenia have almost always ended in a naught. As a proof to this can serve the three Armenia-Diaspora forums, all ending in idle talks and non-committal statements. From then on the Diaspora began to believe that for Armenia Spyurk is a "milk cow" which is ready to allocate funds out of patriotism. And nobody could think that the Diaspora is capable of really influencing the foreign policy of Armenia, and not only Armenia, but also those states where it is powerful and more united. It primarily refers to the United States, Lebanon, France and, to some extent, Russia. Russian Diaspora is less organized as a result of lack of tradition and great distances, despite the large number of Diaspora organizations. It is also relatively young and its representatives are not burdened by the load of ancestors who survived the Armenian Genocide. But in Russia too can the Armenian community influence the taking on of any decisions necessary for Armenia.

How important the voice of the Diaspora is, has become clear in the light of recent developments in normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations.. Greater part of Diaspora clearly opposes the signing of any documents with Turkey. It is appropriate to note that the politically mature part of the Diaspora is Dashnaktsutyun, which has many adherents in all countries of the world. Moreover, it has leverage over the governments of different countries in the form of the Armenian lobby, which, whatever may be said about it, is quite a powerful organization, especially in promoting true Armenian interests, among which recognition of the Armenian Genocide holds the first standing. By the way, precisely thanks to this issue the Armenian organizations in the USA gain financial assistance for Armenia from the United States Government. Moreover, it is to the Diaspora that Armenia should be grateful for the close Armenian-French relations. And under such circumstances it is simply impossible to neglect the opinion of the Diaspora in Armenian-Turkish Protocols.

In any event, the Armenian Diaspora is becoming an important political factor not only for Armenia but also for the whole world. Not without purpose does Turkish President Abdullah Gul regularly declare that Yerevan needs to get rid of "opinions imposed by the Diaspora, which averts the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations". By the way, this point of view from Turkey is not new and it is continually voiced as soon as there arises a danger for Ankara. Turkey fears the Diaspora, and it is quite logical. The strange point is whether the Turkish leadership is so naive as to believe that the protocols would be signed without advice from the Diaspora. Or, Ankara is so confident about the possibility of direct pressure on the President of Armenia that it excludes such a possibility. It is hard to believe such a naivete, but it is also possible that like a sly fox Turkey is trapped with two legs at once.