Nikol Pashinyan reiterating what Wally Sarkeesian has been saying, Diaspora Armenians need a single entity, Armenia wants single institution representing entire global Diaspora

February 12, 2019 By administrator

PM Nikol Pashinyan says making significant changes in relations between Armenia and the Armenian Diaspora is extremely important.

“As you know, when making governmental structural changes we focus not as much and not only on changes in physical structure, but functional changes and we believe that in the state administration system each institution must implement a single function, because if several institutions are implementing the same function and the same time, we can say for the record that these functions are factually not being done,” the PM told lawmakers today in parliament.

“Overall, one of the reasons for deciding that Armenia should not have a Diaspora Minister was this, because it was implementing functions that were already being done by other ministries. I am talking about educational, cultural, youth and organizational functions. And instead of this, important functions that must be implemented in terms of relations with the Diaspora, basically were not being implemented. And I would like to note the following, the government is inclined not to have a Diaspora Minister in the structure of the government. Instead, we will have a high commissioner for Diaspora affairs at the PM’s Office, who on behalf and at the direction of the PM will carry out the policy of relations with the Diaspora, and will also at the PM’s instruction coordinate the ministries’ work in the relations with the Diaspora, at the same time by ensuring rather high and duly level of the Armenia-Diaspora relations,” he said.

According to the PM, Armenia still doesn’t have a mapping of the Diaspora’s potential around the world. “Therefore, this entire system isn’t sufficiently organized, and if you have noticed the government’s action plan has a special focus on the creation of a pan-Armenian network”, he said.

Another important task, according to the PM, is the creation of a single institution or format representing the Diaspora.

“We must be able to develop and formulate a concrete address to record who we should speak to for speaking with the Diaspora. There are many issues in the government’s, political agenda, and when they say these issues must be discussed with the Diaspora – whom exactly? The Diaspora is huge and is very comprehensive. There are thousands of organizations and if it is physically possible to discuss with a part of them, it is impossible to discuss with the other part and everyone”.

“We therefore have the task to create a representational institution representing the entire Diaspora and we all understand that this will be an extremely big challenge and a serious issue, because you know that the Diaspora is multi-layered, it is very complex, there are multiple relations, contradictions”.

Minister says there is no need to overreact to some Diaspora Armenians’ statements

December 6, 2016 By administrator

diaspora-minister YEREVAN. – There is no need to making a mountain out of a molehill from the statements by certain Diaspora Armenians, Minister of Diaspora, Hranush Hakobyan, on Tuesday told reporters in Parliament.

Reflecting on these statements, Hakobyan said, in particular: “Each and everyone can freely express his views. (…). It’s natural that their [i.e. Diaspora Armenians’] views will be different. They are multifaceted, [and] are under the political and economic influence of various countries.”

A group of Diaspora Armenians—including famous musician Serj Tankian, who is founder and lead singer of the world-renowned American-Armenian rock band System of a Down (SOAD)—on Monday made some harsh assessments on Armenia and as well as calls regarding the forthcoming parliamentary election in the country.

The laws of Armenia, however, do not permit interference by foreign citizens—regardless of their nationality—in domestic politics of the country.

Diaspora-Armenians willing to join border defense operations –official

August 9, 2014 By administrator

In an interview with Tert.am, a Defense Ministry official said that many Armenians from diaspora communities have expressed willingness to join the defense operations on frontlines of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh amid the continuing armed tension.

Major-General Vardan Avetisyan, who heads the Ministry’s Public Relations Department, said many now look forward to a decision or permission to travel to Armenia.

“Most different specialists have applied, naturally for heading to the frontline; the volunteers are first of all participants of the [Karabakh] liberation war. Narrow specialists – mainly from the technology, communications and IT sector – have applied to us. Thousands of our compatriots from the Diaspora too, have expressed willingness to visit Armenia to head to the frontline. They only wait for a corresponding decision or permission to arrive in their homeland,” he said, noting that the national armed forces are not now in an urgent need for replenishment.

Avetisyan considered the expression of such willingness an encouraging factor and a good moral support for the Armenian soldier.

“The commander and soldier standing on the frontline receives an unimaginable power from our compatriots’ willingness to be next to them. The mere realization of the fact that an Armenian living in another part of the world is ready to leave his family, work and warm cornet to stand by the soldier in the trenches makes our servicemen enthusiastic,” he added.