Oligarchy's Bone in Armenians’ Throat

The Armenian Diaspora, which does not intervene in the domestic affairs of Armenia that often demonstrated amazing solidarity this time. Protests in memory of Vahe Avetyan with similar anti-oligarchic demands were held in Iran, Los-Angeles, Berlin and other cities.

What explains this solidarity? There are many factors but the most important one is that the oligarchy is a bone in the throat of not only Armenia but also the Diaspora and the Armenians worldwide.

Despite the attempts of the Ministry of Diaspora to invite Armenians “home”, they prefer having holidays, investing, working and living anywhere but Armenia. Even the Armenians leaving Syria very rarely anchor in Armenia. The reason is the division of Armenia into several clans which do not allow “others” in, conducting a dilettantish foreign policy, burdening Armenia with debt and maneuvering between the West and the North.

The Diaspora’s support may enable the Armenian opposition and the civil society to achieve big victories. There are already small victories – the Moscow cinema, the Trchkan waterfall and Mashtots Park, as well as Ruben Hairapetyan’s resignation. But now it is necessary to bring up more large-scale issues, such as voiding the parliamentary elections, forming an independent CEC and holding free elections.

The grounds for such claims have matured both in the sense of mobilization of the civil society and the readiness of the authorities for concessions and the position of the international community. If we add the factor of the Diaspora, the task will not seem unreal.

The parliament should be dissolved, and the parliamentary forces which hardly won the election should be interested in fair elections to win more seats.

The Diaspora should also be interested in this which does not have levers of influence on Armenia’s policy. The Ministry of Diaspora was created to transform the Diaspora Armenians to a ghetto, to isolate them from state affairs and to limit their presence in Armenia to holidays in Armenia.

It is necessary to ensure the presence of the Diaspora in the parliament. But the most important thing is the necessity to remove the bone of oligarchy from out throat, and then the Diaspora and Armenia will become parts of one body.