Raffi K. Hovannisian on Diasporan Misconceptions

By Carissa D. Vanitzian

YEREVAN, Armenia-Raffi K. Hovannisian was Armenia's first Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the founding director of the Armenian Center for National and International Studies in Yerevan.

During a recent visit to Armenia, I asked him the following question: What, in your opinion, is the biggest misconception the Diaspora has about Armenia today?

Raffi Hovannisian: The Diaspora finds itself in a critical mode of soul-searching. Our nation, in Armenia and in dispersion, in political affairs and in the spiritual realm, is together living a period of indecision and widespread uncertainty. This crisis of public trust pervades Armenian life today.

Many people in the Diaspora look upon Armenia, obviously, as their modern-day homeland. They are affected by the politics of the day, the instability, the lack of confidence, the fact that very often in the life of Armenia we come across conflicts of interest where private gain is considered more important than public duty. We have witnessed massive conflicts in this regard.

But ultimately I would say the following: It is not the president of a republic or a ranking official who is to determine our love and our commitment, our respect and our dedication to the homeland. Having come through millennia of a very difficult history, having survived the tragedy of genocide, and having overcome 70 years of Soviet rule to regain its sovereignty, Armenia cannot allow others to define the love and devotion of her people the world over.

The politics of the day are transient. They change. Presidents and administrations come and go. At bottom, it is the people who are the source of authority. It is the people who one day will stand up in defense of their liberties, exercising their right to form a government freely, a government that is responsive to them and whose purpose it is to represent them in their aspirations and to secure their dignity-not to manage the country by in-house intrigues and parochial politics.

The Diaspora as well has to reassess its approach to Armenia. The republic should not be supported or denied support because this president is in power and we like him, or that president is in charge and we don't like him. Our solidarity with Armenia has to be unconditional.

It is, finally, the people of Armenia who are its greatest treasure. It is the land of Armenia that forms its permanent value, and we cannot permit ourselves to be driven off the true path, the path of total commitment, simply because we encounter a barrier-there is a corrupt official there, and we wash our hands clean of the whole thing. A system of checks and balances is imperative-and it will come with engagement, not withdrawal.

I think the Diaspora, a key asset whose potential remains largely untapped, needs to engage Armenia on all levels. Individuals and communities alike have, without doubt, a right to be heard and to participate equally in the homeland's development. But in addition to facing its own internal challenges and problems, the Diaspora must also know that what Armenia requires today is not more declarations and more interviews and more chest-banging patriotism, but rather a patriotism of the heart, a patriotism of contribution, a patriotism of return.