Hayern Aysor presents its interview with General Secretary of the Switzerland-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group and President of the Switzerland-Armenia Association Sarkis Shahinian, who was recently awarded with the Medal of Honor of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia for his extensive pro-Armenian activities and notable contributions to the strengthening of friendly relations between the Swiss and Armenian parliaments.

Hayern Aysor: Mr. Shahinian, you recently received the Medal of Honor of the RA National Assembly. What does this mean to you?

Sarkis Shahinian: This award means a lot to me in the sense that it is an award from the parliament, which represents the interests of the people of Armenia. The award was granted for the efforts that have been made for years to help strengthen the bonds between the Parliaments of Switzerland and Armenia. The meaning of our efforts is and always will be having the political cooperation contribute to and radicalize the development of economy and education in both countries. However, there is a different between desire and reality.

After all, I believe the National Assembly also took into consideration the efforts that have been made at various levels (also the fruitful work that has been done at the global level), and this is very important and encouraging for me.

Hayern Aysor: In your opinion, what is the level of the current relations between Armenia and Switzerland?

S. S.: Switzerland sees its role in Armenia in two major sectors. The first is that it sees itself as a center for strategic and historic conflicts. This will provide Switzerland with the opportunity to be recognized again as a factor for conflict resolution at the global level and reinforce its positions as a historic conciliator. The major examples were the drafting of the Protocols signed in Zurich and the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. For example, Switzerland organized the summit of Presidents Sargsyan and Aliyev in Bern in November 2015.

The second factor is social development and the provision of humanitarian assistance, which is made possible through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Department for Development and Cooperation).

However, the economic relations between Armenia and Switzerland are so weak that they can be equaled to zero. One of the purposes of the June 24-26 visit of President of the Switzerland-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group (also Vice-President of the National Assembly of Switzerland) to Armenia was to enhance this sector. I must also say that the Embassy of Switzerland in Armenia, and Lucas Gasser personally, made great contributions to the development of relations in all sectors.

Hayern Aysor: In which sectors or directions can there be effective cooperation?

S. S.: The major sector in which we can record progress is tourism where we only need minimum investments, quality of internal roads and competitiveness at the global level. To do all this, the government needs to promote healthy and creative forces and eliminate monopolies. At the same time, there is a need to enhance transport relations and regulate the aerial road barriers.

Tourism, agriculture, information technologies and the banking system are the sectors in which Armenia has the greatest potential. The weakest sector is the service sector. We need to open our market in other countries, and for that we need to have competitive products in terms of quality and the required quantity.

We have 2,811 solar times a year, but we don’t use it in any way. The climate is changing, and for that reason, we need to save our resources, especially water.

Hayern Aysor: Which achievement would you consider the major achievement that the Switzerland-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group has made over the past years?

S. S.: We managed to raise the awareness of Swiss Members of Parliament about the Armenian reality that they didn’t have. Starting from recognition of the Armenian Genocide and ending with a rise in the level of awareness about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict (let us not forget the failure to pass an anti-Armenian resolution in the European Parliament in January, one of the major successes for which were the votes that Swiss parliamentarians cast for Armenia, and it is clear that this was not by chance), as well as global awareness about the eradication of cross-stones on the part of Baku in Nakhichevan.

Our latest visit (in late June) with Dominique de Buman was aimed at revitalizing the bilateral economic relations.

Over the past 12 years, the Switzerland-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group has visited Armenia four times and has visited Artsakh once. Stressing our close ties with Armenia, we have also always highlighted the weaknesses of these and the previous authorities.

In November 2012, we participated in the Conference of Political Scientists and International Affairs Experts organized by the RA Ministry of Diaspora and presented our analyses.

Hayern Aysor: Mr. Shahinian, recently, all Armenians were especially concerned about the Artsakh issue and recognition of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. How did Switzerland respond? What is the parliamentary group doing in this direction?

S. S.: We are currently working on raising public awareness and neutralizing the dangers in parliament, if necessary (let us mention the efforts that were made to not pass Robert Walter’s resolution, which were made through the coordinated efforts of the Switzerland-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group and the Armenian National Committee of Europe).

We understand that the key objective is to work on achieving the right of Artsakh to self-determination. However, we are having trouble finding the red string that we can follow, like the return of Stepanakert to the negotiating table.

One of the major actions of the Switzerland-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group is the hearings that we organized in the Swiss Parliament in 2011. The four guest international affairs experts presented the human rights context of the Artsakh conflict and the relations in international law. We published a booklet in two languages (French, German) that also include a CD-ROM containing photos and a video showing the crime that Azerbaijan committed in Nakhichevan that remains unpunished.

Hayern Aysor: Mr. Shahinian, the four-day war in Artsakh changed a lot of things in Armenia and the Diaspora. Do you feel that change? If so, where?

S. S.: The war invaded our hoes and entered our souls. It caused the same trauma that the 1988 Spitak Earthquake and the 1991-94 Artsakh war had caused.

The four-day Artsakh war showed that we Armenians still have a lot to do for our army. We don’t have the right to lose one hundred soldiers, ten soldiers or even one soldier.

The four-day war also showed our opponent that it will never be able to seize our liberated territories by force.

The day after I received the ward, on May 7, I wanted to go and see our wounded soldiers at the military hospital. What I saw was very grave. I saw 19-20-year-old boys who had become disabled and were teaching me how to have national dignity with their silence.

We all understand what kind of a nation we are and what we need to do to express our gratitude to these young men modestly and in practice.

Independence was declared 25 years ago. Today, more than ever, we need to continue to take action, not with words, but with modest and daily acts, accepting and understanding constructive criticism and fixing mistakes. This is our task in Armenia and abroad.

No matter how important recognition of the Armenian Genocide is for each of us, it is now the second plan. Today we have Artsakh, an Armenian-populated territory that we need to maintain forever. Many Armenians abroad understood this. Now we have to take action. Only we need to shape our future, and we can only rely on ourselves.

Interview by Lusine Abrahamyan