“Government agencies can’t solve all issues. There is also a need for public initiatives,” said Govchian. It is nice to see that many Diaspora Armenians have a new look at Armenia-Diaspora relations and are making efforts to convey new quality to those relations. However, this opinion reaffirms that Diaspora Armenians still don’t have a correct perception of the Armenian government’s efforts aimed at establishing active and multifaceted partnership with the Diaspora. The RA Ministry of Diaspora, which was established three years ago with the purpose of systematizing Armenia-Diaspora relations and developing new mechanisms contributing to those relations, is already moving those issues to a new level, is placing social-community contacts within the framework of the state policy and is moving away from the merely compatriotic and cultural ties. The Ministry of Diaspora is a powerful structure with its numerous departments and divisions that coordinate the cooperation between Armenia and the Armenian communities by using the potential of the Armenians living in those communities. The Forum was organized for the improvement of that cooperation and the development of new methods, and it will truly lead to positive and helpful results. The ministry has an Advisory Board that includes well-known figures from Armenia and the Diaspora, and in this case, the formation of a non-governmental council becomes an end in itself. Perhaps it would be more practical, if the communities created small councils for coordinating cooperation with the RA Ministry of Diaspora, made their contacts and partnership more goal-oriented and turned the simple visits to conceptions and put them in practice. As a matter of fact, several delegates at the Forum were in favor of this idea. They praised the efforts of the Armenian government and the Diaspora and stressed the fact that efforts are not coordinated in many communities because sometimes many members of communities don’t take part in community programs and events, are unaware of the joint implementation of activities with the homeland, for which they often appeal to the Ministry of Diaspora to solve several key issues facing them.

Alexis Govchian also commented on the recent scandal connected to the latest statements by Armenia’s Ambassador to Switzerland, world renowned singer Charles Aznavour that Turkish and Azeri mass media outlets disseminated.

“The weight of Aznavour’s every word is so heavy and he has such a high reputation that Turkish political figures could rarely be able to discredit him,” said Govchian.
Turkish mass media distorted the words of Armenian Ambassador to Switzerland, world famous Charles Aznavour. According to HaberTurk, Aznavour had mentioned that Armenians had to substitute the word “genocide” in order to facilitate dialogue with Turkey and open the Armenian-Turkish border. What’s more, “after such statements, the singer had been strictly criticized by the French-Armenian community”, reports the agency.

However, a French TV journalist’s interview with Aznavour makes it clear what the singer actually meant when he proposed to substitute the word “genocide” with another one.

In response to the journalist’s questions, Aznavour had mentioned that the word “genocide” disturbed him because if the Turks were truly decent to say that the word “genocide” was what bothered them, “we would find another word in order to open the borders and to have the Turkish government consider starting dialogue with us”. According to the Ambassador, a word shouldn’t determine the level of the tragedy. “The important thing is not the word, but the fact that the Turks wished to kill and eliminate the Armenians.”

Commenting on the Turkish government’s denial policy, Aznavour noted that that was most likely a matter of honor that they will forget about after recognizing what happened.

Mass media outlets disseminated information according to which Charles Aznavour had called on substituting the word “genocide” with another one since that word disturbs the establishment of friendly ties. In addition, it was stated that Aznavour had also expressed the desire to visit Turkey and had mentioned that the Turks were a great nation.

Prepared by Levon Mutafyan