By Harut Sassounian
TheCaliforniaCourier.com
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed the Global Armenian Summit held in Yerevan on November 6.
In his speech at a similar summit in 2024, Pashinyan offended everyone by claiming that the “biggest problem” facing him and his audience was being patriotic. He went on to make the ridiculous claim that foreign powers had instilled patriotism in Armenians. He even claimed that the commemoration of the Armenian Genocide was a tool of Soviet propaganda. He also insulted his Diaspora audience by criticizing and rejecting the humanitarian aid they had sent to Armenia.
At this year’s Summit, once again, Pashinyan wasted his own time and that of the hundreds of patriotic Diaspora Armenians who had left their homes and jobs and spent thousands of dollars on airfare, hotels, and meals to visit their homeland.
Pashinyan said nothing new. He repeated his propaganda about “Real Armenia,” which is really his “Fake Armenia.”
Pashinyan’s biggest mistake was speaking for 27 minutes without a written text. He simply said whatever came to his mind at that moment. Most of what he said had nothing to do with the Diaspora or anything else.
He started by saying that Armenians were not the first Christian nation, which momentarily shocked the audience. He then went on to explain what every Armenian knows: that Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity. Next, he minimized the historic significance of Armenia’s acceptance of Christianity by saying that Armenians adopted it because of the king’s orders.
Throughout his speech, Pashinyan repeatedly explained the difference between the homeland and the state. Most Armenians know that there is no difference between the two. While it is true that Armenians had a much larger country in the past, and hopefully will have one again in the future, what we currently have is both our homeland and our state. They are the same thing.
Pashinyan even wondered whether there were any Armenians before they adopted Christianity. I am glad that he did not claim that there were no Armenians and no Armenia before he came to power in 2018.
For no apparent reason, Pashinyan then delved into a lengthy explanation about Armenian farmers who do not want driver’s licenses, license plates, or vehicle inspections. None of these issues concern the Diaspora Armenians, who came to Armenia for a completely different reason.
Pashinyan then foolishly argued that Armenia’s borders prevent neighboring Azerbaijan and Turkey from encroaching on Armenia’s territory. He apparently hoped that those present would not remember that Azerbaijan’s army has occupied parts of the territory of the Republic of Armenia since 2021-2022 and continues to do so.
Near the end of his remarks, Pashinyan falsely announced that Armenia offers “love and respect” to Diaspora Armenians. On the contrary, the Armenian government prevents some Diaspora Armenians from visiting their homeland by placing them on its blacklist, simply because they disagreed with the Armenian authorities and Pashinyan in particular. I recently wrote about the sad experience of an Armenian woman, a U.S. citizen, who was arrested at the Yerevan airport for a critical comment about Pashinyan that she had posted on her Facebook page in the United States a year earlier.
I will not dwell on the arrest of dozens of Pashinyan’s local political opponents and the confiscation of their properties and businesses without a trial. But no one dares to charge and arrest Pashinyan for his many violations of Armenia’s laws, including his threats to slay his Armenian opponents.
Pashinyan constantly boasts about bringing democracy and peace to Armenia. Regrettably, he has turned the country into a dictatorship and is on the verge of destroying what remains of the homeland.
Pashinyan also praised himself for establishing the High Commission of Diaspora Affairs of Armenia. He does not realize that he and Zareh Sinanyan, the official he put in charge of that office, have burned every bridge between Armenia and the Diaspora.
Pashinyan then spent 22 minutes answering a few questions from his Diaspora audience. The first person expressed his dismay at the recent brawl in the Armenian Parliament. Surprisingly, Pashinyan dismissed the criticism, adding that the brawl was a sign of democracy! He falsely claimed that such brawls never occur in dictatorial regimes and happen only in democratic countries like Armenia. He must not have seen the repeated ugly scenes of brutal fistfights in the Turkish Parliament. No one would call Turkey a democratic country. Pashinyan once again contradicted himself by saying that he does not welcome the brawl in the Armenian Parliament even though a week earlier he praised the members of his party for taking part in the fights.
Pashinyan desperately needs a speechwriter, as leaders in other countries have, to help him avoid delivering such nonsensical remarks. Fortunately, he did not speak as long as he did two years ago.
Despite the flaws in Pashinyan’s remarks and the government’s excessive $814,000 expenditure on the Summit, I am certain that hundreds of Armenians from around the world enjoyed the opportunity to visit their homeland.
