BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 12. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has recently been making efforts to adapt Armenia to the new geopolitical realities in the South Caucasus.
Despite expressing hope for a peace treaty with Azerbaijan, Pashinyan's decision to reject a meeting with Azerbaijani representatives at the European Political Community meeting in London on July 18, 2024, appears illogical. This move suggests that Pashinyan is being influenced by foreign forces and various institutional organizations, including the Armenian Diaspora.
The Armenian Diaspora, which often has differing views from the Armenian government, exerts influence on international issues. In Western countries, diaspora groups in the US, France, and Canada, among others, are vocal and actively participate in the activities of international NGOs.
Freedom House, a prominent US-based NGO known for its biased reports, is staffed by ethnic Armenians linked to the Armenian Diaspora. US politicians, seeking to gain support from ethnic Armenians, often back such organizations and their reports, including those related to "genocide."
Representatives active in the Freedom House organization
The biased reporting by Freedom House is partly attributed to the fact that the husband of Annie Wilcox Boyajian, who currently holds a significant position within the organization, is of Armenian origin. This connection is believed to influence the organization’s reports. Every page of Freedom House's report on the absence of Armenians in Karabakh lists the names of the "sponsors".
Freedom House report on the Armenian population in Karabakh, including a mention of the NGO Democracy Development Foundation.
One of these organizations is the Democracy Development Foundation, which is affiliated with the Open Society Institute and focuses on promoting democracy, security, and human rights in Armenia. The foundation's members are Armenian, and its headquarters is located in Yerevan.
The Armenian National Committee of the US (ANCA) has long enlisted some American congressmen in its propaganda campaign against Azerbaijan. While the US supports a peace agreement between the two countries, certain Congress members continue to raise concerns about a potential "new war". Such rhetoric does not benefit the Armenian people and contradicts their national interests.
Another American NGO collaborating with the Armenian Diaspora is the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention. This organization’s report criticizes Azerbaijan and includes allegations of "genocide". The report’s authors and beneficiaries are Armenian, and their identities are clearly stated: on page 3, the report lists the Armenian-origin individuals Alisa Aleksanian, Emily Poghossian, Gevorg Novshadyan, Peter Vertanian, and Raffi Zarzartian as contributors.
Armenians involved in the Lemkin Institute's report.
The indecisiveness of NGOs, diasporas, foreign forces, and the Pashinyan government poses a significant obstacle to the normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. For instance, Armenians in France have considerable influence on political processes, often claiming to act in the interests of the Armenian nation while exacerbating tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Murad Papazian, Co-president of the Coordinating Council of Armenian Organizations (CCAF) in France and currently declared persona non grata in Armenia, is a key figure in this process. He actively engages in political activities that oppose peace initiatives.
This environment fosters heightened racist attitudes within the Armenian Diaspora, promoting war instead of peace and rivalry instead of cooperation.
One institution obstructing the normalization of Azerbaijani-Armenian relations is the Armenian Church. Despite Armenia's constitutionally secular status, the Church actively interferes in political matters and promotes a range of non-religious agendas. Historically, the Church has maneuvered between rival nations to achieve its goals. The Armenian Catholicos have maintained territorial claims against Azerbaijan from the Tsarist era through the Soviet period, with such issues persisting today. Currently, the Armenian Church is impeding the border delimitation process between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Under the leadership of Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan of the Tavush Diocese, a small group of protesters has been opposing Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's policies for several months.
However, the Armenian Church's stance has yielded no results. Even Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has acknowledged that the Armenian Apostolic Church has historically been an "agent of influence". While global religious leaders advocate for peace, Armenian Catholicos Karekin II seems to favor conflict.
Thus, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's indecisiveness, combined with the actions of the Armenian Diaspora and the Armenian Church, poses significant obstacles to peace and cooperation between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Both the Diaspora and the Church act against the national interests of the Armenian people, both within and outside Armenia. They fail to recognize that a peace treaty is crucial for regional development.
For Armenia to secure a stable future, it must abandon anti-Azerbaijani political ideologies and instead embrace thoughts that foster regional cooperation. Otherwise, Armenia risks remaining a destabilizing force within the political landscape and a tool for foreign powers.