“This is MFA’s problem,” – opines Karine Danielyan, President of “For Sustainable Human Development” NGO, referring to the decision on moving UN Regional Office (UNDP) to Istanbul. To remind that United Nations Population Fund has also moved to Turkey, as well as the Children’s Fund: UNICEF. Karine Danielyan said that Turkey, by doing this, is defending and preparing for the Genocide’s 100th anniversary. Then she added, “Personally, I have been invited to several conferences in Turkey. They distribute gifts, bribes to people over there, and do so that people would not think that this country can commit genocide.” Mrs. Danielyan notes that Turkey and Azerbaijan are working together coordinated. Azerbaijan is included in the UNESCO committee, which is engaged in preservation of historical and cultural values. “In every place a Turk and Azeri are sitting and working, and they are not just working by chance, but for the benefit of their countries, they evidently work in a way to withdraw Armenia from the process.”
Hranush Kharatyan, a Pre-parliament member, ethnographer, expressed concern that people outdoors are unaware of our problems, and detailed, “It is impossible for so many people to pretend, to play a role that they are unaware. People, then, begin to self-interestedly questioning of how ii happened and what happened.” Mrs. Kharatyan does not blame the United Nations or the international community, and states, “From MFA, we basically hear such answers that it is useless, it’s all the same, nothing will change. There is great distrust in the official system of Armenia. There is a great lack of initiative. There is an atmosphere of mistrust that we would be blamed for our particular problems.
But, we have mistrust in our most impartial problems. The issue of genocide and non-repentance of Turkey was to be discussed in UN long ago. However, this issue is discussed in nowhere, naturally, in the UN, where we have our representative there.” Karine Danielyan, answering the question whether the coalition struggle of NGOs was in vain, since the UNDP office is moving to Istanbul, said, “Armenia will not work with Istanbul. This is already a result. Baku has pretensions to take UNESCO to its territory, but, yesterday, I was curious and realized that the issue is closed. I hope that our letters would at least promote in halting the issue of moving other institutions in the future.” We conveyed the observations addressed to the MFA to the RA MFA Spokesman Tigran Balayan. He briefly answered, “The speakers are aware of all the steps that have been taken by RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as are aware of the real reasons for moving of other offices”. Regarding the opinions that people outdoors are not aware of our problems due to the lack of awareness, Tigran Balayan said, “We are trying to raise the awareness, and we conduct actions through representatives of diplomatic missions and other structures”.
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Tatev HARUTYUNYAN
