The recent incident in Los Angeles with Diaspora Commissioner Zareh Sinanyan, when local Armenians thwarted the meeting, brought joy to many. Scenes like this do not make me happy. I was not happy when the third president of Armenia or any current or former official was received in the Diaspora in that way. Of course, our compatriots can have their opinion on the Armenian authorities and their policies. The argument that “come live in Armenia, then speak” does not seem invulnerable to me today.
Everyone chooses their place of residence, and if, nevertheless, they continue to identify with the Armenian nation, it is not bad. I’m just not sure that this form of violent protest will bring any benefit to them, I hope, to my beloved homeland. The same accusations can be made without scandals and unpleasant scenes. They not only deepen the dividing lines of our nation, but also show them to the world. To be honest, it would be much more desirable for our compatriots to demonstrate in front of the Turkish and Azerbaijani representations, putting aside our internal differences.
Our officials, of course, must be restrained. The same Zareh Sinanyan, when he was already an official, answering the question of the Armenian media, started talking not about the question, but about the “owners” of that media. In the West, as far as I understand, it is not so common to communicate with journalists in such a way. The Minister of Health is not obliged to justify the atrocities of the police. The chairman of the TV and Radio Commission (whose position, by the way, is legally called “autonomous” and implies political restraint), I think, has no authority to decide which money is stolen and which is honest and clean.
In short, inciting passions is a two-pronged process, and those on whose side the force, particularly the police force, should, I think, set an example of a legal, civilized mindset. The rest, too, I think, should be as moderate as possible. This includes media and journalists. Life is too short to spend time on reciprocal accusations. Nor is our homeland in great shape.
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Aram Abrahamyan
