By Dr. Arshavir Gundjian, C.M.
Special to the Mirror-Spectator
The year 2024 is coming to its end.
Like all perceptive people, the Armenian people as well, are stunned, witnessing every day increasingly shocking political developments that take place from the East to the West and in-between, and that just a short time ago was considered to be almost impossible.
For any attentive individual, and much more so for a collectivity bearing responsibility, it is simply not permissible to stand stunned and weakened in the face of danger. In fact, for the latter, this would be considered an unforgivable crime.
Anyone with an instinct of survival, endowed with an active intelligence, and especially a resourceful collectivity, is driven with a fierce power and urgency arising from responsibility to assembly all means available to it to organize itself and oppose the danger which clearly threatens its destruction.
Recently, we have seen the entire world, in a state of indifference or perhaps numbness, observing the extermination of hundreds and thousands of the helpless Palestinian people, including their children, sick and elderly, by the formidable regular armed forces of Israel. Not too far away, a respectable state, still called Syria until yesterday, a member of the UN, essentially disappeared from the map silently, with the cooperation of so-called “great powers,” each pursuing their own interests that are different from each other. In clear view of the same uncaring observers, the country called Lebanon, like a helpless corpse, has become a doormat for the incoming and exiting armed forces of its neighbors. Moreover, the world is also watching in amazement the unimaginable political vicissitudes within the more “civilized and democratic” large countries. France, where the far-right and xenophobic Mrs. Marine Le Pen, with the promise of removing France from the international stage, appears to be able to come to power at any time now. We have also seen the Trumpian victory in the United States, which similarly leads the country towards an unpredictable new era of governance that may largely distance it from the world stage.
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Considering all this, dear compatriots, we are obliged, without exception, to consider that in the political Babylonian state of today’s world described above, the next big blow will certainly soon fall on us. The indisputable reality is that in the recent past, it was also to be expected that our Artsakh, which had no more fortitude than an autumn leaf, would evidently be doomed to disappear. And so it happened, without the slightest concern of the big or small, friendly or observer states of the world.
Meanwhile how shameful that all of us in Armenia and the Diaspora, in our helpless state, only beat our breasts and made only barely audible protests. In reality, we remained completely helpless in the face of that great crime against humanity that was committed before our eyes. Actually, neither were we able to show resistance, nor could we shape world opinion in our favor.
However, the danger today, dear compatriots, is much more serious and weightier. The leadership of the Armenian world must collectively realize that today, it is our homeland itself, Armenia, together with some of our flourishing and most important Diasporan communities of the recent past, that is about to be subjected to the same fate.
This alarm, dear compatriots, is realistic and real. When Azerbaijan, through the mouths of its most responsible representatives, several times publicly and freely calls the territory of Armenia “Western Azerbaijan,” when it allocates three times more resources in its military preparation budget than Armenia, all responsible people of the Armenian world, and most of all the leaders of today’s Armenian government, are simply not allowed to continue their current course of action without taking correspondingly exceptional serious initiatives.
Will it be only when suddenly the Azerbaijani army invades and completely occupies Armenia, and Holy Echmiadzin, following the examples in Artsakh, should be turned into a mosque, that, weakened even further, we will miserably run left and right and at best write protest letters, if we still find addressees willing to accept such a letter?
Dear compatriots, as worthy heirs of our glorious history, culture and past, we are all obliged at this point to prepare without hesitation and take action to stand guard over our land and our heritage.
First of all, as soon as possible, the entire Armenian nation within Armenia and the Diaspora must be brought out of its current evidently stunned and actually completely disorganized state.
In order to become organized, it is necessary to mobilize literally all of the most effective means available to the Armenian people.
The first condition for undertaking this work is to create a pan-national structure which must develop a national survival strategy program, and then supervise its implementation.
This structure must bring together representatives who enjoy the highest recognition, esteem and credibility among the Armenian people.
While we know that unfortunately, in the Armenian reality it is difficult to find parties that enjoy such recognition by all, it is clear that the first group is indisputably the current government and authorities of Armenia, followed by Armenian spiritual leaders, then leaders of party, philanthropic and cultural organizations which have indisputable proven track records of achievements operating in Armenia or the Diaspora, as well as finally – if there are any – exceptional personalities who have earned indisputable national or international recognition. Alas, we know that such personalities as Victor Hambardzumyan and Paruyr Sevak are not with us today!
Thus, at the end of this year, on the eve of the New Year, this is a message of urgency and a demand addressed first of all to the distinguished authorities of the Republic of Armenia, headed by the Honorable Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and in immediate succession to our esteemed spiritual leaders, headed by Their Holiness the Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II and the Catholicos Aram I of the Great See of Cilicia. This demand is then addressed to the leaders of the large political party and charitable and cultural organizations with a long and proven tradition, as mentioned above. We call on all of them within Armenia and the Diaspora to cooperate with the authorities, to form as soon as possible a Pan-Armenian National Council for the development and implementation of the above-described national security and survival strategy.
Naturally, it will be necessary to create specialized substructures alongside this Council, consisting of experienced specialists in diplomatic, financial, legal, journalistic and military matters. Armenia and the Diaspora can certainly provide such respected specialists in abundance.
At this same time, and quite importantly, we address a special appeal to our press in general, and the intelligent and responsible people of Armenia and the Diaspora, so that they too join us and that they too, with all their available different means, vigorously express this demand, addressing it first of all to the government of the Republic of Armenia headed by the Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, as well as all other parties clearly specified above.
Indeed, this is not the first time that, in the days of an obviously alarming national existential threat, we have called for the necessity of national united and organized work from these pages. However, until today such appeals have remained without consequences. Today we must reflect that the danger has reached the highest degree. The creation of an organized operational pan-Armenian national structure is at the top of the list of national priorities.
It is no longer possible to confront today’s greatest dangers separately, merely by any one of our organizations, nor by many uncoordinated random initiatives.
Today, this demand for pan-Armenian organization is of the highest urgency.
I conclude this heartfelt discourse by emphasizing that this time, in the event of a possible national disaster, if we unfortunately happen to be still left in the current disorganized state, the addresses of those responsible will be found clearly indicated above.
May Almighty God protect our nation – but we know that God first helps those who know how to help themselves!