Susanna Petrosyan, Yerevan. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
In early July one of the US Armenian organizations, “Armenian Forum” (AF), started gathering signatures against the appointment of former prime minister Tigran Sarkisyan to the position of Armenian ambassador to Washington. The address to the Department of State says that Sarkisyan is involved in fraudulent practices involving millions of dollars, but he used his top position and avoided punishment. The request addresses the US authorities to prevent an attempt by the former premier to escape justice.
AF is not well-known compared to other leading Armenian organizations in America. It is a new entity which is actively following the internal political life in Armenia. Such organizations involve people who have recently left the motherland. Their representatives stand for political changes in Armenia and pay attention to such serious drawbacks as corruption and abuse of power. The activity of the Armenian authorities is perceived negatively by the Diaspora, and the famous “offshore scandal” takes a special place in it. Sarkisyan is directly involved in it. AF and many other Diaspora organizations are interested in an Armenia which is a democratic country with high living standards.
It is difficult to imagine how Sarkisyan will work with Diaspora organizations of the USA. The Diaspora is still one of the main components in development of Armenian-American relations, and Sarkisyan’s predecessors had normal working contacts with Diaspora organizations.
In trying to neutralize the protests of Armenians in the USA, the pro-government mass media spread information that AF is supported by the opposition parties of Prosperous Armenia and the Armenian National Congress. As if they are worried that Tigran Sarkisyan could be a serious rival at the upcoming presidential elections in Armenia in 2018. However, the idea is too difficult to be a successful myth of official propaganda. Sarkisyan was the most unpopular figure of the Armenian authorities. According to certain experts, one of the reasons for his “longevity” is that society regarded him worse than the president. Moreover, within the framework of the struggle against corruption by the opposition, Sarkisyan has always been one of the main targets. It makes his difficult position even worse. Moreover, the involvement of the former premier in several shady deals was covered by the mass media. How can such an unpopular figure be a serious rival?
Some experts say that the activity of the US Armenians is too late, as Sarkisyan has already been approved by the Department of State. Of course, corruption and fraud should be investigated by the Armenian side. However, the Americans sentenced the former premier of Ukraine, Pavel Lazarenko, to 9 years, accusing him of fraudulent practices and laundering of money. According to the UN, Lazarenko stole about $200 million from the Ukrainian budget; according to Ukrainian data, it was more than $320 million. A precedent is a precedent.
To attract the Department of State's attention, AF needs more than 100 thousand signatures. Probably they gathered a small number of signatures due to summer vacations, when people don’t want to think about politics. It is difficult to say whether the demarche by AF turns into a boycott of Tigran Sarkisyan, but American Armenians have a significant potential for this.
