Susanna Petrosian, Yerevan. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
In late November in the state of California another telethon of Armenian Fund "Hayastan" (Pan-Armenian Fund) took place and collected about $12,399,550 in donations that are planned to be directed for the implementation of a number of special development programs for Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. The telethon in California was preceded by the 15th Pan-European Fundraiser of the Pan-Armenan Fund, that was attended by Armenians in France, Germany, Belgium, Greece and other countries, who donated about 1.37 million euros.
Headed by the President of Armenia, the Pan-Armenian Fund was established in 1992 for implementation of national projects of development of infrastructure and the cities of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Since 1996, the Fund has annually held 12-hour telethons in November in Los-Angeles, which aim to raise funds, and most importantly – an ambitious program that aims to unite Armenians around a single idea. During this period many roads were built and repaired, the water supply system improved in a number of settlements, new sports and cultural centers were constructed, over 150 educational, cultural and scientific programs were realized.
Meanwhile, compared with previous years, this year much fewer donations were collected. Thus, the amount of donations at the end of the telethon in 2013 reached 22,661372 dollars. This obstacle has led a number of experts in Armenia and some members of the Diaspora to start thinking.
One of the indicators of the possible new trend has become a protest in Los Angeles on the eve of the telethon. A group of activists wearing T-shirts reading "We are boycotting the Armenian Fund, collect taxes, not donations" distributed to the participants of the charity dinner which usually precedes the telethon leaflets urging people not to make donations in any case.
"We are against this fundraising, it would be better if the Armenian government properly collected taxes from oligarchs, not organize a fundraiser. The amount of unpaid taxes is much bigger than what is collected through donations. Armenia does not need donations, but normal leadership," one of the protesters Ara Manukian said. He believes that construction of roads, the school repairing process and other programs that are implemented with the money collected by the fund, are the responsibility of the government of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, which must solve these issues through the collection of taxes.
The Member of the Central Board of the Social Democratic Party "Hunchak", Ambiq Sarafian, assumes that every year in the diaspora frustration increases and the enthusiasm with which donations are made decreases. In his opinion, an important role in this situation is played by the lack of confidence in the Armenian leaders, the internal political situation, the poor social situation of the majority of the population in Armenia and the reigning atmosphere of impunity and injustice, that is reflected in the dominance of monopolies, the enormous influence of the oligarchs, and most importantly - in the complete indifference of the authorities.
"Annually collected by the fund, the amount of money that is in the range of between 20-30 million dollars is nothing by itself, considering inflation and other social and economic factors in Armenia," the representative of the Armenian community in the US said.
Of course, it is necessary to say that such moods in the Diaspora are not widespread. The largest and most influential Armenian organizations in the USA, including the Armenian Church in the United States, the Armenian Charity Foundation, the public organization "Armenian Assembly of America" and "The Armenian National Committee of America" do not oppose the collected donations or the policy of the Armenian authorities.
Despite the position of these influential organizations in the behavior of certain circles of the Diaspora, a trend based on sharp criticism of the policy of the Yerevan authorities and distrust of the leaders of Armenia is beginning to appear. Certain circles in the Diaspora believe that the funds raised by the Pan-Armenian Fund are not spent transparently. It is also important that such moods as evidenced by the protest in Los Angeles have never occurred before.
It is possible that the proportion of people in the Diaspora who left Armenia relatively recently –10-20 years ago – plays a role in the appearance of the new trend. Secondly, which is very important, the means of communication have changed. That is, today, unlike the 80s or 90s, you can see mass rallies in Yerevan on the internet. People in the Diaspora have become better informed about the situation in Armenia, that is not unique to the authorities.
