Too late for Syrian Armenians - Armen Navasardyan

In an interview with Tert.am, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Head of Chair of Global Politics and International Relations, Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University (RAU), Armen Navasardyan said that the Armenian communities are doomed in the Middle East as the war factor there is a supragovernment transnational entity rather than terrorism.

“Very few experts, including myself, who know the region and what the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is, said the community would face serious problems. And when they said they ‘must stay there to protect the fathers’ graves’, I told them live to ‘stay to add new graves.’”

“A proposal was made to organize resistance following the example of the Beirut events in 1974. It was a wrong approach because they are different things. The alignment of forces was entirely different: we lived in the Soviet Union and the Russian warships aimed their guns at Beirut, while the TASS announced that nothing must happen to the Armenian community,” Mr Navasardyan said.

The situation is entirely different now and the ISI is an entirely different phenomenon. This is an evil of the 21st century which threatens Armenia as well.

“We have missed the right moment,” the expert said.

As to whether Armenia has changed its position on the Armenian community in Syria in the context of the Armenian authorities’ latest calls for not leaving Syria, Mr Navasardyan said:

“I think they have. A state may change its position, but it must have a concept and a plan of action. I think it is not largely so. I have said the right moment has been missed, and both the sides – the Armenian community and our government - are to blame,” the expert said.

The community remains stuck to its wrong position, which has a simple explanation from a human point of view: the authorities are telling them to stay. On the other hand, Armenia’s authorities committed blunders. I primarily mean economic, political financial, psychological problems, which have been evident in Armenia’s relations with the Armenian Diaspora.

Asked about the Armenian community’s opinion on their future, Mr Navasardyan said:

“Some are for leaving Syria, others want to stay because they see problems in leaving the country. I am not saying it for the first time.”

The Armenians should have been evacuated from Syria earlier as it is a matter of their existence.

“We must realize the consequences as 20,000 people are staying there, unable to either come in or go out.”

Speaking of diplomatic measures that need to be taken, Mr Navasardyan said that an alarm should have been raised at international organizations at the right time, including the United Nations and the Council of Europe.

“Those are the diplomatic steps Armenia should have taken, considering the fact that Armenians are the only people that has statehood among all the national minorities in Syria. Diplomacy has numerous ways and means, and something can be done in secret. In that case, the situation would not have reached this point,” Mr Navasardyan said.