From 8 to 12 September, National Democratic Front (NDA) Board Member Garegin Chugaszyan and Dr. David Grigoryan (Harvard University) were invited to London to participate in official meetings organized by the NDA’s Westminster Public Relations partners. In January of this year, another NDA Board Member, diplomat and renowned political figure Mr. Ara Papyan had visited the British capital for official meetings. On that occasion, a meeting was equally organized by NDA supporters with the Armenian community to discuss about external and internal challenges facing Armenia and the strategic solutions proposed by NDA.
In September NDA delegation held meetings with members of the House of Commons and House of Lords (including the co-chairs of the UK-Armenia All-Party Parliamentary Group), representatives of religious freedom, legal experts, media leaders, think tanks and influential figures in the British political arena.
On 12 September Mr. Chugaszyan also met with members of the Armenian community took place in London, where he discussed the latest challenges facing Armenia in the new world order, following the election of Donald Trump as US President. Mr. Chugaszyan, who has also been a political prisoner, noted that the NDA strongly condemns the authoritarian manifestations of Pashinyan’s rule: the increase of political arrests, restrictions of free speech, the censorship of the culture and education system, the reprehensible political campaign against the Armenian Apostolic Church, the oldest Armenian institution. It should be reminded that nine members of the NDA and Sasna Tsrer remain imprisoned to this day, one of whom is the prominent political figure, member of the NDA Council, colonel of the RA Armed Forces and lawyer Varuzhan Avetisyan. He has been persecuted for more than twenty years for his struggle against the authoritarian political system in Armenia. Varuzhan Avetisyan was arrested again by the Pashinyan regime on 28 May 28 2022 for participating in the Sasna Tsrer uprising. Despite poor health and harsh prison conditions, Avetisyan continues his ideological work, as his extensive work entitled “HAYK”, completed in prison, was recently published.
Garegin Chukaszyan stated that the NDA aims to develop political ties with Great Britain, USA and the countries of the European Union. This cooperation will create strong political and economic alliances, since the Armenian people not only share European cultural, historical and spiritual values, but have also been at the foundations of the Western civilization since ancient times. Mr. Chugaszyan is convinced that Armenia could play a significant mediating role in the Middle East, in an atmosphere of mutual benefit and trust between countries, peoples and ideologies. During the meeting with the Armenian community, Mr. Chugaszyan also discussed the agreements signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan on August 8 at the White House. Meanwhile, Pashinyan’s regime is unable to tackle the challenges Armenia faces and is leading Armenia down the path of fatal mistakes, unilateral concessions and catastrophic Turko-Azerbaijani dependency, the speaker emphasized. In his speech, Mr. Chugaszyan highlighted the need for the political elite, and not only, to examine and to evaluate the Armenian history: for example, the historical and cultural contribution of the Mekhitarist fathers, thanks to whose activities, the ancient Armenian cultural heritage has been salvaged, preserved, and fostered since the 18th century. The speaker noted that, regrettably, significant Armenian authors such as Kostan Zaryan, one of the greatest minds of the 20th century, who remained unappreciated in Soviet Armenia, continues to remain in the shadow today. One of the main goals of the NDA is to promote and instil within the Armenian society national values and sense of patriotism through national educational program, based on comprehensive study and evaluation of the Armenian historical past, critical for creating a truly independent national statehood.
Mr. Chugaszyan’s presentation was followed by a lively Q&A, when members of the community raised critical questions on political prisoners in Armenia, the ethnic cleansing of 120,000 Armenians from Artsakh, the release of Armenian hostages held illegally by Azerbaijan as well as the mobilization of the opposition, known as the third force. Mr. Chugaszyan emphasized the urgency to unite all healthy, uncorrupted opposition forces and to rally the majority of disillusioned and sceptical pubic around core national values; Armenian cultural heritage, Christian principles and traditional symbolism (such as mount Ararat), as well as building robust economic, political and technological partnership with Western countries with whom Armenians share cultural, religious and historic ties that lie at the foundation of the Armenian civilization and national identity.
H. Harutuinian
orer.eu
