Turkish Forum

Author: Harut Sassounian

  • Turkey is Backing its Citizens Abroad While Armenia is Alienating its Diaspora

    Turkey is Backing its Citizens Abroad While Armenia is Alienating its Diaspora

    Armenia has a very large Diaspora, estimated at seven million — more than double Armenia’s population. Successive Armenian governments have attracted only a negligible portion of this valuable asset for the homeland’s benefit. The Diaspora is Armenia’s most valuable backer, yet it is ignored. This is akin to a starving man neglecting the bag of diamonds in his possession. 

    Regrettably, rather than attracting Diaspora’s support, the Republic of Armenia has done the exact opposite by erecting obstacles for the Diaspora’s participation in Armenia’s development. Diaspora Armenians are deprived of the right to vote in Armenia’s elections and are banned from holding high office. Even those who possess Armenian citizenship but live overseas are not allowed to cast their votes at Armenia’s embassies or consulates in foreign countries.

    The current Armenian government has gone out of its way to destroy the only bridge that existed between the homeland and its large Diaspora by closing down the Ministry of Diaspora. Instead, Prime Minister Nilol Pashinyan unwisely appointed Zareh Sinanyan, a useless Diasporan, as the “High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs.” Sinanyan travels around the world, at Armenia’s taxpayers’ expense, to carry out propaganda for the Pashinyan regime.

    Meanwhile, the powerful Turkish government, recognizing the benefits of having close relations with its Diaspora, has embarked on a major campaign to strengthen its ties with Turks around the world.

    Turkish investigative reporter Abdullah Bozkurt posted on the Nordic Monitor website an article titled: “Turkey is expanding its diaspora engagement to promote political goals abroad.” He provides important details about Turkey’s outreach to its Diaspora.

    “The Turkish government plans to enhance its support for diaspora groups abroad, both financially and through other means, with the aim of fostering stronger allegiance to Turkey, navigating legal and administrative challenges in host countries, encouraging active political engagement and forging connections with non-Turkish religious communities,” Bozkurt wrote.

    The Turkish government’s Diaspora agency, “the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities” (YTB in Turkish), has prepared a 71-page official report titled: “Strategic Plan for 2024-2028,” which provides in great detail the specific goals of the agency, its vision, mission, and “strategy to mobilize approximately seven million members of the diaspora community to advance Turkish government policies.”

    YTB’s goal is “to contribute to Turkey’s ambition of becoming one of the world’s leading powers — a vision articulated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as the ‘Century of Turkey.’”

    YTB “recommended several policy actions to the Erdogan government. It urged the use of its diplomatic influence and public diplomacy tools to exert pressure on foreign countries to lift restrictions on Turkish diaspora groups. Cooperating with other Muslim religious groups in foreign countries is another recommendation put forward by the YTB to overcome restrictions on the Turkish diaspora.”

    YTB provides funding, logistical and technical support for the activities of Turkish Diaspora groups around the world. “YTB recently participated in a program organized by the Union of International Democrats (UID), an organization acting as a foreign interest group representing Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) abroad in Ankara.”

    The YTB report identifies groups who oppose the Turkish government’s policies, labeling them as ‘terrorists.’ “YTB said these opposition groups undermine the Turkish government’s public diplomacy efforts, sow division within the diaspora and pose political and security risks to groups aligned with the Erdogan government.”

    YTB stated that Turkish Diaspora students who receive scholarships from the Turkish government to study in Turkey will “become voluntary Turkish ambassadors.” YTB also suggested that these students be connected “with Turkish companies engaged in foreign trade” so they can “become economic actors” in the countries they reside.

    More ominously, “YTB actively collaborates with other Turkish government institutions, particularly Turkish intelligence agency MIT (Milli İstihbarat Teşkilatı), and also serves as a recruitment source for the spy agency within diaspora communities abroad. This includes exchange students who have studied in Turkey on government scholarships. Turkish embassies are also instructed to help with the work of the YTB in foreign countries with every available means.”

    YTB also collaborates with “non-Turkish groups referred to as ‘related communities,’ which include global Islamist networks such as the Muslim Brotherhood and Hizb ut-Tahrir networks, among others.”

    The Turkish government provided the YTB a total budget of $544.2 million for the years 2024-28, starting with $61.5 million for 2024, increasing to $83.5 million in 2025, $103.3 million in 2026, $133.5 million in 2027, and $162.4 million in 2028.

    YTB closely monitors the activities of the 15,000 foreign exchange students on government scholarships from 170 countries. In his speech on May 6, Pres. Erdogan disclosed that there are also 340,000 foreign students from 198 countries. “Furthermore, the agency [YTB] coordinates outreach efforts with over 150,000 graduates who have completed their education in Turkey. The Erdogan government also funds and supports nongovernmental organizations to complement the activities of the YTB with a $92.5 million budget. One of the main beneficiaries of this program is the UID, President Erdogan’s long arm abroad.”

    There are valuable lessons for Armenia’s leaders to learn from the Turkish government’s outreach to its Diaspora. But, is anyone in Armenia listening or cares?

  • Pashinyan Turned Armenia Into a Police State

    Pashinyan Turned Armenia Into a Police State

    The Armenian government had two options to resolve peacefully the popular uprising against the regime:

    1) Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan could have resigned, turning over the reins of power to a coalition government which in six months would hold new parliamentary elections and choose a new Prime Minister;

    2) Pashinyan could have accepted the offer of the new leader of the opposition, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, to sit down with him and discuss a negotiated solution to the current political crisis.

    Regrettably, Pashinyan chose neither one of the above options. He chose to attack the opposition by having his “well-fed” police beat and arrest a large number of protesters, including journalists and even clergymen, some of whom are in a hospital recovering from injuries they suffered at the hands of the police. The Prime Minister has secured the blind loyalty of the police officers by increasing their salaries several times and giving them constant bonuses. It is said that there are more policemen in the streets of Armenian cities than soldiers protecting the country’s borders.

    This is not surprising since Pashinyan, as an incompetent and inexperienced leader has mismanaged just about every decision he has made in the past six years. He is stubbornly clinging to his seat of power, dealing a mortal blow to the survival of the country.

    After initially calling his takeover of power a “velvet revolution,” Pashinyan quickly switched to what he described as a “steel revolution.” Incredibly, he campaigned during the parliamentary elections of 2021, holding a hammer in his hand and promising to bash the heads of his domestic opponents. He also threatened to slam them into the wall and flatten them on the asphalt. Furthermore, Pashinyan boasted that no judge would dare to deviate from his orders. Even though the Prime Minister claims to be a democrat, his behavior is more like that of a dictator. Pashinyan came to power in 2018 closing down the streets of Yerevan, ordering his followers to block the entrances of the Parliament and courthouses, smashing the doors of the State Radio station, and violating many other laws. However, when the opposition is now peacefully walking in the streets or even on the sidewalks, they are brutally attacked, punched and arrested by the ever-present police.

    Not surprisingly, the heads of Azerbaijan and Turkey have expressed their concern about Pashinyan remaining in power. Some Azeri and Turkish analysts even suggested that their countries dispatch armed troops to Armenia to protect Pashinyan, so he can continue making concessions.

    Another indication that Pashinyan is working against the interests of Armenia is the support he is getting from the West because he is doing what they are telling him to do which is in their interest, but contrary to the national interests of Armenia.

    Western countries only pay lip service to human rights, but maintain good relations with even the most dictatorial regimes in the world. That is the reason why not one critical word has been said by any Western state while Pashinyan’s police is brutalizing Armenia’s citizens.

    Fortunately, several non-governmental international organizations have condemned the lack of human rights in Armenia and criticized police brutality.

    On May 28, five major non-governmental organizations issued a joint statement against “mass detention” of protesters, “violence against some participants” and physical assault against a member of the Armenian Parliament which is a violation of Armenia law. The five organizations are: Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor Office, Transparency International Anticorruption Center, Protection of Rights without Borders NGO, Law Development and Protection Foundation, and Democracy Development Foundation.

    The joint statement deplored that Armenian law enforcement officers “continue to engage in unlawful and disproportionate use of force, illegal detentions, and violations of the right to liberty during the exercise of the right to freedom of assembly. The use of such methods by the police is the result of a longstanding policy of impunity within the system, leading to the use of violent force becoming the main tool of the police.”

    The joint statement further said that citizens have the freedom for peaceful assembly and the right to express their opinions freely “without fear of police violence.”

    Reporters Without Borders issued a separate statement calling “for an end to deliberate police violence against reporters.” At least five journalists were targeted by the police.

    The U.S. Freedom House also issued a statement saying: “We are concerned by mounting reports of police violence in Armenia. We urge Armenian authorities to investigate this pattern of excessive force and inhumane treatment and work with civil society to foster and implement meaningful reform.”

    The most shameful behavior was Pashinyan’s order to obstruct the entry of Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II into the Sardarapat Memorial on May 28, Armenia’s Independence Day. To make matters worse, the Prime Minister lied when he was asked why the Catholicos and his entourage of clergy were hindered from placing a wreath at the Memorial, is a public venue.

    All police officers and government officials must be aware that after Pashinyan is gone they will be held responsible for their illegal and anti-Armenian actions.

  • Rather than Fizzling out, the Movement To Replace Pashinyan is Gaining Strength

    Rather than Fizzling out, the Movement To Replace Pashinyan is Gaining Strength

    Even since Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan with his thousands of followers started marching towards Yerevan, many wondered what would happen on May 9 once they reached the Republic Square where Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s offices are located.

    After arriving in Yerevan, Bagrat Srpazan gave one hour to Pashinyan to resign. When the hour was over and he did not resign, Srpazan announced that there would be acts of civil disobedience throughout the country beginning the next day. He urged his followers to act peacefully and not to commit any acts of violence.

    Pashinyan was hoping that the number of protesters would dwindle over time and the movement would fizzle out. The regime did everything in its power to vilify and defame Srpazan and the protesters. Government propagandists announced that there were merely around 20,000 protesters in the Republic Square on May 9, whereas most observers estimated the crowd to be several times larger. After misleading the Armenian public for six years with thousands of lies, Pashinyan continued his deceptive practices by claiming without any evidence that the protesters are Kremlin’s agents who were paid money to participate in these protests. Government leaders ridiculed not only Srpazan, but also the Armenian Church, an institution that has shepherded the nation ever since 301 AD, particularly during the absence of an Armenian state.

    To the disappointment of Prime Minister’s diminishing number of supporters, as his rating has gone down from 80% six years ago to 8% now, Srpazan held a second rally in the Republic Square with tens of thousands of followers in attendance. Despite the brutal actions of Pashinyan’s police which viciously attacked the peaceful protesters, the movement grew stronger rather than fizzling out. During the past week, Srpazan held separate meetings with groups of lawyers, doctors, retired military officers, artists, and dozens of opposition leaders.

    Srpazan proved the falsehood of Pashinyan followers’ repeated mantra that no one else can replace the Prime Minister. Srpazan succeeded for the first time to unite the various opposition groups under his leadership. Large segments of the public, livid at Pashinyan’s defeatist concessions to Azerbaijan, responded enthusiastically to Srpazan’s peaceful, but urgent message for change.

    Finally, Srpazan’s long-awaited big rally took place on May 26 during which several important announcements were made. The crowd was told that Srpazan would temporarily replace Pashinyan after which a coalition government will be formed, followed by parliamentary elections which will choose a new Prime Minister. Even though the Constitution requires that the Prime Minister be exclusively a citizen of Armenia for the preceding four years, Srpazan’s followers believe that his dual citizenship of Armenia and Canada would not prevent him from temporarily acting as Prime Minister. Srpazan made the commitment that he will be guided exclusively by legal requirements. Ironically, Pashinyan’s regime, which has violated just about every existing law, is demanding that the protesters comply with the laws of the country.

    During the May 26 rally, Srpazan also announced that after consulting with other high-ranking clergymen and Catholicos Karekin II, it was decided that he will freeze his 30-year-long spiritual service in order not to combine political activities with his religious position.

    Srpazan is attempting to topple Pashinyan the same way the latter toppled Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan. Pashinyan and his followers violated dozens of laws to come to power, blocking the streets, the Parliament building, the courthouse, and smashing the locked doors of the Armenian radio station. However, Pashinyan thinks that he is the only one who can get away with breaking the law. Amazingly, he even boastfully proclaimed: “is there a judge in Armenia who cannot do what the Prime Minister says?” If anyone else does what he did, his barbaric police are ordered, as he himself announced during the Parliamentary campaign in 2021 while holding a hammer in his hand, to smash the heads of his Armenian opponents, even though he falsely claims to be a democrat. Ironically, Pashinyan never uses such vile language against the real enemies of Armenia — Azerbaijan and Turkey — whose leaders make the most offensive comments about Armenia.

    At the end of the mass rally in the Republic Square on May 26, Srpazan marched with his followers to the Prime Minister’s mansion and demanded that he meet with him and tell him to resign. However, it turned out that Pashinyan was not at home, visiting the flooded areas of Northern Armenia.

    Srpazan then led the large crowd back to the Republic Square where the rally had started several hours earlier. He urged his followers to engage in acts of civil disobedience throughout the country to pressure Pashinyan to resign.

    This is Armenia’s last chance to save the country from Pashinyan, a defeated and incompetent leader, who is willing to follow Aliyev’s and Azerbaijan’s orders, and make illegal and endless one-sided concessions, until the total loss of Armenia, after the loss of Artsakh!

  • Donations Tilt Vatican In Favor of Azerbaijan

    Donations Tilt Vatican In Favor of Azerbaijan

    In a lengthy article published in the Irpmedia.irpi.eu in Italian on March 27, 2024, titled, “How Vatican helped legitimize the Aliyev autocracy in Azerbaijan,” Simone Zoppellaro exposes Vatican’s pro-Azerbaijan tilt due to financial donations, despite Armenia being a Christian nation, while Azerbaijan is Islamic.

    On Feb. 22, 2020, the autocratic leader of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, and his wife, Mehriban Aliyeva, the country’s Vice President, paid a state visit to the Vatican. They were received officially by Pope Francis, Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and Secretary for Relations with States Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher. Mrs. Aliyeva was at the Vatican to receive the highest honor awarded to a lay person by the Holy See: “The Grand Cross.” The award is proposed by the Diocesan Bishops “as a sign of appreciation and gratitude for services to the Church or to society reserved for Heads of State, ministers, ambassadors, and royalty.” However, the driving force behind Vatican’s interest in Azerbaijan is the financial support provided by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation.

    Ironically, despite Azerbaijan’s intolerance of minorities, dissidents and other religions, the Holy See expressed its appreciation to “Azerbaijan’s openness and peaceful attitude towards different faiths.”

    Fearing the loss of Azerbaijan’s donations, the Vatican has been reluctant to allow any criticism of Baku, particularly by its own clergy. “Father Georges-Henri Russyen was expelled from the Pontifical Oriental Institute because he was critical of those who did not want to use the formula ‘Armenian genocide.’”

    Given the expectations of benefiting from Azerbaijan’s “Caviar Diplomacy,” the Vatican has not been willing to say anything more substantial than emphasizing “the importance of intercultural and inter-religious dialog in favor of peaceful coexistence among different religious and ethnic groups,” meaning Armenians and Azeris. The Pope prayed for the inhabitants of Karabakh, hoping “that the talks between the parties, with the support of the international community, will foster a lasting agreement that will end the humanitarian crisis,” Even during the 2020 War, “the Church was unable of going beyond generic appeals for moderation ‘to all the parties involved and to the international community’ to ‘lay down their weapons.’”

    On October 24, 2023, Prime Minister Nikol Pahinyan received from the Apostolic Nuncio José Avelino Bettencourt the same award given three years earlier to Aliyeva, Azerbaijan’s Vice President. However, there was a major difference. While Aliyeva received her award directly from the Pope, Pashinyan was honored by an Apostolic Nuncio. There were also other differences which “helped consolidate the power of the Aliyev family, despite human rights violations in Artsakh.”

    “Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, honorary president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Culture and chairman of the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology, is the highest Vatican official who has made the most efforts to open a dialog with Azerbaijan.” He was awarded the Order of Friendship in 2013 by the Azerbaijani authorities — a high honor offered for a “special contribution to the development of friendly, economic and cultural relations between Azerbaijan and a foreign state.”

    Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti is considered “the protagonist of the privileged channel” established between the Vatican and Baku. “Highly educated and polyglot, ambitious and lover of power, Cardinal Gugerotti has known the Aliyev family since 2002, when Pres. Heydar Aliyev, in power since 1969, was still alive.”

    “In the early 2000s, Gugerotti met with the Azerbaijani authorities as Nuncio for the Southern Caucasus, a position he assumed in 2001. Before then this nunciature for the Holy See included only Georgia and Armenia. Those were the years in which Russia guaranteed a ceasefire in the region, after Armenia had defeated Azerbaijan in the first conflict. The ethnic hatred that is still fuel for the conflict was beginning to settle, but Nuncio Gugerotti called Azerbaijan a ‘country [that] is a symbol of peaceful coexistence between people of different religions.’”

    “Ten years after he began his mission as Apostolic Nuncio in 2011, Gugerotti signed the historic agreement which, for the first time, regulated relations between Baku and the Catholic Church. At the time of ratification, recalls a 2019 book produced by the Foundation for the Promotion of Moral Values from Baku entitled ‘Christianity in Azerbaijan,’ Gugerotti expressed gratitude to the (Azeri) government for creating the conditions that made possible [the agreement], emphasizing that our country always remained committed to the principles of tolerance, and noting that the agreement was the first document of its kind, because the Vatican had never signed such an agreement with any state before.”

    According to Gugerotti, “Azerbaijan has once again demonstrated its tolerance. Now the whole world is witnessing it. I am sure that this document will receive a positive response in the international world and will be remembered as a great historical event. The reaction of the press from day one proves us right. On behalf of the Holy Throne and the Crown, I extend my deep thanks for all this to President Ilham Aliyev and the Government of Azerbaijan.”

    Since 2009, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, headed by Mehriban Aliyeva, has funded various activities in the Vatican: restoration projects, exhibitions and concerts. Other projects funded by Azerbaijan included: the Roman catacombs, the Vatican Museums, the Vatican Apostolic Library, and Catholic churches in France and Azerbaijan. These donations amount to one million euros.

    In 2013, Gugerotti received the Movses Khorenatsi Medal — the highest Armenian honor — from the then president Serzh Sargsyan for his important contribution to Armenian studies, but also the effort aimed at strengthening relations between Yerevan and the Holy See.

    The author of the article concluded that the close relationship between the Vatican and Azerbaijan has had the effect, perhaps unintended, of strengthening the hegemonic role of the Azeri autocracy… which may contribute to a diplomatic normalization that would put in the background, or erase, crimes and aggressions committed by the Azeri autocracy.

  • Archbishop Bagrat is Leading the Effort To Oust Pashinyan and Save Armenia

    Archbishop Bagrat is Leading the Effort To Oust Pashinyan and Save Armenia

    A lot has happened in Armenia this past week that has shaken to the core the incompetent, inexperienced, defeatist and deceptive Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan who should have resigned on Nov. 10, 2020, the day he signed the capitulation agreement with Azerbaijan.

    Pashinyan came to power by exploiting the people’s gullibility and their resentment of the former leaders. He claimed that he will bring peace to Armenia, their sons will no longer die in wars, they will live in prosperity with high-paying jobs, there will be no corruption, and a million other falsehoods with which he misled the public.

    Drunk with his newly-found power, Pashinyan became completely unhinged. He arrogantly announced, while he and his mob of followers surrounded the Parliament building in 2018, that either he will become the Prime Minister or Armenia will not have a Prime Minister! This is the pronouncement of a self-declared democratic leader who became a dictator.

    During the campaign for the parliamentary elections in 2021, Pashinyan stood on a stage holding a hammer and promising to crush the heads of his political opponents. He also pledged to slam his Armenian rivals to the wall and flatten them on the asphalt. This is his crude understanding of democracy.

    Pashinyan told his crowd of followers in 2018 that he will leave his office when the people demand his resignation. Since then, he has ignored all demands for his resignation clinging to his seat of power. During one of the many demonstrations calling for his resignation, when a journalist asked him if he will keep his word and resign, he pompously replied, “they aren’t people,” implying that he considers only those who support him as “people.”

    Even though Pashinyan’s supporters falsely claim that he was elected Prime Minister, the fact is that he was not, since the Prime Minister’s post is not an elective position. He was chosen by his parliamentary majority which is composed of equally incompetent and inexperienced young men and women.

    Pashinyan has no tolerance for dissent. If anyone living in Armenia dares to criticize him, the Prime Minister orders his well-fed police squad to lay the critic on the ground, beat him up and arrest him. His top ally, Alen Simonyan, the Chairman of the Parliament, spit on the face of an Armenian in the street, just because he criticized him. And if a Diaspora Armenian disagrees with Pashinyan, he will not be allowed to enter Armenia after he arrives at the Yerevan Airport. Under Pashinyan, Armenia has become a dictatorship, ruled by the whims of one man.

    Now comes Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, the Primate of the Diocese of Tavoush, who opposes Pashinyan’s arbitrary decision to turn over to Azerbaijan four Armenian border villages without a referendum and parliamentary approval.

    The Archbishop has come immediately under vicious attacks by Pashinyan himself and his cronies, including the thousands of fake Facebook followers who are paid to defame anyone who dares to criticize the Prime Minister.

    Pashinyan called the Archbishop and his supporters “Drug Lords” and “Foreign Agents sent from overseas” without a shred of evidence. It is very ugly when the head of a government uses street language to denigrate his political opponents. Anyone who dares to criticize Pashinyan is immediately labeled “a Kremlin agent” who is paid thousands of dollars to “undermine the country.” Why should anyone get paid to undermine Armenia when Pashinyan is already undermining the country all by himself?

    In a strange turn of events, the Archbishop has copied the same tactic Pashinyan used to come to power by marching from Gyumri to Yerevan in 2018. Thus Srpazan is giving Pashinyan a dose of his own medicine. The only difference is that Pashinyan violated many laws to come to power by smashing the doors of the Armenian Radio Station’s headquarters, surrounding a Court House with his followers to prevent the judges from entering the building, and blocking the entrances to the Parliament.

    The Archbishop has advantages and disadvantages. Srpazan is a clergyman whose weapon is truth and morality. He preaches peace, love and non-violence. All attempts by various opposition groups to topple Pashinyan by street protests in the past six years have failed. The Archbishop is the only person who has gained the trust of a large number of Armenians who eagerly joined his march from Tavoush to Yerevan. Over 100,000 Armenians flooded the city’s main square to listen to his message.

    When Srpazan arrived in Yerevan on May 9, he announced that he was giving Pashinyan one hour to resign. When the hour passed and there was no resignation, the Archbishop did not want to go to the next step of urging his 100,000 followers to storm the building and oust the Prime Minister. Instead, Srpazan announced a series of civil disobedience acts throughout the country.

    Srpazan is now consulting with various opposition leaders to discuss the next steps. If and when Pashinyan resigns or is impeached, both unlikely scenarios, the Archbishop said that a transition government will be formed which will later hold elections for Parliament to choose a new Prime Minister. It remains to be seen if Srpazan’s peaceful plans will succeed to oust Pashinyan.

    The best reason for getting rid of Pashinyan is that the presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkey have eagerly praised Pashinyan for his repeated and endless concessions. Prominent Azeri analyst Ali Hajizade even suggested the possibility of sending Azeri and Turkish troops to Yerevan to support Pashinyan’s government!

    All patriotic Armenians, putting aside their internal differences, should form a coalition to establish a transitional government that will hold the next elections. Public pressure must be exerted on Pashinyan to resign as soon as possible before the country ceases to exist due to attacks by internal and external enemies. This may be the last chance to save Armenia.

  • Pashinyan Will Have Blood on His Hand If French-Armenian Dies at Yerevan Airport

    Pashinyan Will Have Blood on His Hand If French-Armenian Dies at Yerevan Airport

    Pashinyan Will Have Blood on His Hand If French-Armenian Dies at Yerevan Airport By Harut Sassounian The California Courier

    French-Armenian journalist Leo Nicolian has been on a hunger strike at the Yerevan airport for 16 days, after being banned from entering Armenia.

    Nicolian, 57, is an aggressive investigative journalist who has generated plenty of controversy due to his revelations about important figures. He has been on the frontlines of the conflict in Artsakh and the recent clashes on the Israel-Lebanon border. He was wounded during both conflicts.

    In the past 30 years, Nicolian has visited Armenia and Artsakh dozens of times and interviewed key leaders. However, what he encountered at the Yerevan airport during his latest visit two weeks ago was completely unexpected and shocking.

    In early April, Nicolian had gone to the village of Voskepar in the Tavoush District of Armenia and interviewed Primate of the Tavoush Diocese Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan who has been leading the popular movement in opposition to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s recent decision to turn over four Armenian border villages to Azerbaijan.

    Later in April, when Nicolian tried to return to Armenia, he was told by immigration officials at the Yerevan airport that he was not allowed to enter the country. When he asked why, he was told that he “presented a danger to Armenia’s security.” This is a ridiculous accusation because Nicolian is a professional journalist who has not violated any Armenian laws and committed no crimes.

    Regrettably, Nicolian is not the only Diaspora Armenian who is banned from entering Armenia. There have been several others who were told after landing at the Yerevan airport that they are not allowed to visit the country. None of them has done anything illegal or criminal to warrant such a harsh measure. Besides, if they had violated any laws or presented a danger to Armenia’s security, they should have been arrested at the airport and turned over to the courts to decide their fate. No official, regardless of his rank or position, has the right to make arbitrary decisions on behalf of the judiciary.

    Furthermore, Prime Minister Pashinyan has no right to decide who can enter the country. Armenia is not his private residence. He can’t decide whom to allow or not allow in. Armenia is the homeland of all 10 million Armenians worldwide and no official has the right to ban any one of them to enter the country in the absence of a legal reason.

    Nicolian and several other Diaspora Armenians are banned from entering Armenia simply because they dared to criticize Pashinyan’s defeatist policies. The Prime Minister has repeatedly claimed to be a democrat. However, freedom of expression is one of the basic principles of democracy which is frequently violated by the authorities in Armenia who have turned the country into a one-man rule — a dictatorship.

    To make matters worse, after Mourad Papazian, a prominent French-Armenian critic of Pashinyan, was not allowed to enter Armenia, he filed a lawsuit in an Armenian court which found the government’s ban illegal. Since Armenian officials had 30 days to file an appeal to reverse the lower court’s decision, no one knew if they would file such an appeal. Fortunately, when Pashinyan visited Paris in the midst of those 30 days, President Emmanuel Macron met privately with Papazian and Pashinyan and urged the Prime Minister to abandon his pursuit of Papazian. Pashinyan reluctantly agreed to drop the appeal, but it was shameful that the head of a foreign country had to intervene in an Armenian domestic matter.

    Meanwhile, Nicolian has been languishing at the Yerevan airport for the past 16 days. During our multiple phone conversations, he told me that he will continue his hunger strike even if it leads to his death. His life is at risk because he has several serious ailments. From time to time, local medical staff comes to measure his blood pressure and gives him some injections. He is not allowed to leave the airport for any medical treatment. In recent days, an ambulance was sent to the airport to check his blood pressure, his heart, and give him another injection.

    Nicolian’s status is in limbo. He tells me that because he is in the airport’s internationally protected “neutral zone,” Armenian officials cannot take any action against him. They have tried to convince him to board a flight to Paris which he has refused. They have also offered him sandwiches and water which he has turned down.

    Nicolian told me that he is committed to starve himself to death at the Yerevan airport. He thinks that his death will bring shame to the Prime Minister. I am not sure he is correct. I think that it will bring shame to the reputation of the Republic of Armenia.

    The French Embassy in Yerevan, contrary to its diplomatic obligations, has refused to visit its own citizen to inquire about his condition. This is the vindictive position of the local French Ambassador because Nicolian had exposed the Ambassador’s scandals in the media. The French Foreign Ministry has also not shown any interest in the welfare of Nicolian, since he has publicly criticized the French President in the past.

    Even though Nicolian has antagonized many individuals and organizations due to his harsh criticisms and abrasive personality, Armenians have an obligation to do whatever they can to publicize his critical situation and save the life of a fellow Armenian before he starves to death.

    I urge the citizens of Armenia to hold protests in front of Prime Minister’s building in Yerevan, demanding that Nicolian be allowed to enter Armenia. Protests should also be held in front of the French Embassy in Yerevan.

    French-Armenians should also hold protests in Paris in front of the Foreign Ministry and the Presidential Palace seeking their intervention with the government of Armenia.

    Should Nicolian die in the Yerevan airport due to his prolonged hunger strike, Prime Minister Pashinyan will have blood on his hands, so will French President Macron.