Alfortville capital of Armenian Diaspora in France - Saro Mardiryan
Peter Manoukian
Mr. Saro Mardiryan Welcome to Armenia
I did notice you have attended the 22th Conference of the Social Democrat Hunchak Party in Yerevan, How do you evaluate this conference as a whole, what were your impressions,
Saro Mardiryan is Adjoint au maire d’Alfortville at Ville d'Alfortville, and a member of the Social Democrat Hunchak Party (Peter Manoukian - https://www.facebook.com/Saro.Mardiryan - Deputy Mayor of Alfortville)
Saro Mardiryan
The Social Democrat HENTCHAKIAN Party Congresses are always a privileged and historic moment, because they take place every 4 years and bring together party delegates from several countries. Our party has had a pan-Armenian dimension since its creation in 1887 in Geneva by Armenian students from all horizons.
This is the third time that I have taken part in it and each time I tell myself that it was during a Congress, the 7th, held in the city of Constanza in Romania on September 17, 1913, that the decision was taken to behead the head of İttihat ve Terakki. Unfortunately, you know what happened. 20 party delegates were arrested on their return to Istanbul and hanged in Beyazit Square on June 15, 1915 by the Young Turk regime. If we had succeeded in carrying out our operation to eliminate Talaat, Enver and Djemal, the Armenian genocide would not have taken place in 1915.
Overall, I found that this 22nd Congress was of very high quality, both in terms of the level of party organization and the maturity of the exchanges and proposals. I am happy to see that the SD HENTCHAKIAN party is one of the most constructive opposition parties in our country.
Peter Manoukian
The Hunchagian party which is a historical party and was actually the first political party inside the history of Armenians, and as you mentioned it was actually created in the year 1887, appeared to have been matured and has established relations with several parties who were born inside the republic from various ideological directions, what is your impression and feedback
Saro Mardiryan
What you say is true and relates to the very nature of the SD HENTCHAKIAN party, we do not seek the exclusivity of power at all costs, I believe that we demonstrated it during our 135 years of existence. We are open to discuss and work with all forces inside and outside state institutions as long as it is in the interest of our state and that of our nation.
We are honored to have a French Armenians – you – as the “Deputy Mayor of Alfortville”, what can you tell us about the Armenian community in that town in particular, and in France in general
Peter Manoukian
How are the inter-partisan relations between the Armenian political parties in France?
Saro Mardiryan
The city of Alfortville is the capital of the Armenian Diaspora in France with its church, its school, its Armenian political parties, its elected officials, its associations and a large and well-integrated Armenian population. But I would like to say that the future of the Armenian nation is not in France, nor in any other country, our future is in the motherland, in the Republic of Armenia. The Diaspora of course has an important role to play in the future of the Republic of Armenia, if it knows how to mobilize its resources for this purpose. But it is absolutely necessary to succeed in reversing the proportion of Armenians living in Armenia and in the Diaspora. There should be 10 million Armenians living in the Republic of Armenia and 2 million in the Diaspora. Unfortunately, the opposite continues to happen dangerously. I am well aware that it is very easy to say this when I live in France, but I am seriously considering settling in Armenia. I would then agree with my words.
To answer your question about the inter-partisan relations between the Armenian political parties, I am obliged to say that they are limited to the strict minimum, in other words there is no sincere and constructive dialogue, so no cooperation, and I am the first to deplore it.
Peter Manoukian
What is the general opinion in Alfortville among its citizens, whether Armenian or local non Armenian citizens, regarding the conflict and war in Ukraine, how is the public opinion in Alfortville and France, where does there sympathy and solidarity lie, with Ukrainian perspective or Russian
Saro Mardiryan
Public opinion in France and particularly in Alfortville is very favorable to the Armenians, up to the highest peak of the state; the French recognize that a special friendship binds France to Armenia.
Peter Manoukian
Armenia faces a grave danger, while Turkey and Azerbaijan do not hide their hostile arrogant intentions and make worrisome demands, its supposedly ally – Moscow seems to be in complicit with these two hostilities, Armenian inner front is divided, and the West and USA express solidarity with Yerevan and express will to mobilize Armenia, Nancy Pelosi visited Armenia and made supportive statement towards Armenia, You as an experienced politician who has been in Western Politics (French), how do you assess this complicated scenario.
Saro Mardiryan
The reasons that led Putin to hand over Armenia to the Turko-Azeris are the same that led him to invade Georgia in 2008, Crimea in 2014 and the eastern part of Ukraine today.
You are right to say that the situation is complex that is why we must keep in mind that this is all a proxy war between Russia and the United States.
Each time a country of the former USSR tried to move away from the authoritarian Russian political model and turned towards the Western democratic model, part of its territory was imputed as a kind of punishment and warning. In the Armenian case, it was the Turko-Azeris who did the job by recovering the 7 regions around Artsakh, plus Hadrout and Shushi as a trophy. But it is the Russians who remain the masters of the game in Artsakh. Putin killed two birds with one stone, he wanted to smash the nascent democracy in Armenia and introduce his soldiers into Artsakh so that he could better control both Armenia and Azerbaijan.
With what is happening today in Ukraine, the situation could change at any time in Armenia. Putin is mired in this war by interposition against the United States, and in fact, he needs Turkey which is the weak link in NATO to counter the sanctions imposed by the whole of the Western world. This is my analysis of the reasons for the aggression of last September 13 against the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia by Azerbaijan.
We are currently witnessing a significant geopolitical upheaval. If we understand better today what really happened in 2020 and last September, very clever is the one who can foresee all the consequences of this geopolitical upheaval. In fact, the danger is growing and very real for the Armenians. In this context, the Armenians must be extremely careful, seek all possible support from the United States, Europe, Iran, India etc. without calling into question the alliance with Russia. Leaving the CSTO would be a serious mistake, but since the security mechanisms of this organization do not work, Armenians are legitimate to seek by all means to defend themselves against Turkey and Azerbaijan while seeking a diplomatic solution. I do know one thing, if there are times in our history when our nation must be united, it is today, tomorrow it may be too late. Those who try to weaken the Armenian government and its prime Minister Pashinian, play into Putin's hands, and it is not surprising that the internal protest movement is led by the components of the old regime.
Peter Manoukian
How do you evaluate the role and activities of the Armenian community in France to try to reach out to Armenia in this dire danger, are there any joined efforts between various Armenian sides to create a united effort to support the republic of Armenia.
Saro Mardiryan
The mobilization of the Armenian community in France does exist, but it is not yet organized, at least it is not the result of Armenian organizations, it is thanks to the individual action, of many individuals, that we have succeeded in gaining the support of the municipalities, the parliament and the French government and that we managed to interest the media. At first, they didn't talk about Armenia’s agression at all, later they started talking about it but by sending the aggressor and the attacked back to back, talking about a border incident between two countries on the background of a territorial war in Artsakh. We denounced the double standards in the treatment of information when it comes to denouncing the aggression of Ukraine by Russia on the one hand, but not when it comes to the aggression of Armenia by Azerbaijan. We have at least succeeded in having Azerbaijan clearly identified as the aggressor and Armenia as the attacked, and now, based on this observation, the West should help Armenia in a more concrete way.
Thank you Mr. Mardiryan
Armenian Social Democrat Hunchakian Party supporters stand in Solidarity with the Syrian Arabds and Kurds against Turkish Invasion
Homenmen France
