Hagop Andresyan, Vice-Chairman of the Central Board of the Armenian Democratic Liberal Party, answers the questions of “Ramgavar Mamoul”:
–The entire Armenian people are following with rapt attention the developments unfolding in the northern regions of Syria. The situation is quite worrying. What do you think about this, and what steps should the Armenian people take to ensure the safety of our compatriots there?
On various occasions and from various platforms, I have always said that if anything happens anywhere in the world, we must first and foremost think about the local Armenian community. For me, Armenia and the Armenian people are above everything else, and in the case of any development, I look at the issues through that prism.
Before forming an opinion on any question, I want to see where the interest of our Armenians lies; even in times of misfortune, I try to see how we can use that incident to pursue our interests.
-And if we speak specifically and turn to the attack unleashed by Turkey against Syria just days ago, what do you think about that?
With regard to what is happening in Syria today, the Armenian state and government must immediately take measures to bring our people out of that country. We realise that this is a very difficult process, especially since the Armenians living in the Qamishli region are, for the most part, farmers, tied to the land, and they cannot easily leave their lands and go, but there are also others who are not farmers and no longer have anything to do on those lands.
It is very important for us to develop Armenia. Living in Israel, at various stages my attention has been drawn to the approach of the state of Israel to such elemental events, and it is no secret that Israel today is a country of immigrants. Jews have come from the four corners of the world and settled here. And the important thing is that the state has provided all of them with everything from the very first day — housing, work, land — and has done everything so that those people have secure living conditions and become attached to the country. This should serve as an example to the current government of our homeland, so that it relocates to the homeland the Armenian people who have fallen victim to such wars and misfortunes.
In light of these warlike developments in Syria, should we not be thinking about relocating our Armenians to Armenia? It is true that the suffering of all peoples causes us pain, but for me the priority is the Armenian people.
In this regard, from the platform of “Ramgavar Mamoul,” I address a call to the bodies of Armenia to pay attention to this issue and turn the existing tragedy into an advantage for Armenia.
