U.S. uses Armenian Diaspora in its interests?

PanARMENIAN.Net - WikiLeaks whistle blowing website publised the cables of the U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Maria Yovanovitch, where she mentions a possibility to use Armenian Diaspora organisations, especially the Armenian-American community, in the interests of U.S.

Yovanovitch noted the “well-organized” and “well-financed” state of the community, in her Nov. 17, 2009, cable titled “Experience Engaging Diaspora Communities-Armenia.” She remarked that the community had shifted gears from preserving their identities into investing in the development of Armenia, offering humanitarian, development, and technical assistance, and “advocating for an independent media.”

Yovanovitch discussed the various Armenian-American organizations, including the Armenian Apostolic Church (the Prelacy and the Diocese), the Armenian Catholic Community, the Armenian Protestant Community, the ARF/Dashnak Community, the Armenian General Benevolent Union Community, the Hnchag Community, and others. She noted that although the Embassy could do outreach work through these organizations, many of them had their own political agendas, “expressed or not,” and connections with political parties or authorities that could clash with U.S. interests in Armenia.

According to the Ambassador, the Armenian-American Diaspora tended to be “nationalistic in nature,” and that “[they] are quick to mobilize their supporters against the GOAM [government of Armenia] if the Diaspora groups believe the GOAM is not acting in Armenia’s best interests.”

Many of these organizations are opposed to reconciliation efforts, she said, because they do not include a resolution to the Karabakh conflict or recognition of the Armenian Genocide. “Other groups though, such as AAA [Armenian Assembly of America] and AGBU, have publicly supported the GOAM’s policies of regional cooperation and an end to Armenia’s isolation in the Caucasus,” she added.

The Ambassador also observed that “The Diaspora Community has shown limited interest in the promotion of democracy, electoral reform, and civil society development in Armenia,” and noted that Diaspora organizations did not fund any “non-partisan” non-governmental organizations in Armenia.

The Armenian American community’s “most important distinguishing characteristic,” according to Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affair’s Diaspora Relations office, is its “deep organizational structure,” wrote U.S. Ambassador to Yerevan John Ordway in a June 1, 2004, cable titled “Deciphering the Armenian-American Diaspora,” recently leaked by WikiLeaks.

The comparison was made with sister communities around the globe. An estimated 1.5 million Armenians live in the U.S., out of the 8-10 million scattered around the world, second only to the Armenian population living in Russia or other CIS countries.

“The GOAM distinguishes the Armenian-American community from the other Diaspora populations as the most wealthy (both overall and per capita income) and the most diverse in terms of emigration patterns,” wrote Ordway. “GOAM assistance figures and information from local banking sources confirm that the majority of Armenia’s public and private assistance funding (including private money transfers to families or friends) comes to Armenia from the U.S.”