Dual citizenship

[Guest]

ARMENIE : double nationalité pour la diaspora arménienne ?

 

"YEREVAN—Levon Ter-Petrosyan held a press conference on September 26 [1997] —his first in five years—at the Armenian Government's Reception House attended by more than 100 representatives of the press in Armenia and other countries. Some of the questions were received on the Internet. Below are excerpts from the press conference provided by Armenpress.

Q: How do you see the current Armenia-Diaspora relations and how do you see the future of those relations, especially with considering the adoption or denial of the double citizenship law?

Ter-Petrosyan: (...) Now about the dual citizenship—I have already expressed my opinion in that issue. I think the Diaspora must be so generous as to understand why we have denied the double citizenship. I have tried to explain it.

We have very serious problems. If we had had adopted the double citizenship, today we would not have had an army. Would the Diaspora want Armenia not to have an army? Would the Diaspora want Artsax to be defeated? It is a shame. A great many young Armenians ran away from Armenia together with their families not to serve in the army. If they had double citizenship, none of them would serve in our army. Of course, there would be volunteers, because our people have always given birth to heroes. We would have an army of five or a ten thousand but would it be an army? The army is a civilian commitment and we must have a strong one. (Ter-Petrosyan Holds Press Conference, Asbarez, October 4, 1997)

 

"February 17, 1998: Kocharian calls for a new policy of dual citizenship for Armenians living outside of the country, following a meeting with senior leaders of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation . Under the constitution drafted by the former government, Diasporan Armenians are prevented from holding dual citizenship.

June 6, 1998: President Kocharian presents a formal nine-point program on governmental reform to the recently created commission empowered to study constitutional reform. According to the terms of the president's proposals, the broad powers of the presidency would be subject to new restrictions, the government would be significantly decentralized, greater access to the country's constitutional court would be ensured, and the current law banning dual citizenship would be abolished. Kocharian states that he is seeking to cede more power to the parliament and the judiciary and will specifically restrict the president's broad power to dissolve parliament and end the current mandatory presidential endorsement necessary for new government decisions. The proposals are to be presented in a national referendum following parliamentary approval. " (1998: The Year in Review, Asbarez, December 26, 1998)

 

"On s'attend à ce que l'influence de la diaspora augmente grâce au président nouvellement élu de l'Arménie, Richard Kocharian, qui a promis aux Arméniens vivant à l'étranger la double nationalité et un plus grand rôle que sous le précédent président.

Monsieur Kocharian a déclaré dans une interview post-électorale que "les Arméniens, qu'ils vivent ici ou à l'étranger, doivent se sentir comme des citoyens à part entière" ; "il est important que nous créions les conditions à la participation de la diaspora dans les affaires ici". (Selina Williams, Armenia : Diaspora carries some clout, Financial Times, 19/5/98 )

 

ARMENIAN PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION REJECTS DUAL CITIZENSHIP

 

"The presidential Commission for Constitutional Reform voted on 19 February 1999 not to include the introduction of dual citizenship in a package of proposed constitutional amendments to be submitted to the parliament later this year, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported on 22 February. President Robert Kocharian implicitly endorsed the introduction of dual citizenship for Diaspora Armenians during his 1998 election campaign, but Armenia's chief military prosecutor, who is a member of the commission, argued that the provision would enable young Armenians to avoid military service. Self-Determination Union chairman Paruyr Hairikian may resign as chairman of the presidential commission if Kocharian does not overturn the commission's decision, a senior Self-Determination Union member said on 22 February. LF "

http://www.users.skynet.be/suffrage-univer...ersel/arm01.htm

[Guest]

ASSEMBLY CONGRATULATES NEW PRESIDENT

YEREVAN, Armenia - Armenian voters yesterday elected Acting President and Prime Minister Robert Kocharian as their new President. With over 66% of the ballots counted Kocharian won 61% of the vote, well-ahead of his competitor Karen Demirchian, who has received 37%. Monday's runoff election, described by international observers as "free and fair," was required since none of the 12 participating candidates won 50% plus one vote in the first round March 16th presidential elections, as required under the Constitution.

In Yerevan, the Assembly's Board of Trustees Chairman Hirair Hovnanian offered his personal congratulations to President Kocharian. "On behalf of the Armenian Assembly of America, I congratulate you and wish you and your new government success and good fortune in your work. I also congratulate the people of Armenia who exercised their right to express their free will through the ballot. Despite decades of Soviet rule, Armenia has demonstrated in its third presidential election in only seven years that it has already established a democratic environment for a peaceful and legal transfer of power."

 

He also told the President that in the United States, the Assembly would continue to strongly advocate for policies that assist the democratic, economic and humanitarian development of Armenia. "We are committed to non-partisan support for the people of Armenia and a strong US-Armenia relationship, " Hovnanian added.

 

Hovnanian also praised Karen Demirchian for his strong showing in the run-off election. "Karen Demirchian governed Soviet Armenia for almost 14 years and it is clear that he is popular among a significant portion of the Armenian population," said Hovnanian. "I hope he will contribute his experience and wisdom for the benefit of the Armenian nation in the future."

 

Armenia's new President, Robert Kocharian is seen as a strong leader who during his short premiership promoted national consensus on the key problems facing Armenia. Foreign observers often describe him as a decisive and principled statesman with a strong interest in strengthening relationships with the US, the European Union and its member countries. A former President of Nagorno Karabagh, Kocharian believes the OSCE Minsk Group negotiations must include the full participation of the Karabagh government. During the campaign, he repeatedly promised a peaceful resolution of the conflict via direct negotiations under the aegis of the OSCE.

 

During his election campaign, Kocharian indicated that he would support dual citizenship for the world-wide Armenian Diaspora and a stronger voice by overseas Armenians in national affairs. He pledged renewed effort to attract foreign investment to Armenia.

 

On domestic issues, Kocharian is a free-market advocate who is credited with gaining greater compliance in tax and custom duty collections. He has pledged to revitalize the industrial sector of the Republic. He has also indicated his determination to improve the balance of power among the three branches of government.

 

Born in Nagorno Karabagh, Robert Kocharian has been one of its political leaders since the late 1980s. He was elected a member of Karabagh's first Supreme Council in 1991 and a year later, was appointed Prime Minister. He was elected President in 1994 and 1996, at which time he began participating as an independent party in the OSCE peace process. One of the most influential figures on the Armenian/Karabagh scene, he was named Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia in March 1997.

 

An estimated 55% of eligible voters participated in the March 30 runoff election, down 9% from the March 16th balloting. Voter turnout in the 1996 presidential elections was 60.32%.

 

The Extraordinary Presidential Election in Armenia followed the resignation of Levon Ter-Petrossian who stepped down last month after senior officials in his own government and the political opposition criticized him for accepting the OSCE peace plan for Nagorno Karabagh.

 

The Armenian Assembly is a nationwide nonprofit organization which promotes public understanding and awareness of Armenian issues.

http://www.aaainc.org/press/archive98/3-31-98-2.htm

 

 

 

[This message has been edited by MJ (edited January 30, 2001).]

[Guest]

COMMENTARY

 

By Barbara J. Merguerian

 

A Status for Diasporan Armenians?

 

As the opening next week of the Armenia/Diaspora conference in Yerevan approaches, it remains unclear how the conference will be structured, what the agenda will be, or who has been invited. But a safe supposition is that one of the issues bound to arise is that of dual citizenship for Armenians in the diaspora. Ever since the establishment of the independent republic in 1991, there has been sentiment in favor of such a step. Any movement in that direction was blocked by former president Levon Ter-Petrossian, who was opposed to dual citizenship for diaspora Armenians. President Robert Kocharian, one the other hand, has voiced some support for the concept in the past, but his government doesn't seem to have taken any concrete steps to bring it about.

 

The argument in favor of dual citizenship is based on the need to marshal the diaspora to assist the homeland in all ways possible. To enjoy citizenship, it is said, would encourage diaspora Armenians to feel that they are an integral part of the homeland, and therefore responsible to help build the nation and make it strong. On the other hand, it can be argued that it hardly makes sense to designate diasporan Armenians as full citizens. Such a status would give the right to vote in Armenia's elections to individuals who do not live in Armenia and who therefore would not enjoy (or suffer from) the results of their voting.

 

The support for dual citizenship is based on the model of the Jews, many of whom in the diaspora have become citizens of Israel. But there have been some bizarre consequences. Take the case in the news recently of a Jewish teenager in the state of Maryland who fled from his home to Israel to escape prosecution in a particularly grisly murder of another teenager. The young man, Samuel Sheinbein, was born and raised in the United States, but the Israeli Supreme Court upheld his claim of Israeli citizenship by virtue of his father's birth in 1944 in what was then British-occupied Palestine. Israel has refused US requests for the extradition of the teenager to face a trial in Maryland and it claims the right to try Sheinbein in Israel. But prosecutors in the United States have been both angry and frustrated by difficulties of holding a trial in Israel as well as by what they see as a manipulation of the legal system to provide a much more lenient punishment to a suspect than what he could expect if he were to be tried and convicted in the United States. The situation violates the Americans' sense of fair play and has resulted in some tensions in the US/Israeli relationship.

 

Of course dual citizenship can be defined in many different ways. An interesting suggestion has been made by one diaspora Armenian who is now living in Armenia. Edward Balassanian has suggested that the Armenian government might issue an Armenian Identity Certificate (Andznagir) to any individual who presents credible evidence of being Armenian, or of Armenian descent. Not a citizenship paper, the document would provide entry to Armenia without a visa, indefinite stay in Armenia, and the right to conduct legal business there. The certificate would not represent citizenship, however. The right to vote and run for office would be given to persons holding an Andznagir only if they are permanent residents of Armenia (i.e., if they are registered as a resident, have physically resided there for at least nine months of each of the preceding three calendar years, and have paid income tax in Armenia for these years).

 

Balassanian argues that every Armenian, irrespective of place of birth, residence, or country of citizenship, has the inalienable right to Armenian identity and that the constitution of such an identity should be established legally and made official. In this way, the relationship between Armenians in the diaspora and those residing within the boundaries of present-day Armenia would be based on "philosophical and psychological equal grounds, with no difference, whatsoever." Whether an Identity Certificate would make a significant difference in a diaspora Armenian's relationship with the homeland is questionable, but it is a concept worthy of exploration.

 

As for the Armenia/Diaspora conference itself, foreign minister Vartan Oskanian (who is the co-chair, along with Prime Minister Vazken Sargisian) has made a convincing argument for the need to build a new relationship between the diaspora and the homeland. One can criticize the government for its failure to include diaspora representatives more closely in the planning of this conference, even though the fractured nature of the diaspora makes such inclusion difficult.

 

Those of us planning to attend the conference look forward to an interesting and stimulating event. No one believes that a two-day conference (three days in the case of press representatives) made up of some 600 representatives of Armenians from the diaspora and the homeland will suddenly come up with a magical formula or create a new organization to break down old barriers and establish new relations. But the conference is an important first step, and one can only hope that it marks the beginning of a process that will allow Armenians to reap the benefits of our dual existence in homeland and diaspora, even as we have suffered from the consequences of our separation in the past.

 

The Armenian Mirror-Spectator, September 18, 1999

 

 

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