The ingathering of Armenian exiles...

[Tongue]

possible threat?

Section 907 limiting US-Azeri co-op

AssA-Irada 09/12/2006 01:29

The partial repeal of Section 907 to the Freedom Support Act restricts cooperation between Azerbaijan and the United States, Azerbaijani Defense Minister Safar Abiyev said in a meeting with the visiting US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Jim McDougall on Thursday.

Section 907 bans direct US assistance to the government of Azerbaijan.

Abiyev said bilateral relations are developing in all areas. The unresolved status of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh is a major obstacle to the development of Azerbaijan’s military cooperation with the United States and NATO, he said.

“We will never accept the occupation of our territories by Armenia. The Azerbaijani armed forces will liberate the occupied lands if the conflict is not resolved in peace,” the minister said.

McDougall concurred that the provisions of Section 907 actually restrict cooperation between the two countries.

[Hovik]

Reuters: New law could quadruple number of Armenians

New law could quadruple number of Armenians
Wed Feb 21, 10:15 AM ET



Armenia's parliament has passed the first reading of a bill giving ethnic Armenians the right to hold dual citizenship, a law which could almost quadruple the number of the country's nationals around the world.

Wedged between Georgia, Turkey, Iran and Azerbaijan, Armenia has a population of just 3.2 million but a diaspora of 8 million spread across the globe, mainly in the United States, Russia and France.

The new law, debated on Tuesday, would allow the emigres to gain Armenian citizenship.

Most fled the region after World War One, following mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915. Turkey denies there was systematic genocide and says large numbers of both Christian Armenians and Muslim Turks died as the Ottoman Empire was collapsing.

"Adoption of this law is conditioned by a wish to restore human, civil and historical justice," Gegham Manukian, a member of the parliament and one of the authors of the law, told Reuters.

Armenians supported the idea of dual citizenship in a November 2005 referendum on constitutional amendments. The new proposal needs to pass three readings in parliament to become law.

[Hovik]

RA FM: dual citizenship supposes equal rights for all

RA FM: dual citizenship supposes equal rights for all

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenians with dual citizenship should have the vote equally with RA citizens, Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian told a news conference today. Dual citizenship will not create a new category, which renders more rights to some people and less to the others, according to him. “Dual citizenship supposes equal rights and responsibilities for all citizens of the republic. In my opinion, all Armenian citizens should be granted suffrage,” the Minister said.

Today the Armenian parliament with 66 votes ‘for’ and 5 ‘against’ passed the bill on dual citizenship in its second reading.

[Hovik]

RA parliament passes bill on dual citizenship in second reading

RA parliament passes bill on dual citizenship in second reading

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today the Armenian National Assembly passed the bill on dual citizenship in the second reading. The bill allows an Armenian citizen to acquire citizenship of another state without losing the Armenia one. The bill also regulates the norms of obtaining Armenian citizenship. In part, Armenian citizenship may be granted to people over the age of 18, capable to speak Armenian and familiarized with the RA Constitution; people married to an Armenian citizen; people of Armenian origin remarkable for great services to Armenia. People with dual citizenship are eligible to vote in elections held in Armenia. The President of the state, MPs and Constitutional Court members cannot have dual citizenship, the document says.

[Hovik]

Arf Dashnaktsutyun Discontent With The Draft Law On Dual Citizenship

ARF DASHNAKTSUTYUN DISCONTENT WITH THE DRAFT LAW ON DUAL CITIZENSHIP

[09:01 pm] 26 February, 2007

http://www.a1plus.am/en/?page=issue&iid=45957

Today the RA National Assembly endorsed the packet on «dual citizenship» with 66 votes for, 5 against and 4 abstentions. ARF Dashnaktsutyun, the main adherent of the draft law, turned out to be discontent with the packet.

Prior to the voting, David Haroutyunyan announced that they had come to an agreement with the Republicans; all the dual residents registered in Armenia, i.e. having permanent citizenship, will have the right to vote.

«There will be no additional precincts for the non-registered residents», David Haroutyunyan said. David Haroutyunyan's announcement comforted the Republicans as they feared lest dual residents from Javakhq and Karabakh should participate in the elections as their voice might be decisive while calculating the results.

Though the ARF Dashnaktsutyun participated in the voting, the party was on the whole discontent with the amendments.

They assume that an anti-constitutional norm has been added to the bill and they intend to challenge the restriction of the electoral right in the Constitutional Court, Gegham Manoukyan, deputy of ARF Dashnaktsutyun informed A1+. «The latest amendments classify residents into two categories - registered and non-registered ones», he claims.

«We attach great importance to the principle of stipulating the norm on dual citizenship», said David Haroutyunyan in answer to our question.

Aram Sargsyan, member of «Justice» faction, suggested introducing a bill that might be to everyone's liking.

The Central Electoral Commission will deal with the issue of the RA residents who are registered in Armenia and are currently abroad on some business. In David Haroutyunyan's opinion, only diplomats have the right to vote outside the country.

[Turkish Pride]

What do the Armenian's living in Armenia think about giving the Armenian's who don't live in Armenia voting rights and dual nationality? Are they in favour or against the idea?

[Hovik]

What do the Armenian's living in Armenia think about giving the Armenian's who don't live in Armenia voting rights and dual nationality? Are they in favour or against the idea?

Well from a political representation standpoint, it's really only a few members of Dashnaktsutyun who have issues with this. See articles in this thread.

From a social standpoint, I am sure there is a lot more opposition amongst individuals than we hear about.

However I believe that opposition is more to equal voting rights than anything else.

Unfortunately, the amount of our membership comprised by Armenians who live in Armenia is limited, and you probably won't get much if any answers to this question from that demographic.

For what it's worth, I'm a 3rd generation Armenian Genocide survivor living in the USA and I will apply as a dual-citizen of Armenia. I DO NOT feel that I deserve equal voting rights as those who live in Armenia. I also feel that while compulsory military service should be exempted from those new dual-citizens who do not reside in Armenia, they should pay a fair military exemption tax. I believe non-resident dual citizens should also pay other 'reasonable' federal Armenian taxes to retain citizenship. I am willing to accept all of this and be a tax-paying dual citizen even if I'm a non resident, but I believe my group deserves some form of political representation - but do not have proposals on what form this might come in.


I hope this helps answer your questions.

[Turkish Pride]

I can see why Armenian's living in Armenia may have objections with Armenian's from the diaspora voting in the Armenian general elections. Many must feel that they will lose control of Armenia to people who don't live in Armenia. They probably don't want people who live outside Armenia to determine the policy on things that are going to affect them and not really affect the diaspora.


You say a fair military exemption tax should be paid by Armenian's who become dual citizens. I agree because the sheer volume of Armenian's from the diaspora that might apply for citizenship could cause problems that make military service impractical to implement. People like yourself might have jobs and other commitments that mean that they just can't leave for 6 months or for however long military service is. Finally a decent amount of revenue can be generated by allowing Armenian's to opt to pay their way out of military service. In Turkey there is a system that allows people to pay their way out of military service (although doing your military service in Turkey is seen as a very honourable thing to do). The cost to exempt yourself from military service in Turkey varies from €5,000 to €10,000 (The Euro is slightly higher in value than the Dollar)

but I believe my group deserves some form of political representation - but do not have proposals on what form this might come in.

That's quite reasonable even the Turkish Cypriot diaspora can sympathize with the Armenian diaspora on that point as many Turkish Cypriots live abroad and they also have no political rights in North Cyprus.

Yes you did help with my questions thank you.

Just one thing. How could you have voting rights that are not equal. How could one group of individuals have more rights than another group of individuals in the same elections?

[Joseph]

Having done some business in Armenia, I can tell you that the number one obstacle between Diaspora Armenians and Hayastantzi's is no different than the mistrust that exists between western and eastern Germans. It is an east/west issue. The Soviet mentality of mistrust still exists although it is fading. They are sometimes caught a little offguard by our eagerness. Seventy years of Soviet rule is a tough but not un-breachable barrier. The Hayastantzi's are a very impressive bunch and despite an unfavorable location, lack of resources, blockades, etc,, they will make it.

The biggest difficulty is the political leadership of Armenia and the economic oligarchs.

I encourage all diaspora Armenians to obtain Armenian citizenship. The benefits outweigh the obstacles and we have so much to learn from each other. It will be difficult but gradually we can help the Hayastantzi's build a state. As much as I disagree with many of Israels policies regarding the Palestinians, I admire how they built their state. Sure, Armenia's case will be harder (we have no access to the sea and are not receiving billions in subsidies every year from the United States) but our peoples are just as tough, inventive and entrepeneurial.

My father already has his dual-citizenship (his business in Armenia is doing very well btw can employs several hundred people) and I will be getting mine soon as well.

We have lots of talent not just in Armenia, but also Lebanon, US, Canada, Argentina, Iran, Russia, etc.

[Hovik]

Just one thing. How could you have voting rights that are not equal. How could one group of individuals have more rights than another group of individuals in the same elections?

You're thinking in terms of the same elections. I am not. I'm not saying that we should have representation in the votes for parliment or presidency, etc. I'm saying we should have some sort of representation in the country, some sort of advocacy group, that's all. I'm thinking of something on a much more simple and perhaps I could say 'informal' level.