On Tuesday, September 17, the II World Armenian Summit opens in Yerevan, but the second one is only for Nikol Pashinyan, modestly counting down the historical chronicle of the country exclusively from himself, although there were six such forums before him, the Voice of Armenia publication reminds.
There will be no work on the first day: only in the evening will the official magnificent opening ceremony of the event take place, for which the government, in conditions of a cracked state budget, in order to throw dust in the eyes, did not spare financial resources. But will it be of any use at all?..
Judging by the program published on the website of the Office of the Chief Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs, everything will come down to empty conversations without any specifics and regular manipulations by Pashinyan. The leader of the nation will try to point out to representatives of foreign Armenian communities their place in the fate of the state ("every cricket knows its own six"), and adopt another meaningless declaration-resolution at the end of the forum.
The office of (Chief Commissioner) Zare Sinanyan, when drafting the summit agenda, according to him, was guided by the recommendations of a specially created advisory body consisting of one hundred experts and representatives of communities from the Diaspora.
It is all the more surprising that the agenda came out so—so - some kind of meager and incredibly abstract. However, what is the reality arranged by Pashinyan for more than six years, such, apparently, is the agenda.
What are the forum participants going to discuss during the planned six panel sessions, numerous meetings, a round table, a seminar and a conversation in the now fashionable TED format (Technology, Entertainment, Design — "Technology, Entertainment, Design"), which involves an informal conversation on serious topics lasting up to 18 minutes, taking into account 180 speakers and moderators from 25 countries?
On the first day of the forum, September 18, all discussions will revolve around the topic of "Peace and Security" and the role of the "state-oriented Diaspora" in the context of Armenia's national security. It will be very funny to hear about "initiatives created in the interests of the country's security" and "modern Armenian narratives that contribute" to ensuring this very security.
That's where Pashinyan, who has spared no effort to completely destroy the country's security systems, will get a place to roam! For sure, the forum will hear all its banalities about the need for a fragmentary demarcation of the border that is not justified and does not comply with the norms of international law, a vague peace agenda that does not involve, in particular, the liberation of the occupied territories of Armenia. And the whole conversation about the fate of the second Armenian state will be reduced only to protecting the rights of Armenians forcibly displaced from Artsakh.
Then the exhibition "National Security: technologies and Resources" will open, the central exhibit of which will most likely be the contour of the territory of Armenia, which Pashinyan has shaken in various places over the past months. And on which, by the way, over 200 kilometers of territory in fact no longer belong to us.
Along the way, representatives of the authorities can tell about how, due to budget deficits, they are reducing military-industrial programs in favor of, among other things, their premium ones.
The publication proposes to allocate separate pavilions at the exhibition for such expositions as a temporary shed that burned down along with military signalmen, "protective" trees and a wall tens of meters from the new school in Kirants, concrete pillars, so to speak, demarcated in Tavush borders.
And, of course, the models of the house divided into two halves due to the land given to Azerbaijan in Shurnukh and the divided interstate highway in Kapan. Lack of exhibits from There will be no Jermuk, Ararat, Sotka and other places covered by Pashinyan's security initiatives.
And here is the topic of the next day: "Sustainable development of Armenia and the potential of the Diaspora." How stable and stable the development of our country has become over the years of Pashinyan's rule, "HA" has spoken out more than once and not twice, and now, along with the weakening of external factors favorable to Armenia, the specter of economic degradation looms ahead.
And it is very interesting what they will talk about during the session "Positive Transformation of the Motherland: personal stories", because everything we have seen so far, on the contrary, testifies to the extremely negative transformation of Armenia. And only the creators of this very transformation can tell about positive personal stories.
Judging by the agenda of the forum, the Diaspora is considered by the Armenian authorities not as an equal and responsible partner in the development of the nation and the state, but as a "cash cow", from which, following the theme of the sessions, only "social entrepreneurship, charity, volunteering", as well as investments, tourists and new markets are expected.
And finally, on the final day of the summit, September 20, the organizers of the event will devote some time to the problems of the diaspora itself - the imperative of preserving the Armenian identity in the Diaspora and the development opportunities of foreign Armenian communities.
There seemed to be rumors that the draft law "On repatriation" would be discussed at the forum, but there is nothing on the agenda. Most likely, this topic will be limited to reports by officials on how the authorities wisely and selflessly organized the "repatriation..." from Artsakh, and will share their invaluable experience in this field.
There is nothing in the program regarding the creation of a second chamber of parliament, which will be staffed exclusively by representatives of the diaspora, although Pashinyan himself put forward such an idea before coming to power.
However, he put forward a lot of things, and then he pushed everything back, so to speak. There is not a word on the agenda about the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
Before the official closing of the summit, its participants will also be able to visit the expo "Made by repatriates". Perhaps that's all.