WASHINGTON (A.W.)—On July 14, the newly appointed ambassador of Armenia to the U.S., Tigran Sargsyan, presented his credentials to President Barack Obama, reported the press service for the Armenian Embassy in Washington, D.C.
During the Ambassador Credential Ceremony, Sargsyan noted that high-level U.S.-Armenia relations are marked by resourceful cooperation, and that the development of bilateral relations between the two countries is expected. It will be his mission to develop and expand cooperation based on mutual interests, he added.
Obama, in turn, welcomed and congratulated the new ambassador, and said he was confident that Sargsyan would draw on past experiences and knowledge in deepening relations between the two countries. He stressed that the U.S. places great importance on relations with Armenia based on mutual respect and interests, cooperation in international peacekeeping missions, as well as cooperation in strengthening democracy and economic development. Obama also highlighted that the U.S. highly appreciates Armenia’s commitment to reaching a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabagh conflict, and in strengthening security in the South Caucasus.
Both emphasized that the Armenian-American community has an important role to play in the development of friendly relations between the U.S. and Armenia.
Sargsyan resigned from his previous position as prime minister in early April 2014. He had served as prime minister since April 2008. Sargsyan’s resignation came a day after Armenia’s Constitutional Court overturned a controversial pension reform law. It also came days after Armenia’s four main opposition parties announced a three-day rally against President Serge Sarkisian’s government, and proposed a vote of no confidence in his administration, coupled with calls for Prime Minister Sargsyan’s resignation.
Yet another patronage job given to the undeserving.
There is good evidence that Tigran Sargsyan engaged in corruption while he was Prime Minister. Armenian Americans should demand that Armenia send another ambassador to replace him. Is this not obvious?
Armenian Americans will be flocking about this government thug as they always have with regard to all government thugs throughout Armenia’s independence period. Armenian Americans never supported people’s position when Armenia’s citizens rose against various local regimes. Armenian Americans claim they want to avoid “aggravating the domestic situation when the country is faced with external threats”. Well, good luck with the same attitude until the country is emptied.
Besides, Sarkissian is a former chairman of Armenia’s Central Bank, and it is believed that central banks of most of the countries are tied up with the US Federal Reserve system under the surveillance and control of the international banking oligarchy. Therefore, Sarkissian knows he is impregnable. What do you expect?
It is also unseemly for the former prime minister to get riffed so low as to appoint himself a mere ambassador. The impression is as if he was glad to escape Armenia…
BAD NEWS: Engaging in corruption against the needy people in his home country has pushed one criminal into the US with diplomatic immunity.
GOOD NEWS: Someday, that diplomatic immunity will expire and he will face prosecution by the same people he hoped to rip off. They will get justice and their money back.
BEST NEWS: For now, he will have to face the constant questioning from Armenians in the US about, among 100 other things, WHY he never taxed the oligarchs in the Armenian government. Also about WHY he, himself, a member of the national assembly, owned a business, hid his money offshore, and never paid taxes! (THREE crimes in ONE sentence!)
NOW is the time for US Armenians to demand accountability from the thieves who hijacked rule-of-law in their beloved Armenia! Ask him!
One day the presidencies of LTP and RK have expired. Some day the presidency of SS will expire. One day the mandates of many corrupt MPs have either expired or will some day expire. And exactly what did the diasporans do against these former and current officials? LTP’s crimes were much larger than those of Tigran Sarkissian’s. Yet, he is at large, safe and sound. Even if a patriotic, public-spirited, and worldly-wise intellectual is miraculously elected in Armenia, the oligarchs, the enviers, agents of foreign influence and the commoners in Armenia’s socium may force him out of the office.
Very sad news! The newly appointed ambassador of Armenia to the U.S., Tigran Sargsyan is an “epitome” of corruption and an extension of thugs that rule Armenia today. What amazes me most, however, is the silence of our major Armenian_American organizations such as the Armenian Assembly of America (AAA), Armenian National Committee of America and many other grass-root organizations that chose to remain silent and accept the continuation of corrupt officials representing our country in and out of Armenia. Shame on us!
The American Armenian community should never respect this person and totally ignore him by never inviting him to any events in the American Armenian communities ,even for April 24.He is one of the responsable to have had 1 million armenians leave the country.
This is another reason why Armenia is not progressing. Everybody should ignore this guy. Shame shame shame
Hi everyone,
I don’t mean to carry water for the ANCA, but it has stated very clearly that its mandate is to work on behalf of Americans of Armenian descent. It is an American lobbying organization and not an NGO within Armenia. Therefore, it does not immerse itself in domestic issues in the Republic of Armenia, even if these issues have consequences for the Armenian-American community (i.e. provoking emigration to the US).
Perhaps a better avenue through which to express our concerns would be international NGOs that work to expose and fight corruption in developing countries, such as Transparency International.
I welcome better suggestions, but please let’s not unfairly criticize ANCA for failing to do that which is not within its purview.
Hey Alex, The obvious respectful suggestion should be to the ANCA to revise it’s purview to start immersing itself in domestic issues in the Republic of Armenia, ESPECIALLY if these issues have consequences for the Armenian-American community (i.e. provoking emigration to the US). This criminal (or any criminal) should never be legitimized by any organization that cares deeply for the Armenian people who are forced to leave Armenia because of systemic corruption by Sargsyan, Sargsyan and their criminal cronies blatantly stealing money from the good needy people of Armenia. It perpetuates corruption and makes the ANCA complicit!
Why would ANCA need you to carry their water? On the contrary, ANCA is already doing a very good job of carrying their own water. You’re totally incorrect when you say that ANCA does not immerse itself in domestic issues within the Republic of Armenia. That’s a rather unfair criticism on your part. As a matter of fact, all of ANCA’s work contributes directly to the survival of the Armenian homeland, as well as the strengthening of the Armenian diaspora which also includes the Armenian inhabitants of the United States. In addition, growing Armenia’s economy by way of creating jobs and opportunity, along with supporting citizens’ rights and government reform, happen to be domestic issues within the Republic of Armenia which are among the many priorities of ANCA. Make sure to read this article:
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2014/04/23/roi/
I am amazed and very disappointed that ARF and ANCA or for that matter any Armenian Org. in the US can work with such a tarnished person.He is nothing but a disgrace.
Alex: Speaking of the word transparency, the ANC is an arm of the ARF. The ARF is now rooted in Armenia, for that matter. If the ANC/ARF wants to play a constructive role, they will. We know the drill.
ANCA and AAA should get up a petition that Armenian Americans will sign. The petition would Armenia to withdraw Ambassador Sargsyan from his post and send him packing. This would show strength and principle. That is probably why this will not happen. Someone please tell us all.
By the way, may I ask, who IS in ANCA and AAA? I don’t know except for maybe one or two people from each organization. This is not transparency. Whom do we call and talk to? Where are these people?
It truly is absurd that a politician as corrupt as Tigran Sargsyan ended up becoming the newly appointed ambassador of Armenia to the United States. However, even if Tigran Sargsyan were to be removed as ambassador due to his corrupt acts from the past, another person as corrupt as him, would end up in his place. After all, the government of Armenia is filled with corruption the same way the U.S. government is filled with corruption. Therefore, how can you all possibly be astonished that the Armenian government made Tigran Sargsyan their selection and that the U.S. government accepted this particular selection?
Expanding even further on my previous comment, the issue here is certainly not Tigran Sargsyan. The issue revolves around President Serzh Sargsyan and his entire crew of corrupt thugs. As long as his Republican party continues to remain in power, the Republic of Armenia will continue to regress. Its current poverty rate and unemployment rate are enormous and the situation is not improving in any way; with the exception of ten percent of the population living in high luxury, the majority of the remaining ninety percent are not living very well; as for Armenia’s health care system, it’s in terrible shape. As a result of all of the above, you have too many people in Armenia today who are extremely unhappy with their lives, which explains the reason why so many people are emigrating out of Armenia on a yearly basis. It all comes down to one very simple question. What kind of future can the Republic of Armenia possibly have with so many people departing it year after year, in search of a new home? Well, President Sargsyan and his Republican party are certainly not concerned about this particular question. They might even be joyful about the mass departure of Armenians from the Fatherland. After all, with a much lesser population, they would definitely have a much easier time being in control of everything.
What about Artsakh? As Mr. Mensoian stated in his most recent article, “Artsakh’s freedom is absolutely essential to Armenia’s future economic and political development.” But yet, President Sargsyan and his Republican party have never created any kind of strategy in responding to Azerbaijan’s constant dissemination of false information in regard to Artsakh.
What about the persistent, daily gunfire by Azeri troops against Armenian soldiers along the Line of Contact? As a result of that, numerous Armenian soldiers have been killed. However, President Sargsyan who’s desperately trying to please the United States and European Union, continues to take no action against Azerbaijan’s President Aliyev. That sure doesn’t look good! It makes President Aliyev feel stronger which enables him to believe that he can get away with committing crimes, one after the other. As a matter of fact, he’s getting away with everything due to President Sargsyan’s total lack of action.
After all these failures, how can the people of Armenia possibly have any kind of faith and trust in President Sargsyan and his Republican party? The answer is that the vast majority of them neither have faith nor trust in their president and government. Therefore, political change is desperately needed in Armenia; and it’s only the citizens of Armenia who have the ability to achieve this. One possible way of achieving this, is by combining the strength of those opposition parties who were previously working independently of each other, and using this combined strength to overpower the Republican party. This plan would surely take a good deal of time to put into motion. The other possible plan would be for the citizens of Armenia to unite together as one, and march down to the government headquarters, demanding the resignation of President Sargsyan and all the members of his Republican party. Those guys would certainly not accept such a demand; therefore, the citizens of Armenia would have no choice other than to use force in removing them. Whichever way you look at it, this whole entire matter rests in the hands of the citizens of Armenia. They’re the ones who have the power to rid themselves of their corruption-filled government who’s been committing harm to the Armenian nation for over twenty years, and to replace it with the type of government they desire.
A dozen malcontents do not represent the Armenian-American community.
A clear manifestation that nobody but yourselves finds issue with the Amb is the cold, hard reality that Amd Tigran Sargsyan was invited to and has already met leaders of Armenian-American organizations, including ANCA and AAA.
Despite your vain hopes, RoA Amb to USA will be treated like any other diplomat.
Whether you ladies and gentlemen like him or not, is quite irrelevant: he will represent Republic of Armenia in US.
He will be accorded due respect accorded to all ambassadors.
A job of an ambassador, any ambassador of any country, is to promote the interests of the country he/she is working for.
End of story.
Regarding ANCA: as [Alex] noted, ANCA has a specific charter.
What it does best is grassroots advocacy in US for issues that concern Armenian-Americans, RoA, NKR, and worldwide Armenians at large (e.g. Syrian-Armenian issues).
It has done an outstanding job blunting the well-financed Turkbaijani legislative assaults on RoA and NKR right here in US.
It has done an outstanding job outmaneuvering the well financed Turkish lobby with a skeleton paid staff and a large cohort of Armenian-American volunteers.
It has done an outstanding job advocating for RoA and NKR vis-à-vis the enemies of the Armenian people: the terrorist State of Azerbaijan and the Genocidal, Neo-Nazi State of Turkey.
Too bad for you Barevalosers: President Serj Sargsyan was popularly re-elected in a landslide by 58% of RoA electorate: live with it.
The President of RoA decides who gets appointed Ambassador: not me, not you, not ANCA, not AAA, nobody else.
And your BarevaLeader can’t get more than a 100 people or so (mostly senior citizens with time on their hands) to show up to his stale and sleep-inducing speeches these days: that’s how irrelevant he and his confused followers have become.
That is the harsh reality you Barevacadres cannot accept and are vainly attempting to salve the hurt by foaming about the Ambassador.
You can circulate useless petitions all day long: nobody will give a hoot, because the silent majority of Armenian-Americans could not care less about your pitiful antics.
And anyone who wants to, quote, ‘immerse’ themselves in RoA internal affairs, go and fight Turkbaijani invaders, instead of ‘circulating’ petitions: in case you ‘patriots’ are living in a cave, a few days ago the invading Turkic nomads almost succeeded in murdering an Armenian civilian woman, and murdered an Armenian boy of 17, who was abducted and viciously stabbed multiple times – nomad style.
A 17 year old Armenian boy murdered by nomadic Turk invaders on Armenian soil: and you ‘patriots’ are going to circulate a petition regarding the RoA Ambassador to US to get him ‘removed’ ?
Can you Barevalosers be any more disconnected from the real world ?
Avery, you need to understand that apart from opposition activists or sympathizers, there may also be posters, who have no preferences for any political force in Armenia, but are just concerned with the state of affairs in the country. In fact, I think people who are concerned or apathetic about former or current regimes constitute majority of Armenia’s citizens and don’t belong to any political opposition. My close relatives live in Armenia. It’s a hard existence. I’m trying to understand the logic behind your line of thinking. That Azeris murder innocent Armenian civilians or soldiers on the line of contact, of course, does damage to the nation, but that most of our own power holders line their pockets, thus impoverishing the nation and emptying Armenia, does not damage it? Why is it that public concern is being directed on external threats and not on internal ones? Are corruption, lawlessness, poverty, emigration less damaging than murder of civilians and soldiers on the front?
Avery,
Its amazing how you blatantly overlook again and again the fact that our dear Armenian leader and his thug cohorts steal from their own country, their people and treasury, just BECAUSE HE CAN.. Armenia cant thrive like this.
I’m convinced that the only reason we spend on military is to protect the thugs newly created wealth,
As Armenians, we have one problem that requires a serious attitudinal change. We do not like to expose our “dirty laundry” in front of non- Armenians. This habit of concealing the truth of what is going on in Armenia is causing serious harm to our people, making it doubtful the survival of our country as a nation. The dirty laundry we are trying to hide is infested with microbes like flesh eating bacteria and will gradually consume our body and destroy us without any mercy. The sad part in all of this is the very dirty laundry we are trying so hard to hide from “foreigners” which has become so obvious at the international level; there is nothing to hide anymore. Therefore, like other communities in the United States and Western countries, we should, without fear, expose our corrupt officials, including the appointment of Armenia’s ambassador to the U.S., Tigran Sargsyan. Exposing them to public scrutiny will make it difficult for them to operate with free reign. Therefore, providing a united front to show our disapproval of Sargsyan’s appointment is an obligation for Armenians living in the United States and elsewhere. As for our grassroots organizations such as ANCA, AAA and others, who continuously make excuses to avoid providing opposition to our corrupt government in Armenia, history will soon show us that condoning the corrupt, selfish and inept government of Serj Sargsyan has its repercussions. At the very least, guilt by association! The government of Armenia is conducting a slow but steady genocide against its own people and we cannot simply stand by and allow it to happen. We, as the diaspora, need to make the most of the democracies we enjoy outside of our home country and make our voices heard from within.
“A job of an ambassador is to promote the interests of the country he/she is working for.”
And what’s the job of a prime minister? Hiding the money stolen from his people in an offshore company?
Averym
It is not always that I communicate with you re our National affairs.
It is one thing to deal with issues such as the 17 yr old kid(this is national)another with people who cause damage to the Ecponomy of a whole nation.if what some here opine is even half true, then indeed we are a people that only follow the bad traits of the Odars.We are, after all a very small, nation with a tiny country.
If at the rate that Armenians leave the motherland continues,it is real a bad omen.I understand that the country(Armenia)from LTP days began to go on a landslide towards an abyss,then little can be expected from the ¨´Wild free market Economist¨.It may suit a country like Dubai or Abu Dhabi etc.,. but not a country such as ours.We need to copy and follow the good example countries such as Sweden,Norway Finland and Denmark,not the other Euro countries that have lately become quassi totally wild as rgds monetary issues
and have shown so much corruption that no one can say there is an end to it.Only way out for Armenia -even now-is to be Finlandized so to say.Keep away from both contending entities that are again becoming polarized by and by and on their way them may trample over tiny countries like Armenia and crush it.Heaven help us to pump some good into the heads of the people who are the cause of the fiasco in RA.Now don´t get me wrong and immediately attack me like you do to Raffo and co. I am with Serge,Sireli Serge until he is replaced by someone who thinks twice before-as an example-Inviting Pres.Gul to come to Tzitzernakapert-only a few weeks ago..remember? the protocols,this is yet another such.Fact is I sent cc ing copy of letter I received from Hrant Dink Org. inviting me to Istanbulla and Ankara etc., by two Toikish ladies (whi sgined at the bottom of the letter addressed to me) , as dear Gaytzag…
I added to some 87 cc people friends of mine that before anything great Turkey must officially acknowledge the Genocide their previous Govt.s penetrated on my /our people then dialogue .otherwise what dialogue??? another ACT.Like the pone end of April in Yerevan where I participated.But i let them have it(five six so called Ailakhoh Turks..indeed
one or more amongst these the MIT operatives..
I realize that there are people very very few in great Turkey of today that may be really repentent…but a hundred in a million???what can they achieve?? but come to yerevan and this on the initiative of their peers.Govt. rather than their own….
Thus to blow dust into the eyes of easy accepting Euro Ams and or oher people of the world that Armenia and Turkey are in Dialogue…
my foot!!!! we demand BLOOD MONEY first and foremost!!!Land can wait.I have said that few times herre.untill the Kurdish issue become ripe,so to say.So we are together in this Avery,if any of us betrays the Armenian people no Good.We need patriots even if some may be small fry(I don´t approve of wild free market running people in any of its faces…we need to be more a society that does not call its Gov.t as ISHKHANUTYUNS..latter plus Bdeshkhs belong to the past.We are just naturally UNGERVAR ,not Socialist mind you (friends that govern toghert) and called Civil servants and ought to accept that any Govt. funcionary is a servant to its people.Anyhow they receive their salaries through the taxes the people pay……
Hope you understand
Take care
Dear Avery,
Most Armenians respect your comments, as I do indeed!
I wonder if there is some more room left for us to hear about ordinary local Armenian opinion. We Armenians must overcome with this “oligarchy” defects. If we don’t point out our problems, then we are not less than those bloody Turks!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2CdQBxc2lo#t=51
The more the diaspora ignores and does nothing regarding these corrupt senior officials which are running the country the more people will vote with their feet and immigrate ending with a country of just pensioners,we all know what that means a failed state,sadly this is where we are heading as the Diaspora so called leaders are more interested in their state medals which are being dished out like confetti in order to shut their mouth and eyes,and in the process the state medals have been devalued.
This is the very sad reality of Armenia today,not an ounce of justice administered,corruption,rigged elections,no spiritual leadership,the list is endless.Population has dropped to just over 2 million.
God help us from these vulchers.
From examining the comments on here, I think we’ve done a pretty good job of pointing out the wrongfulness of Tigran Sargsyan. Well, what about pointing out the wrongfulness of those typical U.S. ambassadors to Armenia who will not publicly acknowledge the Armenian Genocide as ordered by their corrupt, fake democracy- preaching masters? Now that’s horribly wrong!
Listen to the voices of the people President Sargsyan. Leadership requires to pay attention to what the ordinary people say. You can no longer ignore the voices of the people. As for the lady in this short video clip, Bravo to you! It is only with such voices coming out in open, change can eventually take place. That is if our leaders have the basic and common understanding of the suffering of the people. Shame on the governamt of Armenia! Enough is enough, wake up ans smell the coffee.
Unfortunately, with the exception of the top ten percent of Armenia’s population which lives in high luxury, President Sargsyan and his crooked Republican party have no intention of giving any consideration to the voices of the remaining ninety percent of Armenia’s citizens. If after all this time they haven’t changed their priorities, then they’re obviously not going to change their priorities in the present nor future. And what’s even worse is that they have no shame in what they’re doing; on the contrary, they feel quite good about what they’re doing. Well, this is also the same kind of scene here in the United States. “Economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on US government policy, while mass-based interest groups and average citizens have little or no independent influence. The U.S. government now represents the rich and powerful.”
This again explains the reason for America’s shameful poverty stats (over 46.5 million impoverished people), as well as the enormous amount of inequality that exists here in the United States. The rich are getting richer, while the middle-class and lower-class are getting poorer. Just like Armenia, “the United States is a country led by a small dominant class of powerful members who exert total control over the general population.” The other huge superpower country in this world, Russia, also fits that description.
The finest thug Armenia has to offer.