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LONG ROAD TO ARMENIAN PRESIDENCY
By Ryan Vaillancourt
Glendale News Press, CA
Dec 18 2007
Presidential hopeful stops in Glendale to garner support and give
updates about political happenings.
NORTHEAST GLENDALE - A handful of candidates in the U.S. presidential
race have made pit stops in the area, all to much local fanfare and
national media attention.
But another presidential hopeful, in Glendale for a weekend stint
soliciting support and outlining his platform, went relatively
unnoticed outside the city. Perhaps that's because he's running in
an election set to take place in February on the other side of the
globe in Armenia.
For Vahan Hovhannisyan, the current vice speaker in the Armenian
Parliament and a candidate for his country's presidency, Glendale's
significant Armenian population makes it one of the most pivotal
stops on his global campaign trail.
With about 80,000 Armenians in Glendale alone and, by some estimates,
more than 200,000 Armenians in Southern California, the region
is behind only Moscow in Armenian population outside Armenia,
Hovhannisyan said.
"Armenians are in an unusual situation in that more Armenians live
outside of Armenia than in Armenia," said Levon Marashlian, a history
professor at Glendale Community College who teaches a course on the
Armenian diaspora. "So Armenians outside become a very important
factor for Armenia in terms of financial support, in terms of moral
support and in terms of lobbying in the various countries Armenians
are in for issues related to Armenia." advertisement
Under a new law passed by the Armenian parliament in February,
Armenian immigrants are not permitted to vote in their native
country's elections - not even diplomats - unless they return to the
country to register and hit the polls in person. In previous years,
Armenian citizens living abroad could vote at their embassy. But
indirect support from the diaspora community is nevertheless crucial,
Hovhannisyan said, because those living abroad maintain strong ties
to their family, friends and investments "back home," he said.
"I'd say coming here is essential as a candidate," said Hovhannisyan,
one of nine presidential candidates, and the second candidate to
campaign in Glendale this year. "The American Armenian diaspora is
very involved in technical and political development, investments
and charity and other programs and, of course, people want to know
what's the future of their investment, not only in terms of money
but also the human investment."
In fact, much of the candidate's time at community gatherings
this weekend, including an evening event Saturday at Glendale High
School, was spent not on championing his platform but on updating
the Armenian-Americans on the political situation in Armenia, he said.
But while support from the diaspora is considered crucial, visits to
Glendale are not a rite of passage for Armenian political candidates.
Hovhannisyan, whose Armenian Revolutionary Federation party is
reportedly favored by much of the American diaspora, and Serzh Sargsyan
are the only two candidates to have visited Glendale this election
season, said Andrew Kzirian, executive director of the Armenian
National Committee, Glendale Chapter. And their campaign-minded
visits mark a relatively new phenomenon for candidates of the young,
post-Soviet republic, he said.
But the indirect effect of Hovhannisyan and Sargsyan's U.S. visits
on Armenian electoral politics is perhaps more as an indicator that
the line between Armenia and diaspora strongholds is getting fuzzier,
said Zanku Armenian, board member of the Armenian Committee of America,
Western Region.
"You know, it's kind of a those candidates who are becoming more
savvy to the relationship between the Armenian diaspora and Armenia,
and politicians in Armenia are realizing that the interests are
starting to become more intertwined, and because of the development
of Armenian community media into a more global entity, when you make
news here you make news back home," he said.
The overlap has not been limited to diaspora involvement in distinctly
Armenian issues.
Earlier this year, Armenian newspapers curious about what issues were
mobilizing Armenians abroad covered a town hall meeting for Glendale
City Council candidates, City Clerk Ardy Kassakhian said.
But most of the political and cultural cross pollination likely stems
from Armenian immigrants' interest in their families' quality of life,
he said.
"A lot of folks that live here support their families
financially so they do have a stake in what happens in the
country. . . . Some have been out of work for many,
many years, and they want to know what direction the country's headed
in," Kassakhian said. "Most recent immigrant communities will still
have one eye toward the homeland wondering what's going on with their
parents, brothers or sisters they left behind."
http://www.glendalenewspress.com/ar ticles/2007/12/18/news/gnp-candidate18.art.txt
By Ryan Vaillancourt
Glendale News Press, CA
Dec 18 2007
Presidential hopeful stops in Glendale to garner support and give
updates about political happenings.
NORTHEAST GLENDALE - A handful of candidates in the U.S. presidential
race have made pit stops in the area, all to much local fanfare and
national media attention.
But another presidential hopeful, in Glendale for a weekend stint
soliciting support and outlining his platform, went relatively
unnoticed outside the city. Perhaps that's because he's running in
an election set to take place in February on the other side of the
globe in Armenia.
For Vahan Hovhannisyan, the current vice speaker in the Armenian
Parliament and a candidate for his country's presidency, Glendale's
significant Armenian population makes it one of the most pivotal
stops on his global campaign trail.
With about 80,000 Armenians in Glendale alone and, by some estimates,
more than 200,000 Armenians in Southern California, the region
is behind only Moscow in Armenian population outside Armenia,
Hovhannisyan said.
"Armenians are in an unusual situation in that more Armenians live
outside of Armenia than in Armenia," said Levon Marashlian, a history
professor at Glendale Community College who teaches a course on the
Armenian diaspora. "So Armenians outside become a very important
factor for Armenia in terms of financial support, in terms of moral
support and in terms of lobbying in the various countries Armenians
are in for issues related to Armenia." advertisement
Under a new law passed by the Armenian parliament in February,
Armenian immigrants are not permitted to vote in their native
country's elections - not even diplomats - unless they return to the
country to register and hit the polls in person. In previous years,
Armenian citizens living abroad could vote at their embassy. But
indirect support from the diaspora community is nevertheless crucial,
Hovhannisyan said, because those living abroad maintain strong ties
to their family, friends and investments "back home," he said.
"I'd say coming here is essential as a candidate," said Hovhannisyan,
one of nine presidential candidates, and the second candidate to
campaign in Glendale this year. "The American Armenian diaspora is
very involved in technical and political development, investments
and charity and other programs and, of course, people want to know
what's the future of their investment, not only in terms of money
but also the human investment."
In fact, much of the candidate's time at community gatherings
this weekend, including an evening event Saturday at Glendale High
School, was spent not on championing his platform but on updating
the Armenian-Americans on the political situation in Armenia, he said.
But while support from the diaspora is considered crucial, visits to
Glendale are not a rite of passage for Armenian political candidates.
Hovhannisyan, whose Armenian Revolutionary Federation party is
reportedly favored by much of the American diaspora, and Serzh Sargsyan
are the only two candidates to have visited Glendale this election
season, said Andrew Kzirian, executive director of the Armenian
National Committee, Glendale Chapter. And their campaign-minded
visits mark a relatively new phenomenon for candidates of the young,
post-Soviet republic, he said.
But the indirect effect of Hovhannisyan and Sargsyan's U.S. visits
on Armenian electoral politics is perhaps more as an indicator that
the line between Armenia and diaspora strongholds is getting fuzzier,
said Zanku Armenian, board member of the Armenian Committee of America,
Western Region.
"You know, it's kind of a those candidates who are becoming more
savvy to the relationship between the Armenian diaspora and Armenia,
and politicians in Armenia are realizing that the interests are
starting to become more intertwined, and because of the development
of Armenian community media into a more global entity, when you make
news here you make news back home," he said.
The overlap has not been limited to diaspora involvement in distinctly
Armenian issues.
Earlier this year, Armenian newspapers curious about what issues were
mobilizing Armenians abroad covered a town hall meeting for Glendale
City Council candidates, City Clerk Ardy Kassakhian said.
But most of the political and cultural cross pollination likely stems
from Armenian immigrants' interest in their families' quality of life,
he said.
"A lot of folks that live here support their families
financially so they do have a stake in what happens in the
country. . . . Some have been out of work for many,
many years, and they want to know what direction the country's headed
in," Kassakhian said. "Most recent immigrant communities will still
have one eye toward the homeland wondering what's going on with their
parents, brothers or sisters they left behind."
http://www.glendalenewspress.com/ar ticles/2007/12/18/news/gnp-candidate18.art.txt