My remarks at ARF Day in LA

There is today a battle for the soul of the Armenian nation.

On one side are those - foreign and domestic - who profit from Armenia as a broken nation.

Who would advance their interests at our expense.

Who would have us barter away sacred land for illusive promises of peace - only to get neither.

A population and politicians just clever enough to justify surrender.

But not to avoid it.

To make weakness look smart.

To sound sophisticated.

But not smart enough to avoid national suicide.

Not confident enough to chart a sustainable path forward.

In a word: The forces of surrender.

The surrender of lives.

Of land.

Of our future.

They would have us - as Armenians - see our nation through the eyes of a child - with the expectations, desires and demands of a juvenile.

Without the benefit of our history.

Without any sense of responsibility.

THINK: Entitlement. Grievance. Resentment.

On the other side stand the better angels of our nature.

Those among us who know we must see our Hairenik through the eyes of a parent.

With unconditional love.

Givers, who give without expectation of return.

Who raise and nurture, teach and protect the sons and daughters of our ancient tribe.

THINK: Selflessness. Service. Sacrifice.

In this battle - you stand - WE ALL STAND - on the side of the angels.

We know the answers to the toughest of questions - even before they’re asked:

Shall we be the subject of our history.

The author of our fate.

Or the object of others.

Always acted upon, never the actor.

Put another way - as President Kennedy said six decades ago: “Ask not what your country can do for you; Ask what you can do for your country”

He knew then, what Armenians have always known.

That service and sacrifice and solidarity are the constants that run through our long history.

From Ardashes and Arshag.

From Avarayr to Sardarabad.

For every parent, every patriot - the answer to the question: “What will we give?” is - and always has been: “Everything.”

That is who we are.

And THAT IS WHY WE MATTER.

In a world of great powers - VERY powerful interests, THAT IS WHY THEY FEAR US.

Because by standing UP for Armenia, we stand IN their way.

In the way of THEIR pipelines, THEIR profits, and THEIR toxic Pan-Turkish dreams.

THAT IS why they’re attacking us.

We stand in their way.

And - they know - we will not bow, and we can never be bought.

So - IN THEIR VIEW - we must be BROKEN.

Those of us in this room - and in halls like this around the world.

They aim to break our nation - our national will.

And - they know - to destroy us - they must first kill those who protect us.

We’ve seen this before.

They did this in 1915 - separating fathers from families, protectors from those in such desperate need of protection.

Cruel and calculated.

Attack the strong, then wipe out the weak.

They are doing this again today.

The target is - once again - the father who loves and will give all for his family.

The organization - that unconditionally serves the daughters and sons of the Armenian nation - and no other.

Patriots that swear to remain faithful with all their might, and if necessary with their lives to serve the cause of Armenian liberty.

THAT is why we’ve been demonized by East and West.

Seven decades under the Soviets.

Three more from the Russians and the rest.

Punished not for our vices, but our virtues.

For our strengths, not our weaknesses.

Countless colonies of fakes, overfunded fronts - politicians, bought and paid for by Brussels and Washington.

They want us to believe these attacks on us are about bus fares, electricity costs, or traffic cops.

As if the global interests buying this outage care about the welfare of our people, the strength of our democracy, or the domestic costs of corruption.

That’s theater.

That’s NOT how states think.

Major powers don’t care.

They don’t feel. They’re reptiles.

They have geopolitical aims.

And they align their investments with their interests.

You need only follow the money.

And if their interests require undermining our collective resolve - the pillars of our national survival - they will.

They have.

If that means finding and funding Armenian “Quislings” to attack us, they will.

We’ve seen the results.

If that means gaslighting us, they’ll do it.

We see it on our phones every day.

For reasons, from the geopolitical and petrochemical to the personal and financial - East and West - want an Armenia that cannot, will not, say NO.

They target us precisely because they know that we represent that spirit of our nation that can say NO, and then has the capacity to sustain that NO, when our nation must say NO.

The organization that will stand strong, when we have no choice but to be strong.

To do this, they needed to convince our people to hate our heroes.

To see Turks as friends, and Armenians as enemies.

To close their eyes to the butchers in Baku and Ankara who would cut their throats.

Who are today starving 120,000 in Artsakh.

To denigrate those raising alarms over external threats and truly existential dangers.

To encourage those who distract.

And most importantly, to elevate those who would turn Armenian against Armenian, by relentlessly fostering internal resentment and national division.

Attacking our patriots and protectors.

Armenian proxies, paid by foreigners to demonize those who serve no foreign master.

They hit at our heart, because they know the pivotal place of spirit and solidarity through our long history.

The spirit of Mikael Nalbandian, Khatchatour Abovian, Khrimian Hyrig, Raffi - Kristapor, Rosdom, and Zavarian.

That spirit is alive today.

It is also under attack.

But they WILL fail.

Let’s face it:

They’ve been writing Tashnagtsutiun’s obituary for 130 years.

It’s a modern Armenian literary form.

Find it in the fiction section.

These obituary writers, we’ve been to their funerals. They will NOT be at ours.

Others may falter, may fall - others may lack the courage and conviction to carry on, but we will always hold our flag high.

We are, today, a second army of the Armenian nation.

Now - by necessity - also the foreign ministry of the Armenian nation.

And so, as I close, let me share that, in these roles - and countless others - all our actions - in key capitals across six continents - align with the North Star of the Armenian Cause:

- The survival of Artsakh

- The security of Armenia

- The strength of our Diaspora

Today that translates into:

- Breaking Azerbaijan’s blockade

- Stopping military aid to Azerbaijan

- Sending humanitarian aid to Artsakh

- Holding Aliyev accountable

In this great struggle - the battle for the soul of our people - and the greater war for the survival of our nation, we will need each and every one of you.

Hooysus took ek Ungerner.