Suddenly, the feeling of having a voice that carries with less hindrance than usual. “It takes a catastrophe for us to be heard, but we have been trying to make this voice heard from the beginning,” sighs Simon Abkarian. For several years, the actor, playwright and director has been one of the personalities of the Armenian diaspora who are mobilizing to raise awareness about the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. With, finally, a media echo. “Things are changing little by little because we are facing an undeniably dramatic situation,” notes Ara Toranian, director of the monthly News from Armenia. But when the blockade took place, nothing appeared. There were no spectacular photos other than empty stores.”
The images of endless lines of cars, the sum of a life piled up on their roof, winding up the mountain, will have helped the Armenian diaspora in France to alert the public. Since the capture of the self-proclaimed republic of Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijani forces on September 28, more than 100,000 Armenians have fled via the only route that allows them to exit this Armenian enclave. During a trip to Yerevan on October 3, Catherine Colonna, Minister of Foreign Affairs, announced that France agreed to deliver military equipment to Armenia “so that it can ensure its defense.” Tribunes, gatherings, fundraising, lobbying… In France, a small group of personalities, often of Armenian origin, are trying to organize themselves to warn of a new threat: that of an attack by Azerbaijan on the Armenian territory.
Long tradition
In France, the mobilization of the diaspora for the Armenian cause is not a surprise. It is first of all a historical tradition. In the 20th century, Armenians were forced into several waves of exile. First in 1915-1916, after the genocide. In 1920, then, the great families of the Armenian bourgeoisie fled the USSR to settle in Paris. In the 1990s, many left the country for economic reasons, but also because of a conflict taking place in Karabakh, already pitting the small enclave against Azerbaijan.
Upon their arrival in France, Armenian émigrés recreated the political parties, associations and churches that existed in the Ottoman Empire before their flight. In 1920, we found, for example, the Ramgavar party – more oriented towards the liberal bourgeoisie -, the Armenian revolutionary federation or several associations, such as the Blue Cross of the Armenians of France. “The Armenian diaspora is very structured in France. Links have been forged for a long time,” explains Boris Adjemian, historian and director of the Nubar library, a cultural institution of the Armenian diaspora. In the 1970s, this organization gave rise to many campaigns in favor of local elected officials, notably in towns in the Rhône valley, in Lyon or in Valence, who then got involved in the Armenian memorial fight. In 2001, with the law on the recognition of the Armenian genocide of 1915, the problem emerged at the national level.
Humanitarian convoys
Since 1994, the Coordination Council of Armenian Organizations in France (CCAF) has brought together some 200 associations and parties of the diaspora in France. “Our role is to support Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and to maintain relations with the public authorities in France. By bringing together most of the Armenian associative fabric, which gives us the legitimacy to speak on their behalf,” explains Franck Papazian, its co-president with Ara Toranian. Since 2014, the CCAF has hosted the political world at its annual dinner, an opportunity to express its point of view and its concerns. “Its two co-presidents – Franck Papazian and Ara Toranian – ensure a sort of representation of the Armenian community in France, even if there has been no election,” continues Boris Adjemian. “They do a bit of the work that carries out the Crif for the Jewish community”. It is for example under his banner that the French diaspora gathered on Sunday October 1 in Brussels for a large rally calling to stop the blockade imposed by Azerbaijan on Nagorno-Karabakh.
“There is among Armenians, as in many communities who perceive themselves as diasporas, an identity capture which means that people of the second, third, sometimes fourth generation maintain still powerful links with Armenia, explains Frédéric Encel . A fundamental, personal commitment arises from this.” Through newspapers (like News, France Armenia Or The Yerevan Courier) or radios (Radio Armenia or Radio A), the diaspora has been mobilizing for months for Nagorno-Karabakh. In addition to the columns published in general newspapers, personalities like Simon Abkarian, directors Robert Guédiguian and Vasken Toranian have, for example, recently launched calls for donations for Nagorno-Karabakh, with even a clip on the subject. “We are calling for an over-mobilization of the Armenian community,” explains Robert Guédiguian. “Azerbaijan is a country rich in oil. However, it is often said that Armenia’s only wealth is its diaspora.”
Centralization
In fact, the associations concentrated by the CCAF are not the only ones campaigning for the Armenian cause: more than a coordinated and centralized action, these calls for help are more linked to multiple individual initiatives. “There is immense solitude among Armenians,” notes historian Vincent Duclert, author of Armenia, a never-ending genocide (Editions des Belles Lettres). Even if a certain number of French people feel concerned by the subject, most of the mobilizations are very isolated and poorly coordinated. They must also face the significant financial resources deployed by Azerbaijan and its powerful diplomatic networks to discredit their struggle.
Faced with “caviar diplomacy”, a tool of influence deployed by Baku to win the friendship of numerous political leaders, particularly European – and sometimes French – the diaspora and its supporters are responding as best they can. For example, some use the legal route: a complaint was recently filed before the International Criminal Court by an association of Eastern Christians for “crime of genocide and crime against humanity”.
Others, like Simon Abkarian, the comedian Mathieu Madénian or the pianist André Manoukian use their notoriety to bring the subject to the media. “We are in great demand because of current events, but we know well that this moment will pass once the emotion has subsided,” said André Manoukian. In the meantime, the crisis remains and risks getting worse: after Nagorno-Karabakh, it “It’s Armenia that risks being targeted.” The Armenian diaspora therefore intends to organize itself. “We are not yet structured enough to meet the challenges,” he continues. “There is still real humanitarian and representation work to be done.” Personalities and associations from the diaspora are meeting this Thursday, October 5 to better structure themselves. Without, however, having any illusions: “Today, humanitarian needs are estimated at 800 million euros,” recalls André Manoukian. “We will not get there alone.”