Open a Mission in Armenia, Urges Outgoing Ambassador
Embassy, February 1st, 2006
By Brian Adeba brian@embassymag.ca
After five years as Armenia's Ambassador to Canada, Ara Papian is returning to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Yereva. Mr. Papian, Armenia's third ambassador in Ottawa, is a career diplomat who joined his country's diplomatic service after it became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. Before joining the Foreign Service, Mr. Papian was a professor of Middle Eastern and oriental studies at a university in Cyprus.
He headed a number of departments in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before being sent to Tehran to open Armenia's first embassy in the world in 1992. "I hope one day I will participate in the opening of the first Canadian embassy in Armenia," he says, jokingly. Canada has no mission in Armenia, but it has an honoury consul in Yereva, Armenia's capital.
As he prepares to leave Canada. Mr. Papian says he wishes that he witnessed the establishment of a Canadian diplomatic mission in Armenia during his time here. Currently, he says economic relations between the two countries are not strong. He attributes this to the large geographical distance between the two countries. However, Mr. Papian says he is thankful to the Canadian people and government for recognizing the Armenia genocide. "Canada showed it has respect for human rights," he says. In 2004, the Canadian parliament voted to recognize that the Turkish government's actions in Armenia in 1915, constituted genocide.
Since Armenia became independent, relations with Turkey have remained strained because of the genocide issue and a quarrel over the disputed territory of Nogorno-Karabakh. Mr. Papian says that Turkey's refusal to acknowledge the genocide in Armenia is a stumbling block to establishing ties between both countries, but argues that Turkey has to live up to its past. "We can't ignore the past, it is part of our identity and we have to address this in order to move forward," says Mr. Papian, adding that Armenia is willing to establish relations with Turkey so long as it keeps off the dispute in Nogorno-Karabakh.
"Our official position is and was, we are ready to establish diplomatic relations without preconditions [from Turkey]" he says.
He mentions two achievements that took place while he was ambassador in Ottawa which he says he will remember with pride. The first, is the establishment of a project to encourage technologists who are Canadians of Armenian descent to invest their expertise in Armenia. This was a joined project financed by the World Bank.
"This was so successful that the World Bank opened the same venture in Vienna," he says. The other achievement is the recruitment of 65 diamond cutting specialists from Armenia to work in Yellowknife, North West Territories. Mr. Papian says this was a venture financed by Belgium, Armenia and Canada.
One aspect of Canada Mr. Papian says he will remember is the culture of democracy. "You can see democracy in action and it changes your mentality," he says, adding that democracy is the reason Canada is successful. "The Soviet Union was the richest country on earth [in terms of resources] but because there was no democracy its people remained poor."
Mr. Papian says he encourages the Canadian government to establish formal ties with Armenia because it will help project Canadian values and democracy, not only in Armenia, but also in the Caucasus.
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
By Brian Adeba brian@embassymag.ca
After five years as Armenia's Ambassador to Canada, Ara Papian is returning to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Yereva. Mr. Papian, Armenia's third ambassador in Ottawa, is a career diplomat who joined his country's diplomatic service after it became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. Before joining the Foreign Service, Mr. Papian was a professor of Middle Eastern and oriental studies at a university in Cyprus.
He headed a number of departments in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before being sent to Tehran to open Armenia's first embassy in the world in 1992. "I hope one day I will participate in the opening of the first Canadian embassy in Armenia," he says, jokingly. Canada has no mission in Armenia, but it has an honoury consul in Yereva, Armenia's capital.
As he prepares to leave Canada. Mr. Papian says he wishes that he witnessed the establishment of a Canadian diplomatic mission in Armenia during his time here. Currently, he says economic relations between the two countries are not strong. He attributes this to the large geographical distance between the two countries. However, Mr. Papian says he is thankful to the Canadian people and government for recognizing the Armenia genocide. "Canada showed it has respect for human rights," he says. In 2004, the Canadian parliament voted to recognize that the Turkish government's actions in Armenia in 1915, constituted genocide.
Since Armenia became independent, relations with Turkey have remained strained because of the genocide issue and a quarrel over the disputed territory of Nogorno-Karabakh. Mr. Papian says that Turkey's refusal to acknowledge the genocide in Armenia is a stumbling block to establishing ties between both countries, but argues that Turkey has to live up to its past. "We can't ignore the past, it is part of our identity and we have to address this in order to move forward," says Mr. Papian, adding that Armenia is willing to establish relations with Turkey so long as it keeps off the dispute in Nogorno-Karabakh.
"Our official position is and was, we are ready to establish diplomatic relations without preconditions [from Turkey]" he says.
He mentions two achievements that took place while he was ambassador in Ottawa which he says he will remember with pride. The first, is the establishment of a project to encourage technologists who are Canadians of Armenian descent to invest their expertise in Armenia. This was a joined project financed by the World Bank.
"This was so successful that the World Bank opened the same venture in Vienna," he says. The other achievement is the recruitment of 65 diamond cutting specialists from Armenia to work in Yellowknife, North West Territories. Mr. Papian says this was a venture financed by Belgium, Armenia and Canada.
One aspect of Canada Mr. Papian says he will remember is the culture of democracy. "You can see democracy in action and it changes your mentality," he says, adding that democracy is the reason Canada is successful. "The Soviet Union was the richest country on earth [in terms of resources] but because there was no democracy its people remained poor."
Mr. Papian says he encourages the Canadian government to establish formal ties with Armenia because it will help project Canadian values and democracy, not only in Armenia, but also in the Caucasus.
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
posted by Vahe Balabanian at 9:38 AM
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