Is Garin Hovannisian’s Anti-Armenia Crusade Backed By Neo-Cons?

http://armenianlife.com/1226IsGarinHovannisianAntiArmeniaCrusadeBackedByNeoCons.html
By Appo Jabarian
Executive Publisher / Managing Editor
On September 21, the re-established independence of the Republic of Armenia entered its 20th year.

Armenia is saddled by a multitude of problems including monopoly of political and economic power by a tightly-knit group of people who represent a tiny segment of the Armenian society which controls the lion’s share of Armenia’s wealth.

Armenia also suffers from widespread corruption and nepotism most probably inherited from its Soviet past. These do not constitute a set of secrets for even the most unsuspecting Armenian both in Armenia and its Diaspora.

But Garin Hovannisian, the son of former Foreign Minister of Armenia Raffi K. Hovannisian is acting as if he has uncovered a political gold mine by fishing out several “rotten” social ills in his Sept. 21 International Herald Tribune article titled “Waiting for Armenia.”

Hovannisian-the-son has lashed out at the fledgling Armenian Republic like there is no tomorrow. He wrote: “Today the Yerevan government is linked to a group of powerful businessmen, the ‘oligarchs,’ who control the political game. One of them has the monopoly on gas, another the monopoly on sugar and flour, and all of them have nicknames, armies of bodyguards, and fleets of luxury cars escorting them ostentatiously through the city. The oligarchs are multimillionaires, the lot of them, though they have incurred great debts to the original power tycoons surrounding the Kremlin in Moscow, to whom they have been selling the country’s gold mines and electricity plants. And they are ready to sell much more than that.”

Much to the chagrin of hundreds of thousands of Armenians, the society in Armenia is exposed to a certain level abuse by certain circles in the leadership and the government bureaucracy of the country.

There’s nothing new about that.

What’s new is that Garin Hovannisian has stepped up his anti-Armenia crusade to a new level. One wonders if that crusade is backed by the neo-cons.

Armenia faces an under-exposed problem: an undeclared conditional propaganda war bankrolled by “big brother” corporations or their proxies operating unchecked under various world powers’ flags. But would Hovannisian dare write an expose’ on this situation? So far he has not!

Neo-cons, representing the international energy and financial “oligarchy,” pursue their agenda against minor states by covertly applying all sorts of illegal pressures on them. These major corporations, which by the way are NOT people, look for profits at all costs, even at the cost of erasing an independent state off the world map.

In one situation, the energy interests both in the East and the West vie for convenience in expediently moving energy – namely oil and gas – from Azerbaijan and the Caspian basin to European and other world markets.

In the case of Armenia, the heart of the Caucasus region, these same corporations – in a “spirit” of “nuisance settlement” in their dealings with capricious Azerbaijan are willing to character-assassinate Armenia in order to coerce her into unfair concessions to Azerbaijan regarding Artsakh (Karabagh).

And how do they “accomplish” that “business” objective? They commission a host of non-governmental organizations, hired pens, various corporate-controlled media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, International Herald Tribune, its parent company The New York Times, various TV programs on major national TV networks, and numerous web sites. When a target country -- in this case Armenia “misbehaves,” they unleash an avalanche of negative propaganda against it. But, when Armenia “behaves,” they shelve all anti-Armenia articles or news broadcasts prepared by hired guns.

Keeping in line with corporate interests’ arm-twisting policies vis-à-vis Armenia, Hovannisian “lamented”: “So you can see why today, in Yerevan, there is not much independence or democracy left to celebrate. By now my father, too, must see what his romanticism has long prevented him from seeing: Armenia is not free, not independent, not united. The Soviet soil has spit out the seeds of democracy.”

He concluded: “Of course we hope — we know — that the tree of liberty will grow from that soil one day. But not today, not until it is refreshed by the blood of patriots and tyrants — both of which, I’m afraid, Armenia has plenty of."

It’s high time that Armenia and its worldwide allies redirect a segment of their available resources to countering the anti-Armenia propagandists in the world media and corridors of power.

A.M.