 armenian elections taking stock and looking forwardhow analytical methods help expose election fraud friday february 8 2013 all day canada a roster of prominent local and armenian speakers at the maiden public gathering of the nascent armenian renaissance of toronto art movement on feb 8 called for a one nation unified effort by the diaspora and armenia to help bring about a democratic strong and prosperous armenia the nascent art is a founding member of the new diaspora movement whose aim is the peaceful promotion of good governance in armeniathe speakers aram adamyan dr berge minassian viken attarian and dr zareh ouzounian from canada dr david grigorian and dr zaven kalaydjian from the washingtonbased policy forum armenia think tank as well as activists yeghia nersesian and alec yenikomshian of armenia agreed that the diaspora can help bring about positive and fundamental change in armenian governanceadamyan who also acted as mc said that the separation which had existed between soviet armenia and the diaspora continued following armenia s independence despite hopes that the armenian nation would finally become one he said the diaspora has extensive and multifarious resources which armenia desperately needs it s time for armenians in the diaspora to connect through peopletopeople links with their brothers and sisters in the armenian homelanddr zareh ouzounian one of the key figures in the establishment of armenian renaissance in canada said the very destiny of our nation is directly dependent on the survival of our motherland not the mere survival of the armenian state but its growth and development into a just prosperous and powerful state he called for equal rights in armenia for truly democratic elections improved governance and a responsible approach to environmental issuesthe words change and hope have reappeared in the lexicon of the armenian street and dozens of civic and reform movements have already emerged and are starting to raise their voices said dr ouzounian their sympathizers already number in tens of thousands they are taking full advantage of modern technology and social media to raise their concerns he addedthese reform movements have created a new structure in the form of an allinclusive preparliament nakhakhorhrdaran whose first objective is to develop and to articulate the platform of policies to govern the new future armenia he saidwhile pointing out that meaningful change can only come from within armenia a strong committed and engaged diaspora support would go a long way in providing a supportive network specific expertise and advice said dr ouzounian and added that the new energized engaged diaspora is the armenian renaissance associate groups similar to art are now sprouting in los angeles paris berlin and beiruthe admitted that the armenian renaissance of toronto and ar movements around the globe do not have precise medium or longterm road maps of actions they would take but that they are working to develop strategies consistent with their mission whether it is by organizing informative lectures and debates whether by signing petitions or organizing protests whether it is by participating with our individual expertise and skills renaissance will be an action network and not a discussion forum stressed dr ouzounian wherever we live the new future armenia is our collective responsibility if we truly believe we are one nation we in the diaspora have the right and the duty to support the grassroots civil society movements that will shape the new future armenia he saidviken attarian a prominent intellectual and community leader in montreal pointed out to the audience that the challenge in armenia as elsewhere is how to maintain democratic rule once established democracy requires constant care and attention otherwise it could vanish social activism civic movements the free exchange of ideas are signals of a healthy democracy the hundreds of thousands of armenian citizens who are committed to these ideals are the guarantors of the flourishing democracy in armenia he said attarian cited the work of scholar and author daron acemyan an armenian citizen of turkey as a key in understanding why certain contemporary states succeed while others failbecause for centuries many armenians have lived outside armenia a significant percentage of diaspora armenians don t consider armenia their homeland we should feel that we are a successful movement when most diasporans regard armenia as their homeland he saidhe also defined the sharp difference between the concept of citizenship and nationality because for centuries many armenians have lived outside armenia most diasporans consider themselves citizens rather than members of the national group of the countries they resideattarian drew the audience s attention to a prominent and worrisome difference between the canadian charter of rights and freedoms and the armenian constitution he said that there were so many exceptions or notwithstanding clauses in the armenian constitution that a future law could easily nullify the freedoms and rights guaranteed by the constitution he called for inviolable rights and freedoms to be imbedded in the armenian constitutiondr berge minassian a founding member of armenian renaissance said that a state governed democratically and with the rule of law is essential to the survival of armenia and therefore to the armenian nation we believe such a state will come about through the efforts of armenians living in our homeland the armenian renaissance movement is a reaction to the realization that diaspora armenians can buttress support and sustain the civil society movements for peaceful change taking place in armenia dr minassian said that positive change is necessary and urgent the diaspora can t abdicate its responsibility to help those working in armenia to effectuate democratic change dr david grigorian and dr zaven kalaydjian who were scheduled to address the gathering could not attend in person due to a severe snowstorm speaking via skype they presented an informative forensic analysis of the 2012 parliamentary elections in armenia and cited the various research activities conferences and reports that the pfa undertakes dr grigorian said the pfa is comprised of more than 60 professionals across the globe who volunteer their expertise and time to analyze armeniarelated developments and offer alternative views on those through youtube environmental activist yeghia nersesian and sardarapat spokesman alec yenikomshian described their activities in armenianersesian invited diaspora armenians to join armenians in the homeland to realize a renaissance of the armenian nation echoing the other speakers yenikomshian also emphasized the key role of the diaspora in rebuilding a progressive and democratic political system in armeniaflyers including the vision and mission statement of art as well as links to democratic civic environmental group websites were distributed to the audience which had braved one of the worst storms in the city s recent historyfor other inquiries please check the armenian renaissance website  wwwarmenianrenaissanceorg   