BY GAREN YEGPARIAN
Before proceeding to the gripe session I had envisioned for this week, I want to acknowledge and address (very briefly) the thoughtful comments and queries posted to my previous piece about the ARF Western USA Regional Convention. Three main concerns appeared: ARF’s cooperation with the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), better coordination among the ARF’s family of organizations, and women’s level of participation in the party.
Regarding RPA cooperation, the concerns raised are far from new, but also not in the purview of this convention to address. As some readers might already know, the ARF’s system, being geographically based, empowers the local jurisdiction to have foremost say on issues. In the case of ARF/RPA relations, the first place those get discussed is at the equivalent Regional Convention in the Republic of Armenia. They are also on the agenda of the ARF World Congress which convenes roughly once every four years and sets the broad policy outlines for the party. One is scheduled for later this Autumn. When preparations commence for it, the Western US region will discuss the RPA relations in the context of giving guidance to the World Congress delegates it will elect. It would be helpful to hear from our community even more about what people’s views are.
Regarding better coordination among the ARF’s family of organizations, I would ask that the deficiencies perceived be described in greater detail and the desired outcomes described, too. Perhaps this could be done in the form of an article submitted to this publication.
As to women’s participation, yes, we are far behind. But, also consider how much of a negative impact the Genocide and fall of the first Republic, with its early adoption of universal suffrage, had on Armenian society. Coincidentally, I am just now reading Lerna Ekmekjioglu’s “Recovering Armenia”
