KEEP  HOPE ALIVE…

 

By Armine  Koundakjian

 

This is a “mantra”  that  Jesse Jackson, the well-known civil rights activist and former Shadow US Senator, LGBTQ rights activist, politician and ordained Baptist minister, died last week. He used the “mantra”very effectively in order to energize the black Americans in their struggle for voting rights. Jesse Jackson was the Protégé of Martin Luther King. For 40 years he was on the frontline of the fight against discrimination, segregation and cruel Jim Crow policy.

He ran for presidency in 1984 and lost but surprised the country by gaining 7 million plus votes. That risky audacious act paved the way years later for the success of Barack Obama. I remember in 1984, when he was running for presidency, as a League Of Women member I met him. The League carried on a good campaign for him. He was a very humble, friendly person who gave several excellent inspiring speeches that could easily apply to the situation facing the US today.  ​​

His message was “ Never surrender, never give up or despair, keep hope alive…. I wish our Armenian counterparts in our homeland will adopt this way of thinking . Instead of arguing amongst themselves about the former and present candidates for the prime minister’s position, they must put aside division and form coalitions. Despair is not an option…. The enemy wants us to give up, to surrender and stop struggling for a different leadership.

The disgraced capitulant Pashinyan is fanning the flames of despair and mistrust among the electorate for the benefit of his masters, Erdoghan and Aliev. The Speaker of the National Assembly Allen Simonyan announced a few days ago by saying, “don’t worry about the state of affairs of our country. Go on enjoy your daily life. The peace deal is in the horizon.…”  While he was giving this message, in the Syunic region, 12 Azeris entered a village and harassed the villagers by saying, “get ready to leave your homes. We are coming. We will chase you out or  better yet we will slaughter you.…” Are these defenseless villagers left to their own devices? Do the well equipped body guards of the PM or the rest of Civil Contract members know what is going on in the country? Where is the Internal Security Brigade? Do they plan on helping these villagers by arming them for self defense? Or are they busy with self delusions or with brainwashing people to believe in whatever misinformation is being fed the electorate ahead of June election?

Luckily  the Mother Church under the leadership of The Catholicos Garegin Second is standing firm and resisting the intrigues of the PM’s illegal actions. The Armenian Apostolic Church has been the only solid institution that has kept our national identity and unity alive for 1700 years. The Catholicos of all Armenians enjoys the love and admiration of the nation to the dismay of PM Pashinyan’s disastrous regime whose failed policies has brought condemnation and disgust of all Armenians within the country and the Diaspora. Keep hope alive because being a Christian means exactly that. Love, hope and redemption….