Madeleine M. R. Mezagopian

Today, while Armenia lives its 35th year of independence, key questions arise.

Today, is it a day of celebration or a day with great humility to contemplate whether independence with all its components has been well realized starting with the most crucial aspect of Armenia regaining its original identity and culture?

Did Armenia as an independent state regain its specific features whether involving a well-established army, historical borders well-guarded by its army and a people united by one sense of belonging?

Did Armenia regain its original identity and culture with all its components, its Christian faith as a nation, its proper Armenian language, its cuisine, its art, and its beauty at large?

How long it takes for decades of occupation by an ideology that melts the soul of human beings for the sake of the bigger society will melt down and the original ideology of individual beauty and value within its own beautiful homeland will remerge?

Today, Armenia thirty-five years free after seventy years of occupation is still striving to be eligible as an independent state. Its borders are still vulnerable given the regional developments. Its army is getting reinforced with the support of new strong allies. And Armenia’s people sense of belonging only to Motherland Armenia is evolving and will be further escalated with the state of Armenia practicing inclusion not exclusion of its elites in different fields.

Today, Armenia’s identity and culture face the challenge of reintroducing new mainstream educational curriculums enriched with Armenia’s original culture, with Armenia’s far and near history, with Armenia’s language with the original dialect and with its faith that secures the human security of each member of Armenia’s society.

This sacred target of Armenia regaining its original identity and culture will be secured and escalated only through preserving the bridges with the Armenians in the diaspora who preserved their original culture and identity, their sense of belonging to Motherland Armenia wherever they inhabit given the tolerant and the kind approaches of the ruling regimes towards its Armenian community starting with the Hashemites in Iraq and in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan as from the very early years of the 20th century.

Further, a key component of an independent state is a proper living environment, whether through proper infrastructure, proper work opportunities and foremost obligations and rights being equally guaranteed. In this respect, Armenia is evolving perhaps slowly however steadily.

Today, is Armenia independent?

Today, Armenia’s independence is evolving. A process which will be completed provided Armenia builds bridges with all global key actors supporting Armenia’s army, Armenia’s economy and foremost Armenia’s national borders. An independence which will require Armenia adopting neutrality within its region and worldwide and surely avoids getting trapped in any evolving blocs by previous occupiers.

Yes, Armenia’s independence will be complete with well-established strong army, well protected borders and well unified people within Motherland Armenia and with the Armenians in the diaspora.

Only then, we declare Armenia is independent.

And the day Armenia’s independence is complete; a new date of independence must be declared and celebrated.