The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund must be a structure above doubts and speculations. President Armen Sarkissian chaired the session of the Board of Trustees of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund

The President of the Republic Armen Sarkissian, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, participated in the special 29th online session of the Board of Trustees of the Fund.

The session discussed issues related to the Fund’s management and activities.

Before starting the work, on the proposal of President Armen Sarkissian, the participants observed a minute of silence to commemorate the victims of the war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh on September 27, 2020.

Then the President of the Republic Armen Sarkissian, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Fund, made an opening speech:

“This session of the Fund’s Board of Trustees is extraordinary both in terms of its agenda and the conditions, in which it takes place: the aftermath of the war, the tense political situation in Armenia, the loss of human lives and territories, severely wounded Artsakh, coronavirus pandemic, profound social, economic and political crisis, and difficulties.

As a result of the war unleashed by Azerbaijan, a lot of our compatriots in Artsakh have suffered great human and material losses: they lost their homes, property, and what is more painful, some of them lost their families and relatives. The Fund is currently implementing a program to support them.

However today, I want to touch upon an important question, summed up in one word as trust.

I have already had the opportunity to say that, as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, I am deeply concerned that the sum donated by our compatriots and relatives to the Fund was transferred to the government, a fact that brought forth anxiety and discontent over the Fund’s activities, which was expressed orally and in writing, and even by individual members of the Fund’s Board of Trustees. This fact has also become a cause for speculations.

We will try to find concrete and practical answers to solve the problem so that the foundation can continue its activities and implement those important programs for which it was created. We must do our best to ensure that trust in the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund is crystal clear, and it is not endangered in any way.

As far back as my election as Chairman of the Fund's Board of Trustees, I expressed an opinion that the Fund needs serious changes. During the first session, I even offered to make suggestions on how to improve the Fund’s activities. Today's special session is an opportunity to discuss not only the issue of trust, and restoring it, but also to think or at least to start thinking about taking truly radical steps to transform the Fund as a structure, and make it a pan-Armenian phenomenon. Let us not only think but also act in that direction.

It is not just about the Charter, but about the strategy and tactics, the culture and way of thinking. On the other hand, I would like to repeat an idea expressed at the previous session of the Trustees. Any change in the activities of the Fund, from legal to moral and psychological, must have one clear message: the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund must be a structure above suspicions, assumptions, and speculations, and its goals and targets are Armenia, Artsakh, Diaspora, and the Armenians. I keep holding the view that we need a new vision, and an action plan, in tune with today and tomorrow, because today Armenia and Artsakh are different than months ago. Today, the world is different. Today, our compatriots who are our donators live in a new, changing world; therefore, we must also be a modern Fund. And, of course, the consequences of the pandemic and the war have confronted us with most serious challenges.

The Fund, as a pan-Armenian organization, has an obligation to be in the forefront of solving these problems. First of all, this list should include support to the families of our fallen compatriots and wounded soldiers, as well as resolving their health problems, also finding accommodation for our compatriots displaced from their homes in Artsakh.

Besides all this, we must initiate and implement development projects.

In this session, we will discuss issues that are vitally important and require urgent solutions. I wish productive work to all of us.

At the same time, I urge everyone to put aside all political, personal, and other interests and issues, to make well-considered decisions that will help restore trust in the Fund, and turn this structure into a locomotive that will move forward the rest of the Armenian charity organizations.”

Discussions on the issues of the agenda followed the opening speech of the President.