Following is an interview with writer Spartak Gharabaghtsyan regarding the diaspora and its relations with Armenia. He has written extensively on the subject; focusing on the issue of repatriation and what diaspora Armenians face upon relocating to Armenia.

The interview took place in Beirut where the writer was visiting as a consultant for Haroutyun Khachatryan's "Endless Return" film being shot there.

You are well informed about the issues of immigration and emigration. Do you believe that repatriation is taking place today in Armenia and if so what are the differences between now and 1946?

It's no secret that the entry of diaspora Armenians into Armenia has increased since independence. Many simply decide to get up and relocate. If we can call this return of a portion of the diaspora to Armenia as repatriation then we can also state that there are differences between now and 1946 and there aren't.

There was a different shade to the immigration of 1946. And there was even an objective behind the return. It was a political objective and many who returned became its victims. It wasn't by chance that many were exiled to Siberia without even setting foot in Armenia.

But the propaganda campaign back in 1946 was more convincing. A whole system was behind the campaign with its own emissaries. The first wave of repatriation happened after WWII and today, interestingly enough, it's happening after another war. But we still have unresolved problems like Karabakh.

Despite this, we have a winner's psychology. Many Armenians from the diaspora have a desire to live in a victorious and independent Armenia. But the government is also calling them home but it is using the wrong slogans. There's also a difference in the mentality between now and then; a generational divide. There was no independent government back in 1946.

Those who returned in 1946 weren't well received by local Armenians. Does the same hold true today?

Diaspora Armenians have been well received in the neighbourhood I grew up in. The local residents there felt safer, both materially and mentally, after these Armenians moved in. The locals felt encouraged to see outsiders coming to live alongside them. It was a moral boost in a way.

But later on, business and commercial relations impacted everything and the concept of repatriation got muddles as a result. We must be sincere and accept this. There was a fear that these outsiders were coming to push the locals out of the way. These are issues that can be ironed out.

You oppose the slogans used by the Ministry of the Diaspora. Have you or your friends made alternate proposals to the Ministry?

It is not that I oppose the slogans being used by the Ministry but that, in general, I am against repatriation through the use of any sloganeering. We have lived for seventy years in a country with the most humane of slogans. Luckily or not, one of the vociferous representatives of those slogans is now the Diaspora Minister.

Understanding the negative impact of those slogans in the past, the Minister should liberate herself from carrying on in the same vein. It's not that we have to convince Armenians to return but that individual Armenians must decide for themselves and return. This film of ours, "Endless Flight, Endless Return" serves as both a slogan and a title. It's our destiny in a way. In the end, however much you flee from your roots you can't escape the blood flowing inside you.

You frequently spend time in Syria and Lebanon. It's like they've become a second home of sorts.

I also append time in America quite a bit and they say the path has become second nature to me. The saying is as familiar as "the flow of water". I'd say going to the diaspora frequently is a like a call of blood for me.

What is Beirut for you?

I am here now talking to you but I feel the need to get up and return home. I feel quite comfortable here in Beirut and in Aleppo; never like a stranger. It's amazing. I have no blood relations but I feel at home nevertheless.

Where does this come from?

Perhaps from the neighbourhood I was born and grew up in back in Yerevan and the fact that there were many from the diaspora. It's simply called "3rd Section". 80-90% of the residents were from the diaspora and we bonded not through slogans but by living together.

I still have ties with those people. My best friend as a child was from a family that returned in 1947. Now he's a renowned doctor living in New York. We get together once a year without fail.

Please tell us something about your latest book.

It's called the "Tea Seller" and it's about diaspora Armenians. In a way it's a return to my childhood. I haven't made up a thing. It's the story of real people; their customs, way of talking. Even the names haven't been changed.

I now realize what we gained when these Armenians returned and how much we lost when they left. Realizing the losses, I don't wish to see the repatriation process politicized. I simply want people to return home, to their country, because after coming home here there awaits another road to travel to the other side; we have another homeland that awaits.

If you write another book, who will the main character be?

I'm working on a new book now called the "Residence of the Sun". Just imagine, those same repatriates are the main characters because the more I return to my childhood it are these layers that I encounter.

My last short story is about an Armenian from Aleppo that relocates to Armenia in the 1990s. The man is now in his seventies but he wept when reading the book.

You also lecture on the history of the press, including the press in the diaspora. Is it your feeling that the diaspora press is read in Armenia?

Let me start by saying there's a general problem with reading in general; whether the press from the diaspora or elsewhere.

I'll tell you that my students in Armenia are amazed to learn that there was a press in the diaspora 200 years ago and that it's still going. They had no idea of the history involved. The diaspora press must be better represented in Armenia. Even if there only a handful of readers it will be a great help. In our day, news reports from the diaspora were passed on from person to person.

Are you aware of the proposal to create a bicameral parliament in Armenia? Here in the diaspora, feelings are mixed. What has been the reaction in Armenia?

The reaction has been mixed in Armenia too. Some see the positive, others the possible negative fallout and others prefer to see nothing. By the way, talk of creating such a structure isn't new in Armenia. There were similar discussions immediately after independence.

We made such a suggestion when the first parliament was being formed as a way to include the participation of the diaspora. Some charged us with being nationalist extremists.

It's a matter of time but we must find an appropriate manner to include the diaspora.

One issue that prevents the unity of the dispora is the localized mentality that still dominates. You have all these hyphenated Armenians – Lebanese-Armenia, Syrian-Armenians, and American-Armenians. Sometimes these divisions lead to conflicts.

Fine, but the same is true in tiny Armenia. You have Gyumri-Armenians, Yerevan-Armenians and the Karabaghtsi Armenians. But it shouldn't get out of control.

You wouldn't call these recent Armenians who have relocated to America as diaspora Armenians. They have little in common with the "traditional" diaspora. The diaspora is one's fate. The issues facing the traditional diaspora are clear – Genocide, Armenian Cause and staying Armenian.

The recent arrivals are pursuing other interests and I don't really know if you can label them as diasporic Armenians.

Like it or not, there will always be Armenians living outside Armenia. This is also a plus for our nation, especially when it comes to foreign affairs. The diaspora is also a force that must remain healthy. Turkey is also seeking to sweet talk the diaspora into some type of understanding. Yes, we must have a strong country and government, but like any effective army, we must also have our scouts on the ready.

I am happy to hear that you appreciate the role of the diaspora in national affairs. I know intellectuals in Armenia who sort of look down on the diaspora.

Excuse me, but what intellectuals in Armenia are you referring to? Back in the 1990s there were those in Armenia who knew how to sing, dance and paint a bit and they decided to sing, dance in the diaspora and sell their canvases there, just to make some money.

If you are talking about these intellectuals then excuse me but they do not appreciate what is being created in the diaspora or its culture.

Look at TV in Armenia today. There are programs full of amateur songs and cultural manifestations. Armenia is also drowning in a sea of amateurism.

Just look at the best know Armenian rock group, System of a Down. It's from the diaspora. There is nothing like it in Armenia.

There is also another layer of intellectuals in Armenia that doesn't benefit from the diaspora and neither does it want to. This layer silently realizes that the diaspora is one portion of its life and destiny and accepts it as such.

It is this layer in Armenia that the diaspora must unearth and work with.

Interview conducted by Anoush Trvants