To the anniversary of the de-armenisation of Artsakh and the loss of conscience

On September 19, the Armenian Government held a regular meeting chaired by the Prime Minister. In accordance with the protocol of the session, it opened with the approval of the agenda, then the cabinet members voted to cover previously unplanned issues. Ministers then moved on to the scheduled reports, ranging from the allocation of the state budget funds for the ‘Engineering City’ programme to the refinement of procedures for asphalting the roads and fire safety control.

At first sight it appears to be an ordinary regular meeting of the Government. Its commonness would not have been so striking, though, if September 19 had not been marred by the first anniversary of Azerbaijan’s large-scale military attack on Artsakh and the beginning of the process of Artsakh’s complete de-armenisation. Remarkably, the Prime Minister did not mention it once during the Government session, not even suggested to honour with a minute’s silence the memory of the martyrs who fought helplessly but resolutely for a long day and fell in the Armenian Artsakh besieged by Azerbaijan and abandoned by Armenia adrift. On September 20, Artsakh had already fallen. Such a silence is a hallmark of a criminal who, having completed his black deed, carries on living with a kind of emotional detachment – without remorse, without a sense of responsibility for the consequences of his own disastrous actions.

The Government meeting was not the sole place where it was preferred to forget about the commemoration of the anniversary of the forced deportation of the Artsakh Armenians. Not a single flag was lowered on the territory of the whole republic, not a single official commemorative event was held, not a single special broadcast was aired, nothing that would have reminded of the sorrowful meaning of that day. Everything went ‘business as usual’ as if there had been no 44-day large-scale war in 2020, no blockade and subsequent siege of Artsakh, no terrorist attacks against the civilian population of Artsakh and no ethnic cleansing, as a consequence of which Artsakh became devoid of the Armenian population, the first time in history. Only the voice of grief of Artsakh women and mothers from Yerablur memorial hovered in the sky above Yerevan, yet powerless to break through the government walls of indifference. Only representatives of Artsakh and none from the Armenian authorities proper stood among those who paid tribute in Yerablur. This is entirely logical: in the vision of the Armenian authorities, Artsakh and everything related therewith is not their concern.

Only the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs made a piecemeal statement, cautiously picking the language so as not to enrage in any way the Baku master who is even refusing to sign the peace agreement tailored to his own tastes. Not a single mention of the collective and individual rights of Artsakh Armenians, including the right of return, and the protection of Artsakh’s Armenian heritage. It is natural given that the Armenian Foreign Ministry also failed to condemn the Azerbaijani attack on besieged Artsakh, only recalling that the deportation of the Armenian population was the last phase of the Azerbaijani policy of ethnic cleansing.

Let us reiterate that Azerbaijan carried out this ethnic cleansing overtly and systematically, in plain view of the Armenian authorities. However, just as they silently watched the de-armenisation of Artsakh a year ago, today they have opted for the same insensitivity in ignoring the anniversary of the de-armenisation.

As for Baku, today there is an anniversary: September 20 has been declared the day of the state sovereignty.