The so-called ‘trial’ of the political leadership of Artsakh continues. The official Baku and the entire Turkish world look at this much more broadly and deeply than we, the Armenian world, do. Just 35 years ago, the Armenian world got a historic chance to restore its own statehood. We had every chance to consolidate our success, as we were able to withstand a series of deadly tests.
In 1988, Armenians faced the devastating consequences of the earthquake in Spitak, which claimed the lives of an estimated 25,000-35,000 people, while more than 150,000 people acquired a disability, and more than 500,000 people were left homeless. For a tiny country and a small people, which lost 1.5 million people only 70 years ago during the Genocide of 1915-1923, these are not just great, but colossal losses. Before the earthquake, in the same year of 1988, the Turkish world represented by late Soviet Azerbaijan (with the support of the Turkish special services and the Gorbachev-Aliyev Politburo) resumed the policy of genocide, massacring and expelling Armenians from Sumgait, Baku, Maragha, Kirovabad (Gandzak).
The Turkish world got another chance to close the Armenian Question once and for all (the total extermination and expulsion of Armenians from their historical homeland). However, in the same year of 1988, the Armenian world was mobilising. This fact in itself has historical significance, because unlike the period of 1915-1923, we did not sit idly by and decided to fight. Human, material, and political mobilisation revolved not just around the idea of restoring an independent country (lost in 1920), but around the liberation of Artsakh – a strategic outpost of the entire Armenian world, control of which opened up the prospect of becoming one of the key regional players for Armenia, which had the power of a multi-million network around the world. We then decisively won the war, demonstrating our best qualities that would enable us to quickly transform the post-Soviet Armenian people into a self-sufficient Armenian nation.
The liberation of Artsakh temporarily halted the process of the second Armenian Genocide in the 20th century and gave us an opportunity to build a meaningful and strong statehood. For what? The main function of any state and the meaning of its existence is the physical, spiritual, cultural and social protection of its citizens and compatriots, as well as the provision of conditions for development. We took an important step – we became an independent country recognised by the international community. But we need to clearly understand that we got the right to have our own flag and the opportunity to determine our own fate solely thanks to the victory in the Artsakh Liberation War. This leads to the simple conclusion that Artsakh is not just a territory, but a key element of the Armenian national and state identity. The same as Jerusalem and the West Bank for Israel, Cork and Ulster for Ireland, and Trójmiasto for Poland. The form of control over such critical elements of identity can be completely different, but one thing must remain constant – the presence of one’s own population there.
And now, just 35 years later, taking advantage of the dilettantism, venality, cowardice, naivety and narcissism of the Armenian political leadership and the so-called ‘leaders’ in Spyurk (foreign communities), the Turkish world turned everything around by 180 degrees. Openly Turkophile collaborationists came to power in Armenia, Artsakh was surrendered to the enemy, the entire Armenian population (150,000 people) was expelled from Artsakh, monuments and graves of the heroes-freedom fighters of Artsakh were desecrated and destroyed, and the political leadership of Artsakh was captured. And the Turkish world has achieved all this in less than 4 years. Ankara and Baku are not going to stray from their path, and the above-mentioned ‘achievements’ are only the beginning for them.
But let us focus on the captured leaders of Artsakh. Let us start with why this is so important for Turkey and Azerbaijan. Firstly, it is the philosophical symbolism. The Turkish world openly demonstrates and projects its power. Secondly, Recep Erdogan and Ilham Aliyev are exerting powerful psychological and emotional pressure on the Armenian world, seeking to break its will to take any pragmatic and confident actions. Thirdly, it is the support of the collaborationist regime of Nikol Pashinyan. Among the captive leaders of Artsakh, the personality of Ruben Vardanyan stands out, to whom the Turkish commandant Pashinyan harbours personal enmity. Fourthly, Ankara and Baku are sending a clear signal to the international community about the extreme helplessness of the Armenian world, with whom there is no point in having serious business, much less protecting them.
Taking the above into consideration, the struggle for the liberation of Ruben Vardanyan and other leaders of Artsakh should become one of the most important goals of the Armenian world (that is, of the national aristocracy, which must be formed as soon as possible). And this is not so much a struggle against Turkey and Azerbaijan, but primarily against the collaborationist regime in Yerevan. Let us repeat once again an important thesis that we have repeatedly emphasised – in the eyes of the international community, the Republic of Armenia is the only entity that develops and implements political decisions regarding the citizens of the Republic of Armenia. The Turkish commandant Pashinyan and his young Janissaries have repeatedly said that there is no issue of Artsakh for them (and one can place a full stop here already), there are no expelled Armenians from Artsakh and there is no leadership of Artsakh. In this regard, all the appeals of Vardanyan’s family to the ephemeral international community, governmental and non-governmental organisations, famous personalities, Hollywood stars and the Christian world are, to put it mildly, firing blanks into the air. After all, the task is to free the Armenians from the Baku captivity, and not to evoke sympathy and regret.
However, from the moment they were surrendered (not arrested, but surrendered) to the present day, neither Armenia, nor Vardanyan’s family, nor the prisoners themselves have formed or articulated a clear position. Note that more than 500 days have passed since they were surrendered. Everything is clear and obvious with the official Yerevan that is temporarily occupied by collaborationists. As for Ruben Vardanyan’s family and others, they need to first make up their mind on two fundamental points. The first is their status. Who are the personalities forcibly detained in Baku? Separatists who were arrested and are now on trial (then there can be no claims against Aliyev), or they are forcibly detained political prisoners who are humiliatingly paraded on a show to achieve specific political goals? The second is the resistance strategy. Information carousels in which there is neither logic nor consistency are not a strategy, but a harmful and counterproductive activity that only strengthens the clear strategic line of Erdogan, Aliyev and the Turkish world. In order to move forward, one first needs to decide on these two points.
At the same time, it is absolutely important not to commit hasty actions and make statements that often contradict each other. It is extremely imprudent to focus on the Christian world in these senseless statements and absurdly claim that Ruben Vardanyan came to Artsakh to defend Christian Armenians. The Turkish world always strives to allege that Armenians are enemies of Muslims. They want to create an image of Armenians in the Islamic world as a kind of Christian fifth column in the region. In reality, Armenians have never had any problems with Islam. On the contrary, Islam and predominantly Muslim countries played an important role in preserving the Armenian identity after the Genocide of 1915-1923, organised by godless atheists Young Turks, who were enemies of everything Islamic and who drove out the last Ottoman Sultan. The current leadership of Azerbaijan, which has imprisoned hundreds of Muslim religious figures, has nothing to do with the Islamic world as well. A closer analysis and in-depth work on the strategy can reveal something completely different: the Islamic world (represented by Iran and Arab countries) is a natural ally of the Armenian world on many strategic issues, including the release of the captive leadership of Artsakh. Moreover, the same Ruben Vardanyan, together with his Muslim friends from different countries, restored Muslim shrines and monuments in Artsakh.
Ruben Vardanyan’s supporters also need to be extremely careful in their statements. Influential personalities like Noubar Afeyan and David Ignatius should focus on a meaningful strategy, rather than making pleas and requests to those who surrendered him and other Armenian prisoners and to those who are holding them. Requests and appeals do not work – only a meaningful and purposeful resistance fight does. Moreover, it is necessary to stop emphasising that Ruben Vardanyan is your close friend and ally. This is a manifestation of futile emotions, which are counterproductive in the matter of liberation of Armenian prisoners. Erdogan and Aliyev will not be swayed by your friendship, on the contrary, they will once again be able to say that even such influential and famous Armenians do not have any meaningful strategy – only emotions, requests and pleas. Either we act meaningfully, or we prepare for another tragedy.
