Recently, Jared Genser, Ruben Vardanyan’s international lawyer, released a statement addressing the ‘leadership’ of the Republic of Armenia and even thanked Ararat Mirzoyan, one of the collaborationist regime’s most loyal Young Janissaries, for – and we quote – ’speaking out for the freedom of my client and the other Armenian Christian political prisoners and POWs from Azerbaijan’. Let us consider each of his suggestions.
1. Public Statements and Public Diplomacy
Statements are an essential component of any serious awareness-raising and advocacy campaign. Yet, statements should be embedded in a strategic roadmap, grounded in a clear political stance. We have already called on the Vardanyan family to first develop a definite, thoughtful, and consistent stance that all who endeavour to fight for the release of Ruben Vardanyan and other Artsakh leaders from Baku captivity must adhere to. Any statements detached from a comprehensive and meaningful political standpoint are meaningless, counterproductive, and harmful, as they expose to the Turkish world, as represented by Turkey and Azerbaijan, as well as to the entire international community the feebleness, naivety, and total disorganisation of those who oppose the former.
2. Assistance to the families
From morality standpoint, supporting the families of Armenian captives is a matter of national honour and dignity. It is, however, not simply futile but even perilous to request this from a collaborationist regime. This provides its representatives with an extremely cheap payoff and further propaganda boosts opportunities. Pashinyan is a yellow journalist and a political crook who may suddenly decide to sponsor the families of the captives and portray himself as a magnanimous leader who ‘did not abandon the wives and children of our captives to the mercy of fate,’ by means of the subordinate media. He can easily turn this into tangible political yields, ousting unwanted topics – from the surrender of Artsakh and its leadership to the upcoming referendum on amending the Constitution (or adopting a new Constitution), the real goal of which is the revocation of Armenia’s Declaration of Independence – out of the agenda. It will be stated that Pashinyan cannot be opposed to the return of Ruben Vardanyan and other prisoners, as he has shown concern for their families. It is the moral duty of those waging the struggle for the release of the captives and the decolonisation of Armenia from the collaborationist regime (the former follows from the latter) to support the families of the Armenian prisoners.
By the way, rather than needlessly spending $6 million to build yet another church in Dilijan, a relief fund could have been set up to assist the families of captured Armenians.
3. Engage with Azerbaijan
This claim implies two fundamental things. The first is the legitimisation of the collaborationist regime and its authorisation to determine the fate of Armenia and Artsakh. The second is the recognition of the rightfulness of Azerbaijan’s position with regard to the Armenian captives.
The release of the unlawfully captured Armenians is not subject to any negotiations, and they must be released without any preconditions. Otherwise, this would legitimise all actions of the Azerbaijani side, to include the aggression against Artsakh, the capture of its leadership, and the expulsion of its 150,000-strong Armenian population.
However, this suggestion is pointless for a simpler reason. There cannot be any negotiations between Pashinyan and Aliyev (read Erdoğan), as the former is only capable of one job – accepting and implementing the demands of the latter. To put it mildly, it is quite bizarre to demand that the commandant of the colony, which recognised Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan and abandoned 150 thousand Artsakh Armenians to the mercy of fate, should negotiate with the metropolis on the liberation of its leadership (also de facto handed over to captivity).
4. Request Support of United States, France, and the European Union
Here is a brief primer on how international relations work. The only internationally recognised entity that has the authority to shape and implement political decisions that determine the fate of at least the citizens of Armenia (but de facto the entire Armenian world) is the Republic of Armenia. Since 2018 Armenia has been occupied by the Turkish collaborationist regime, which has systematically surrendered Artsakh, recognised it as part of Azerbaijan, supported (through virtual silence) the captivity of its leadership and the expulsion of the entire 150,000-strong Armenian population therefrom. Over the past 4 years, Azerbaijan has committed war of aggression against Artsakh, occupied the territories of Armenia proper, and carried out one of the most far-reaching ethnic cleansings of the past two centuries.
The international community failed to adopt even token sanctions against Baku, as the de-armenisation of Artsakh posed no issue even for official Yerevan. Americans, Russians, French, or the British cannot stand to be more Armenian than the Armenians themselves.
The indifference of the Armenian side, represented by the Pashinyan government, has legitimised and excused the inaction of the international community.
That’s what it is, no more no less. The captive Armenians are a component of the Artsakh issue, which in turn belongs to the larger Armenian Question. Now attention: for Pashinyan, there is no Artsakh issue nor Armenian Question, and he is openly declaring that he only cares about the ‘Real Armenia’. So, what kind of raising support from the US, France, and the European Union we can talk about?
5. Continue and Expand Legal Cases
Pashinyan intends to drop any lawsuits against Azerbaijan in the respective international courts. In this case, the logic is similar to the point about ‘engaging with Azerbaijan’. A colony has no capacity to sue the metropolis – the mere thought of doing so is preposterous.
6. Engage Global Religious Community
Please refer to this article.
7. Engage Multilaterally
See para. ‘Request Support of United States, France, and the European Union’.
8. Request the support of the United Nations
See para. ‘Request Support of United States, France, and the European Union’.
Later, Genser presented Pashinyan with yet another treat, declaring that Armenia is not taking as serious steps towards the release of Armenian prisoners as did the President of the United States – Donald Trump – for his fellow citizens detained in Iran. At that moment, Pashinyan’s sense of grandeur should have soared to enormous heights, as he was paired with the leader of the leading nuclear power. It is completely irrelevant in whichever context the reference was made, as the mere fact of the comparison plays into his hands. At the same time, Mr Genser gave the Turkish commandant an opportunity to justify his inaction by claiming that Armenia is a small country and does not have such opportunities as the US. If Genser continues in the same vein, Pashinyan will seriously consider replacing his unremarkable press secretary with a man who has managed to give him a whole string of excellent headlines just in 10 days.
At the same time, Ruben Vardanyan himself, in his recent phone-recorded address, for the very first time since he was detained in captivity, voiced a number of extremely important statements, which should form the basis for the development of a clear and consistent stance. Firstly, he stressed that the decision to move to Artsakh and his political activity there was completely conscious (‘I am not a victim’), and not a humanitarian mission, nor a mistake. Second, he stressed that the key to genuine and lasting peace in the region is the strong Armenian statehood, the formation of which is impossible without a national aristocracy (Ruben Vardanyan calls it an ‘elite’). Thirdly, he justly and accurately forewarns that presently the entire Armenian world, from small to great, is confronting grave challenges and threats (‘All Armenians are being tried … It is an illusion that you will all be left alone’).Ruben Vardanyan echoed the points that the Armenian Republic tirelessly emphasises and which lay at the heart of our conceptual documents – the Ideological Doctrine and Manifesto.
This message was aimed not only at the family and relatives, but at the entire global Armeniancy, and its gist is simple – it is the time to rethink our history, draw the necessary conclusions, and take quick, pragmatic, and cold-headed action (‘This is the only way to awaken you from the indifference in which you find yourselves’).We need to realise and accept that the path to saving the personal is through strengthening the general, we cannot afford the luxury of sacrificing ‘us and ours’ for ‘me and mine’. The Vardanyan family and his teammates have to make a choice – it’s either Jared Genser’s or Ruben Vardanyan’s own points. The combination, synthesis, or coexistence of these (approaches) is unattainable, as they contradict each other in essence.
