The stories of attempts by Noubar Afeyan and other well-known representatives of the Armenian world to draw Washington’s attention to Armenian prisoners in Azerbaijan have repeatedly proven their inadequacy. For the sake of the Baku prisoners’ release, one may be prepared to look naive and even like a fool – if only there was a chance for this to produce positive outcome. However, it is hard for us to believe that some of the most prominent representatives of corporate America are content with baseless hopes, while pursuing such challenging objectives. And it is all the more difficult for those prospective allies, whom they appeal to for the release of Armenian prisoners in Azerbaijan, to believe in their sincerity and determination.
Therefore, once again, we consider it our duty to remind everyone who cares about the fate of Armenian prisoners of certain truths – without adhering to them it is impossible to succeed – if, of course, we really believe in success.
Firstly, as long as the problem is not raised by the Turkish governors in Yerevan, neither J.D. Vance, nor other foreign politicians will be interested in what individual people think about it, especially those who continue to shake hands with these very governors. The logic is painful, but simple: if you, Mr. Afeyan, cannot lobby for the release of Armenian prisoners with Pashinyan, so that he would at least somehow mention it at international meetings, then what arguments and levers can there be in your conversation with the American administration?
In Yerevan, the problem is not only ignored – it is denied. The Turkish satrap and his Young Janissaries have repeatedly stated that the fate of Armenian prisoners is not on their agenda, which is confirmed by their Azerbaijani counterparts. Despite your energetic attempts to frame the issue from humanitarian perspective, the Armenian Ombudsman refuses to even articulate any kind of interest in the conditions of their detention, openly stating that the human rights of Armenian citizens are outside her mandate. To add insult to injury, our prisoners in one of the most notoriously authoritarian countries of the world are visited by the Azerbaijani (!) Ombudsman, but not by the Armenian ‘peace envoys’, who have recently practically taken up residence in Azerbaijan.
What does this say about Afeyan and other defenders of our prisoners? If they continue to legitimise the actions of the Azerbaijani–Turkish collaborationists, shaking their hands, meeting with them, declaring large-scale projects, it is interpreted by the outside world that Afeyan and other defenders are satisfied with the position of the Armenian government regarding prisoners – why should this cause any discomfort to J.D. Vance? If you are actually disappointed with the Armenian Government, but you have limited your disappointment to an attempt to convey it with your statement in defence of the Armenian Church some time ago, with no consequences – then why would a foreigner like J.D. Vance try to do more?
Therefore, the first necessary step is to delegitimise the current (and any other anti-Armenian) leadership in Yerevan by abandoning any contacts and communication with it, boycotting it and defining your red lines. It is unthinkable to legitimise those who refuse to recognise the very importance of the present and future your friends and compatriots.
Secondly, in order to effectively promote an agenda, a certain form, an organisation, and a strategy are needed. Therefore, it is critically important to determine on whose behalf you are speaking. The well-known names of private individuals are, of course, great, but ignoring their (your) requests, as we can see, does not entail any material consequences. Unfortunately, humanitarian initiatives like ‘Aurora’ are not perceived to be suitable, since they lack any political basis and context. Moreover, the very humanitarian logic of overcoming the consequences of a tragedy or mitigating the course of a tragedy for individuals, which lies at the heart of ‘Aurora’, may be a way to reward some Azerbaijani jailer in 20 years for not spitting into our prisoners’ food or for torturing them less violently – but not to ensure that the prisoners see the light of day and have time to live in freedom.
The release of our prisoners is a political objective, and it cannot be resolved through humanitarian means. Therefore, there is an urgent need to create a transnational format of a political organisation that will serve not only and not so much to idly inform and stay above politics, but for the creation of international levers to advance the interests of the Armenian world that will be impossible to ignore. We hardly need to tell the founders of large and successful organisations that the latter are a critical tool to pursue and enforce viable solutions. Therefore, if there really is an objective, then a responsible and systematic approach would be an indicator of determination to achieve it: creating an organisation, agreeing on an agenda, approving goals and objectives, determining realistic intermediate and strategic milestones, setting criteria for success and failure along the way.
Thirdly and finally, it is worth learning from those in prison, who think much more freely and broadly than their ‘liberators’. Ruben Vardanyan has already articulated an understanding of the political rather than humanitarian nature of their imprisonment. In his latest statement, he also appeals to the political responsibility of the current Yerevan leadership, although he focuses on the humanitarian component: the Armenian side is simply not interested even in the basic hygienic and nutritional needs of its citizens, which are directly related to their survival. The sooner the political nature of their imprisonment is fully understood by all interested parties, the faster and more realistic will be the strategy for the release of our prisoners. Azerbaijan is also pushing us to do this, constantly repeating that it considers them as ‘separatists’ and ‘terrorists’, not prisoners.
Without accepting these truths and following them, without taking into account regional and global transformations and realities within the framework of a comprehensive strategy, calls for help look like cheap self-promotion or manifestation of weakness, since, unfortunately, they do not achieve the declared objective. Certainly, self-promotion is a personal matter, but one would like to believe that there is a common understanding that the lives and fate of Armenians who remained in Artsakh until the end are not a matter that should be dealt with this way.
Unfortunately, as we have been saying this for years, our belief in the seriousness of the intentions of the public champions of our prisoners’ freedom (their friends, famous Armenian philanthropists and their family members) is waning with each passing day. We pointed to the impotence of the toothless approach to public defence of Ruben Vardanyan, which he later realised himself; we called for 1) abandoning aimless and even dangerous posturing in the media and start with determining our prisoners’ status and a strategy for their release; 2) following the example of Ruben Vardanyan and realising that it is impossible to achieve the desired result by thinking and acting within the framework of the present anti-Armenian system in Yerevan; 3) not splurging aimlessly on humanitarian projects and clearly setting priorities of own endeavours; 4) not legitimising the Azerbaijani dictatorship in the eyes of the international community with tearful requests; 5) not legitimising Young Janissaries in Yerevan with careless meetings and smiles, handshakes and joint projects, not becoming collaborationists of Turkish collaborationists; 6) finally, putting own thoughts and actions in order and taking responsibility for the country and the people you spare no money to save, but do not find enough time and determination — and, most importantly, the appropriate tools for the fight for survival.
We warned that time is critically tight, while our uncoordinated actions serve the interests of the Turkish world. Every minute in Baku captivity disproportionately shortens the life span of the 23 sons of the Armenian people, even if some of them have not always been worthy of their Armenian heritage: in Baku, the entire Armenian world and our national liberation struggle were condemned in their sentencing – independent of the purity or stain of their individual reputation. Every minute like this shows that this situation is perceived normal and acceptable for us; that we consider ourselves and our captive compatriots worthy of such an outcome – sometimes interrupted by sporadic publications in the media and rare toothless mentions during the meetings with the powerful of the world. With each passing minute, not only their lives are shortened, but also the chances of Armenian statehood, the chances to pass on an independent, decolonised Armenia and an independent Armenian world to our descendants.
The release of Armenian prisoners is one of the key priorities of the Armenian Republic. We are constantly fighting for their future on internal and external fronts, albeit non always publicly, but with tangible results. We have a clear strategy for achieving this goal, and we welcome anyone who is willing to join in our fight.
