“I am highly assured that Artsakh Movement did not originate in 1998, but the day when Karabakh was unfairly annexed to Azerbaijan, that is, in 1921. During all those 70 years the movement had manifold manifestations, it had both active and passive periods. However, the burning fire of the Movement never died. In 1988 that Movement simply had a pan-national character became a national liberation fight. And in this case, already all Armenians from Mother Armenia and the world stood up. This is the very feature by which this phase of Karabakh Movement stands out. It was an exceptional phenomenon, it was the national awakening similar to which I do not know whether we will have or not”, told the MP from the Parliament of the Republic of Artsakh, TV journalist, Vardges Baghryan, speaking about the origins of Artsakh Movement. He finds that the people stood as the core in all that, which killed the inner fear and awakened the spirit aspiring to freedom from “lethargy”.
“Petitions were being signed since 1987, there was a ground movement, and in 1988 that awakening reached its peak. Here the policy declared by M. Gorbachev had its role and making use of it, Artsakh Armenians voiced the issues they were concerned with since already long ago. However, both Moscow and Baku did not accept people’s will and made thousands of provocations to distort the demand and take it through nationalistic path”, noted the MP.
Until February 20 of 1988, large-scale referendums were being organized and today there is a disagreement on which region started a rally first and where the Movement originated from: “I think it is not important: here there is no issue of a laurel wreath. All the people had stood up. It is also a fact that despite in Stepanakert the rally took place a day later, it was conditioned by the active’s session taken place on February 12, where representatives from Baku had arrived. I think all regions should accept that it was led from the center – Stepanakert.”
Vardges Baghryan, who was engaged in TV journalism back then, mentions that they worked in very difficult conditions. “We had transportation issues. For shots we took random cars, an issue of the videotape was in place and most of the time we reused the videotapes on which we had already shot, many other issues were present. However, except for all of this, since the first days, a commandant was appointed in the television to control our work. Now I remember only one of the commandants with Ishuk surname, who, understanding us, contributed to our video shots. And in case of others, to receive a permission of going for taping, Mulberry vodka came to help”, reminisced Mr. Baghryan.
As stated by Vardges Baghryan, when the Soviet Army was withdrawn from Karabakh in February, 1992, (the inner forces had been withdrawn in November-December, 1991) and the war, as it is, started precisely at that time: “We did not believe that the foreigners should help us anymore, we did not have an alternative, inasmuch as the USSR was arming Azerbaijan before us. And when the Soviet Army was withdrawn from Karabakh, we understood a simple truth: we are alone with our adversary.”
Davit ABAGHYAN
