“Does Avetik Ishkhanyan truly know that a chant from the 7th century has been inserted into Aram Khachatryan’s music, which not only my forefathers, but his as well, have prayed with and secured the state with? And in the end, our faith has helped us and guided us,” Vice Speaker of the National Assembly Alen Simonyan responded to former member of the “Karabakh 2” committee and activist Avetik Ishkhanyan.
During an interview with Aravot, Avetik Ishkhanyan had a question for Alen Simonyan regarding the latter’s desire to change the Armenian national anthem. “Does Alen Simonyan truly know that our forefathers won at Sardarapat through singing Our Fatherland and then created our independent Armenia?”
“I can tell Avetik Ishkhanyan that he was able to have his name in the headlines once again thanks to me,” Alen Simonyan said.
Regarding Aravot’s observation that several people believe Simonyan wants to change the national anthem because he needs self-affirmation and he wants to remain a part of history, he responded, “Why do I need self-affirmation? I have been in the public eye in Armenia for over ten years. I do not need any self-affirmation. I don’t need to remain a part of history, either, because I already have done so as someone who organized and participated in the Velvet Revolution.”
Nelly Grigoryan
