It seems as though the current authorities were successful in convincing the majority of our society that it’s not important to have an Armenian Artsakh, and even if we were to concede the rest of it to Azerbaijan (let’s agree that this is a very real threat), there is nothing terrible about that. That, supposedly, will have no impact on the security of our lives in Yerevan and Gyumri. Moreover, the fact that Armenia will lose its status as an independent state is not a problem according to that logic. Most likely, we will continue to have a flag, ministers, and ambassadors.
If the majority of society adopts that mentality, then it can only mean one thing: the plan according to which the Third Republic was created failed. Let’s forget for a minute who’s to blame for that, and let’s try to respond to another question: does another national plan exist? In other words, looking to the future, will it be possible to maintain the Armenian identity without having an Armenian state? I believe that we will be able to maintain our identity in the same way that Assyrians, for example, maintained theirs. We will maintain our identity as part of an ancient culture, almost like a display in a museum. It’s even possible for fast food places to open and operate for centuries in Glendale and Krasnodar named Shushi and Hadrut. If we agree with that, then everything is truly OK.
But if the current social trends continue, we will not be able to have greater ambitions, which seems to contradict with the vision we had in 1991. The point is that having a prosperous and safe life in Yerevan or Gyumri in the near future is an illusion. “Why don’t you think that the Turks will attack Syunik?” is what I have to ask people who have such illusions. “Russia won’t let them,” they respond. Yes, they won’t let the Turks attack in the coming months. But I doubt that’s true for the next 5 years. And no one can say anything after that.
The Russians “allowed” 60 Turkish soldiers as part of a supposed “monitoring center” to be deployed in Aghdam, only a few kilometers away from Armenian settlements, using “legitimate” foundations. That, of course, is a result of the “wise” policies of our current government. But that also is a sign of Russia’s weakness. Over the past few years, to the dismay of emperor-worshiping rhetoric, that country is losing its weight. If people are saying, “The Russians won’t let that happen” instead of “We won’t let that happen,” then they’re hanging onto loose threads. And, by the way, it’s not a fact that the same Russians and Turks will allow us to have flags, ministers, and ambassadors as “toys.”
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None of this, however, interests the majority of our society. Perhaps they understand deep down that the rhetorical scenario I described is the reality. But they most likely are thinking, “No problem, we’ll just go eat shish kebab in Krasnodar.”
Aram Abrahamyan
