“The problem lies in the honesty of the 88 movements. What is happening now in RA is a war between honesty and dishonesty. Russia has not forgotten that we wanted to have an independent state. Therefore, the struggle was still in tsarist Russia. In 1920 Armenian political elite committed treason for the first time.
Artsakh was sold for money, and Stalin only put the seal. The amount is also mentioned in the documents. At that time, there were people in Yerevan who had a mystical dream: let’s give Karabakh and return Nakhichevan. That’s how Shushi became a martyr in 1920,” said historian Ashot Harutyunyan, who was displaced from Artsakh due to the 2020 war, at a meeting with journalists at the “Noyan Tapan” news agency. He narrated episodes from the years of the Artsakh movement.
“The Turks were surrounding and asking questions. I explained that we want a union with Armenia which will benefit you too. After the arrival of Azerbaijani emissaries, the situation worsened. On September 18, 1988, the people of Shusi were expelled, and we came to Stepanakert. They took it out with the help of Soviet troops. Azerbaijanis used to come to Armenian districts allegedly holding a “rally,” The Russians said: “We cannot ensure your safety, so you better leave.”
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According to Ashot Harutyunyan, today, there is political illiteracy among the public, and people do not realize the price of Artsakh. “People in Yerevan think that a person from Artsakh is not Armenian. In 1988, there was that thinking. It is absurd. We explain to the youth that avoiding war is impossible and that there will be no peace like this. Now the task of eliminating the Armenian nation is set. Today I heard three young men on the street; I was ashamed. One said he wanted to escape the army with a crazy card. This is a disgrace.
In 1988, there was a clear idea to get rid of Azerbaijan, but today the RA leadership has opened an “internal front” and talks about corruption. They put Artsakh aside; they catch one or the other and let them go. People should be made to understand that there is only one front. It is necessary to unite so that a leader is born.” In his turn, Artur Sargsyan, displaced from Artsakh due to the war, mentioned that society had forgotten Hadrut and Shushi because, in 25-30 years, we forgot Igor Muradyan and Emil Abrahamyan. “We won in 1988 because we knew we could keep the country only by fighting. Today, most of the people are asleep.”
Luiza SUKIASYAN
