“When we talk about self-determination, I give lectures, and every day someone says something, writes: stop misleading these people, we don’t have a problem of self-determination, our issues are solved. One will say: we have the verdict of the beginning of the century; everything is decided there, and it has no deadline; the other will say: when you talk about self-determination, you divide the nation.
There are such ideas,” said political scientist Manvel Sargsyan during a discussion at the invitation of the Batsum civil initiative in front of the UN Armenian office. According to him, when the UN was established, it recognized the principle of self-determination of peoples. “Can you imagine what a powerful thing the UN recognized in this world, where there seems to be nothing but narrow interests?”
But all states have agreed that it is a powerful principle and everyone should respect it.” We have disagreements on this issue because Sargsyan said there is no general agreement: “In Armenia, 90% speak from Turks, 10% from Armenians.”
The whole nation talks about Turks; it talks about others. We talk very little about Armenian power. Even if one person speaks, ten people give him the name of Nzhdeh, one of the governments of the first republic, the other of the Karabakh movement; fifty people will say: don’t talk nonsense, the KGB does everything. It’s KGB-centric thinking.”
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Manvel Sargsyan did a historical review and drew parallels with today’s situation. He said that in the first republic, when there were disputes about creating a state when the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire collapsed, something had to be done: “Nobody thought about the state. They were thinking about who we should take the state from, who will give us a state. In 1918, they received an ultimatum from the collapsing Ottoman Empire that the Turks would sign the house and give them a square meter, but the Turks would sign. What the prime minister says today: we don’t have a cadastre paper; he wants the cadastre paper from the Turks; he says: 29,800 square meters is enough, but sign it. The same thinking is to get from others what is enough for you.
There are always these disputes; even today, the Prime Minister says: Are you giving Armenia to the people of Karabakh? Let’s hand over a piece so that we can live. One says: what you say is our country, the other says: what a country, a piece of land is. Where do these rumors come from because there is no agreement about right and wrong? When we talk about self-determination, we have to agree.”
According to Manvel Sargsyan, self-determination is a choice in an uncertain situation, which both the person and the public can make, and it is the most important thing for the public. “Self-determination becomes a system of responsible people, responsible to the extent that you don’t decide. After agreeing, the others don’t ask you either. The nation is eating each other over the issue of Artsakh because there is no agreement and responsibility.”
He gave the example of Singapore, how it self-determined and became a powerful state; he mentioned that you must have a strategy. If you have a strategy, everyone comes to talk to you; they come. “No one likes self-determination. A few years ago, Catalonia wanted to self-determine, they held a referendum and did everything, but nothing came of it because they didn’t understand the meaning, and the Kurds did the same.
When you are self-determined, the world starts beating you; you must endure that beating. If you persevere, very soon the world will be divided, a part will understand that it is beneficial to do business with them and that half will keep you,” said Sargsyan.
Nelly BABAYAN
