Whatever is happening today in the ethno-cultural, ideological, and spiritual spheres of Armenia can be seen as a deliberate process of programmed destruction of the national identity of Armenians. We don’t need to look far to confirm this. Simply paying close attention to the agenda of the Republic of Armenia government, the rhetoric of the prime minister, his wife, and his team, as well as the signals occasionally transmitted from the West, provides indisputable evidence supporting the claims made above.
This phenomenon is not new. It originated in 2018, or perhaps even earlier, when the “young Armenians” appointed to key positions in the current government or elected as members of the National Assembly underwent training courses in Istanbul. In cooperation with local experts, they revised Armenian history, art, and culture, and memorized the Turkish “narrative” about the Great Genocide of 1915 and the national dispossession of the Western Armenians.
Against this backdrop, the visit of John Bolton, the 26th United States National Security Advisor, to Armenia in October 2018 is noteworthy. In an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, he remarked, “I think that it’s better for the people here to have more opportunities internationally and not to be constrained by historical patterns. So from the U.S. perspective, the more democracy there is, the greater the chance for contact with the United States and other countries that share those same values.”
It’s not difficult to grasp what the high-ranking American official implied by the phrase “not being constrained by historical patterns.” Of course, he wouldn’t openly suggest that Armenia should relinquish its national identity to secure a respectable position internationally. Ambassador Bolton addressed the Armenian people directly, knowing that the government, particularly its top officials, is well aware of this notion and actively implements it, catering to its Western patrons and, undoubtedly, the Turkish-Azerbaijani alliance.
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It is no coincidence that on December 9-10, 2021, Armenia was invited to the Summit for Democracy initiated by the incumbent U.S. President, while countries such as China, Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Iran, and many others were excluded. Through their official interventions, leaders from 100 governments announced a wide range of commitments and pledges in support of democratic renewal centered on the Summit’s three themes of: strengthening democracy and defending against authoritarianism; fighting corruption; and promoting respect for human rights. It is clear that Armenia falls short in all these areas, but because it remains loyal to Washington’s agenda, it is granted “a worthy place internationally.”
It should be noted that after World War II, when defeated Germany and Japan were considered dangerous to the new world order, a process of denazification was implemented alongside demilitarization. In Germany’s case, in particular, specialists such as psychologists and sociologists were tasked with removing the so-called nationalist remnants from the German people—in other words, re-educating them and “cleansing their souls.”
Moreover, the implementation of the denazification program was entrusted to the local regimes that had been installed with a strict mandate to carry out the policy. Briefly summarized, it appears that a similar program of denationalization is now being implemented in Armenia by local regimes appointed with special authority, following the same external guidelines and in the spirit of the denazification experiment developed after World War II.
ACNIS (The Armenian Center for National and International Studies)