By Harut Sassounian
Last month, during a speech at the general assembly of his Civil Contract party, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced a new ploy: the creation of a Fourth Republic of Armenia next year.
Not satisfied with his repeated attempts to erase Armenia’s several-millennia-old history and mislead the people into thinking that the country began to exist when he came to power in 2018, Pashinyan now wants to cover up his disastrous seven-year rule and start all over again in 2026.
Whether Pashinyan likes it or not, it is impossible to forget Armenia’s long existence beginning with successive ancient kingdoms, the founding of the Kingdom of Cilicia in 1078, the first independent Republic of Armenia (1918-1920), and the second independent Republic of Armenia in 1991.
You will notice that I left out Soviet Armenia. Even though Armenians had many cultural accomplishments during that period, Soviet Armenia was not a sovereign, independent country, since it was part of the Soviet Union. As a result, Soviet Armenia cannot be the second Republic of Armenia. There were only two independent Armenian Republics: the first in 1918 and the second in 1991. Pashinyan’s plan to create a Fourth Republic is doubly wrong because there was no third republic; therefore, there cannot be a fourth.
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No matter what tricks Pashinyan uses to conceal his misdeeds, Armenians cannot forget that:
— He is responsible for losing Artsakh, for the deaths of thousands of Armenian soldiers, and territorial losses suffered by the Republic of Armenia.
— He has asked irresponsible questions about the Armenian Genocide and about the liberation of Artsakh.
— He has made critical comments about Armenia’s sacred patriotic symbols, including the coat of arms, the national anthem, and Mount Ararat.
— He acquiesced to Azerbaijan’s demands and made several concessions to Pres. Aliyev, including preparing a new constitution, agreeing to drop Armenia’s lawsuits against Azerbaijan in international courts, disbanding the OSCE Minsk Group of mediators, accepting the suspension of the ban on U.S. aid to Azerbaijan, removing EU border observers from Armenia, and giving Azerbaijan an “unobstructed” road to cross Armenia.
Pashinyan has done all these dreadful things in the name of creating a fake “real Armenia” in line with the demands of Armenia’s enemies. He is trying to accomplish what neither Turkey nor Azerbaijan succeeded in doing — to eliminate from the hearts and minds of Armenians the dream of restoring historic Armenia, which includes Western Armenia and Artsakh. Azerbaijan and Turkey have taken our lands, but they can never erase our memories. Only by not forgetting our lost territories and by committing to regain them when the right opportunity arises can we realize our dreams. The Jewish people dreamed of returning to Israel for 2,000 years and passed that wish to successive generations until the right opportunity came in 1948, when they created their own state.
If Jews can keep their dreams alive for 2000 years, why can’t Armenians do the same? All those who say it is impossible to realize our dream because powerful enemies are occupying our lands do not understand that I am not talking about restoring our territories tomorrow morning but at a future date when realities on the ground change. No country remains powerful forever. If Armenians give up hope of ever recovering their lands, they would be doing exactly what our enemies want. When you give up your dream and do not pass it to the next generation, you will not be able to take advantage of the opportunity when it comes. Do not blame the Azeris or the Turks; you are the one giving up what belongs to you.
Pashinyan cunningly keeps harping on the word “peace” in order to fool the people into reelecting his parliamentary majority in next year’s elections, thereby remaining Prime Minister for another five years.
To save Armenia from the edge of the abyss, the citizens of Armenia need to do two things:
1) Elect a competent and patriotic leader who can gradually correct Pashinyan’s errors.
2) Concentrate Armenia’s resources on building a militarily strong country that can defend itself from hostile neighbors. A well-armed Armenia can inflict sufficient damage to deter enemy attacks. Unless we protect our borders, our enemies will be able to enter and occupy Armenia without firing a shot.
Armenia’s next patriotic government should cancel and reverse all illegal agreements and concessions made by Pashinyan. Whatever he is signing and giving away now is a meaningless piece of paper.
All opposition groups and parties should unite and form a powerful coalition to defeat Pashinyan’s party in the 2026 parliamentary elections.
In next year’s referendum, the citizens of Armenia should reject Pashinyan’s new constitution, imposed by Pres. Aliyev. This will derail Pashinyan’s and Aliyev’s sinister plans, since Aliyev has said he will not sign the so-called peace treaty, unless Armenia changes its constitution.
Even though Armenia has lost much under Pashinyan’s rule, all is not lost. There is still an opportunity to rescue the country from its enemies, both domestic and foreign.