Dance of death at Azerbaijani border

By Leyla Tarverdiyeva, Day.az

A remarkable post appeared recently in the Armenian segment of social networks. Chairman of the Democratic Union Party, Suren Petrosyan, on his Facebook page, accused the EU mission of recognising the territories of Azerbaijan - calling the territories Azerbaijani.

What was so terrible that happened? It turns out that the EU observers, heading to the village of Askipara, made a big detour so that they would not have to cross the internationally recognised territories of Azerbaijan. True, the missionaries themselves called these territories "disputed", but let's leave it on their conscience. So, instead of coming to a meeting with the residents of Askipara from Ijevan in a straight line of 30 kilometres, they made a 200-kilometer circle through Vanadzor, given that the short road leading to the village passes through the Azerbaijani villages remaining under Armenian occupation. "To my question, what is the reason for such a long journey; they replied that they act within clear regulations and do not want to provoke Azerbaijan in any way, since they consider these territories Azerbaijani and still disputed, therefore, to avoid this provocation, they travel from Ijevan to Voskepar (Askipara - ed.) through Vanadzor," wrote Suren Petrosyan, whose indignation knew no bounds.

As you can see, even Europeans know whose land they are walking on, although they do not admit it. And only this simple truth does not reach the Armenian masses in any way.

Last week, the Armenian Parliament held a closed session on the issue of delimitation. The meeting was initiated by the opposition. The opposition factions demanded to make it open, but the ruling group did not go for it. The discussions were held behind closed doors, and moreover, representatives of the Karabakh clan in the person of Seyran Ohanyan, Robert Kocharian's son Levon, as well as opposition deputies Armen Gevorgyan, Aspram Krpeyan, Arman Ghazaryan, Mher Melkonyan, Armen Rustamyan, Mher Sahakyan, and Artur Sargsyan were removed from the hall. The expulsion of these individuals was explained by their lack of access to classified documents. The war criminal Ohanyan tried to protest, but had to leave the hall. Journalists also went out the door, and the phones of the remaining deputies were taken away.

Apparently, the discussions were hot, and the authorities did not want the information to get out. On the one hand, this is correct. But on the other hand, such confidentiality in such matters harms the case. It is high time for Armenian society to find out the truth and come to terms with it. The authorities, trying to keep it secret, create an unnecessary and even harmful intrigue in such a situation and leave the revanchists room for action.

According to Armenian media, citing their sources, at a closed meeting with the participation of Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan, the opposition demanded that the line of contact, which existed as of September 24, 1993, be taken as the basis for work on the delimitation of the border with Azerbaijan. What is this date? This is the date of the official accession of Armenia and Azerbaijan to the CIS. The date of signing of the Almaty Declaration (December 21, 1991) does not suit the revanchists, because, at that time, the territories of Azerbaijan had not yet been occupied by Armenia. The military's aggression was just unfolding.

Nikol Pashinyan and his team talk about the 1991 document, but the opposition considers it "concessions" and "surrender of territories." The saddest thing is that the masses also echo the revanchists. And Pashinyan, who seemed to have resolutely begun to resolve the issue of the unconditional return of four occupied non-capital Azerbaijani villages, stopped, frightened by the rising wave of hysteria. Today, he and his team no longer categorically declare that these villages should be returned in order to begin the process of delimitation. Today, Speaker Alen Simonyan and Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan speak more cautiously and assure that there is no question of any transfer of territories.  "No part of the territory of Armenia is subject to discussion, negotiations are underway, working groups are meeting, this does not mean anything. It is possible that at some point we will refuse to sign anything at all if we do not reach an agreement," Simonyan said, for example. Combined with the armed provocations of the Armenian Armed Forces on the border, which for some reason are "not noticed" by EU observers, these statements indicate that Pashinyan is seriously frightened by the reaction of society, where revanchist sentiments are widespread and influence minds.

Revanchists and extremists of various stripes, armed terrorists are flocking to Askipara these days to, as they call it, "repel Azerbaijani aggression." Rallies and dances are organised in the village, and speeches are made. Villagers and newcomers dance warlike dances and make warlike grimaces, demonstrating their determination. But we all remember the same militant dances and militant promises that were made before the 44-day war, during the action of eco-activists on the Lachin road, and shortly before the anti-terrorist operation on September 19.

The head of the village administration, Ishkhan Aghbalyan, said at a rally in Askipara (Voskepar - Armenian spelling) a couple of days ago: "The villagers say no to drawing the border through their yards. It was the Voskeparians who outlined this border and showed where the line of contact is located, on which our hero soldiers stand." As you can see, the Armenians themselves admit that they do not live on their lands. They occupied the land, established illegal borders, and are now going to defend them heroically. They are actively supported in this criminal intention by the Armenian Church, whose participation gives the protests the appearance of a kind of Satanic ritual. One can even say that the AAC is the mastermind of the revanchist wave that rose in Armenia following Pashinyan's statements about his intention to return the occupied villages. The dances of the inhabitants of Askipara are rather ritual dances of death, which are usually followed by a reduction in the already insignificant male population of the Republic of Armenia.

The country's leadership is unlikely to be involved in this organisation. However, this does not remove responsibility from Pashinyan, who is unable to control the situation in his own country. It is enough to recall the recent incident when Armenian servicemen voluntarily went heroically to free a herd of sheep that happened to be on the other side of the border. These "warriors of light" opened fire on the Azerbaijani border guards, wounding one of our guys. Who is responsible for this? The military-political leadership of Armenia is unable to restore order. The provocations have a specific and explicit purpose: to provoke Azerbaijan into hostilities. And if something happens, Pashinyan, who did not want war, will be responsible for the consequences, not the provocateur priest or the head of the Askipara administration, who calls on people to "fight back."

The Europeans cover the provocations of the revanchists and will cover them, as it meets their interests, and as a result, the Prime Minister himself will turn out to be the "enemy of the people". Everything is so bad that Pashinyan is forced to argue for a completely fair and legal decision to return the occupied villages, not by international law, but by the threat of a new war, so that at least fear will force Armenian society to turn away from the revanchists. It is pointless to explain to the Armenians that it is illegal to occupy other people's lands, and therefore villages must be returned. They won't understand. Only fear can work.

It goes without saying that there can be no question of any line of contact during the occupation as a source of delimitation. And hardly anyone in Armenia is seriously counting on this. The opposition uses these insinuations to put pressure on the government and maintain chaos in the political field. And to some extent, he gets his way. And then there are external actors forcing Yerevan to play its game. According to Armenian analysts, it became clear from Mirzoyan and Grigoryan's answers to the deputies' questions at the commemorative meeting that, in reality, the Armenian authorities do not really know when the work on the delimitation of the border will begin and which maps will be taken as a basis. Well, of course - certainty appears when there is confidence in one's actions. And Pashinyan is not sure. There is no doubt that the main part of the Brussels talks, unheard by the ear and invisible to the eye, concerned Armenia's support for opposing Azerbaijan's peace initiatives. It is not necessary to promise to send an army; it is enough to let the Armenian fantasy play out to make our neighbours feel like "kings of the mountain". Armenia, as has been repeatedly proven, shows glimpses of reason and awareness of realities only when it is deprived of external support. We won't say anything, but apparently she received this support in Brussels. Therefore, the rally boy Alain Simonyan allows himself to threaten Azerbaijan by refusing to sign a peace treaty.

The rally boy, Simonyan, does not realise what such statements are fraught with for Armenia. The Armenians' rejection of peace and the restoration of internationally recognised state borders may make Azerbaijan think about restoring historical borders. And it doesn't matter who is the patron of Armenia, how many of them it has, or how powerful they are. Azerbaijan intends to resolve the issue of the Armenian threat and not leave it to future generations. Two hundred years of the Armenian presence in the South Caucasus have cost our people dearly. And it depends only on Yerevan's steps today whether Armenian statehood will continue in this region.