February 20 marks 38th anniversary of Artsakh Movement - RPA

ArmInfo.Today, February 20, marks the 38th anniversary of the Artsakh Movement.

Note: On February 20, 1988, an extraordinary session of the Council  of People's Deputies of the Nagorno- Karabakh Autonomous Oblast  (NKAO) adopted a resolution "On petitioning the Supreme Soviets of  the Azerbaijan SSR and the Armenian SSR for the transfer of the NKAO  from the Azerbaijan SSR to the Armenian SSR."

On this occasion, Armen Ashotyan, Deputy Chairman of the Republican  Party of Armenia (RPA), stated that the movement marked the beginning  of the creation of two Armenian states, which are currently under  occupation. As Ashotyan noted, Artsakh was captured by the  Azerbaijani Armed Forces, and Armenia by a political force (Prime  Minister Nikol Pashinyan's ruling Civil Contract Party - ed.)  supported by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

"The regime of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has  surrendered and continues to surrender not only Armenian territories,  villages, and heights to maintain its power, but has also launched a  shameful campaign (against the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) -  ed.), the goal of which is to sell our souls to Aliyev," the RPA  deputy chairman emphasized. He recalled that the Armenian prime  minister and his allies are making every effort to convince the  people of the fallacy of their national aspirations: they insist that  the liberation of Shushi was a mistake, that accusing Turkey of the  Armenian Genocide is wrong, that sparapet (commander - ed.) Vazgen  Sargsyan and Dushman Vardan Stepanyan (legendary Armenian commander,  participant in the Karabakh war - ed.), Armenian national hero Monte  Melkonyan ("Avo") and Kyazh (Robert Abajyan - who died a hero's death  during the four-day war of 2016 between Azerbaijan and Artsakh - ed.)  were wrong, that the monasteries of Dadivank, Gandzasar, and Amaras  were a mistake, that our faith, our history, and our culture are  wrong. In other words, as Ashotyan noted, according to the Armenian  prime minister, being Armenian is wrong.

"With ignorant justifications but cunning intentions, Pashinyan, by  pitting the state against the homeland, is trying to completely  deprive us of our homeland. He wants us to forget our homeland, first  and foremost, in our souls, in our hearts, in our minds. Because a  lost homeland can still be found, but a forgotten one- never,"  Ashotyan emphasized.

In this regard, he recalled that the state is merely a form of  ensuring the homeland's existence, its viability, whereas the  homeland is in fact the body, and the state is the skin that covers  it. "If the state isn't the shield of your homeland, then who needs  such a state? This Republic of Armenia is no longer yours, ours, or  Armenian. In fact, Pashinyan doesn't love the state; he simply loves  power-insatiably, greedily, and fanatically. How can someone who has  turned us into geopolitical vagabonds, who doesn't care about the  laws of this state, who has sunk our state to the depths of weakness  and poverty, who, at the behest of the enemy, is ready to change the  Constitution, the anthem, and the coat of arms of this state, love  the state?  Yes, he 'loves' the state with the love of parasites who  suck human blood," Ashotyan emphasized.  Meanwhile, according to the  RPA deputy chairman, the formula for a dignified life for Armenians  is simple: "I am a human being, I am an Armenian, I am a citizen."  "We cannot allow Pashinyan to win his mental war against the Armenian  people. The formula for success is simple: 'Artsakh is me. Armenia is  me.  An Armenian is me.' "And the one who removes Nikol Pashinyan  from power is also me," Ashotyan concluded.

As a reminder, on September 19, 2023, Azerbaijan, under the pretext  of an "anti-terrorist operation," initiated a large-scale aggression  against Artsakh, which led to the complete de-Armenization of the  NKR.  This was preceded by a nearly 10-month blockade of the  republic. Since the enemy aggression that began in the fall of 2020,  which culminated in the complete ethnic cleansing of Artsakh in  September 2023, over 150,000 Artsakh residents have lost their  homeland and become refugees.