Armenian ultra-nationalists aim to sabotage reconcilation in South Caucasus
By Sabina Mammadli
While Turkey extends a hand of friendship by appointing a special representative to normalize relations with Armenia, and Azerbaijan proposes signing a peace treaty and opening all communications in the region, revanchists from the ultranationalist left-wing party Dashnaktsutyun (Armenian Revolutionary Federation, ARF) have gathered in Yerevan to thwart all plans for the long-awaited peace in the South Caucasus, the Baku-based news website Day.az has reported.
The website stressed that Armenians are planning a large-scale hunt for Turks as relevant threats were made by Dashnaktsutyun members.
The country's ex-presidents Robert Kocharyan, Serzh Sargsyan, former prime ministers Vazgen Manukyan, Hrant Bagratyan, Khosrov Harutyunyan, Deputy Speaker Ishkhan Saghatelyan and deputies of the opposition blocs Armenia, I have the Honor and the Prosperous Armenia party attended the gathering in Yerevan.
Saghatelyan stated that the party's main activity would be to halt the Armenian-Turkish reconciliation process. In his opinion, the process of normalization "actually leads to the Turkification of Armenians, and it must be stopped".
He stated that "we will not remain silent", raising the question of whether Armenia is planning to show its terroristic side again, as it did with the Dashnaktsutyun initiative in the 1920s.
It should be noted that a dozen high-ranking officials from the Ottoman Empire and the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic were killed by Dashnak terrorists during that period. Given this assembly's revanchist sentiment, as well as its dark past and present, it is clear that Saghatelyan is voicing threats and plans for massacres.
Furthermore, dissatisfaction with November 10, 2020, tripartite statement was expressed at a revanchist sect meeting, saying that "it is necessary to strive for the signing of a new agreement that will proceed from Armenia's interests".
In this context, Armenians all over the world were encouraged to band together, abandon the process of reconciliation with Turkey, and begin the "restoration of the motherland". It is unclear what the so-called "restoration of the motherland" is in question. Armenia did not appear to have lost any of its territories in order to "restore" something, the website added.
It stressed that it is impossible to change the tripartite statement, as the new reality created in the region put an end to Armenia's aggressive policy.
"Armenia only lost control of Azerbaijani territory, which was never Armenian. For 30 years, the OSCE Minsk Group ignored the occupation, which Azerbaijan rightfully ended. If we talk about the restoration of Armenia, we must first consider its dead economy, which was killed by the Dashnaks, led by Kocharyan and Sargsyan, by plundering the country and driving it into an economic blockade with their aggressive ambitions. Repressions and mass murders of their own citizens, orchestrated by Kocharyan, are a separate issue," Day.az said.
Turkish Anadolu agency correspondents recently spoke with shop owners in Yerevan in an interview. One of the sellers expressed hope that Turks and Armenians will rekindle their friendship and that the past will be forgotten.
"It's not easy; it just takes time," the seller explained.
This isn't the first time the Turkish news agency has aired such stories. Turkish journalists videoed in the heart of Yerevan in November to study Armenia's post-war situation. According to the report, Armenians were overwhelmed and devastated.
The Dashnaks appear to be stuck in the past, even as the long-awaited peace in the South Caucasus begins to take shape. The conflict has been resolved, and the Zangazur corridor will soon open, allowing communication between the two countries.
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), unites the most radical nationalists building up hatred towards Azerbaijan and Turkey.
ARF is an Armenian ultranationalist left-wing party founded in 1890. Today the party operates in Armenia and in countries where the Armenian diaspora is present, including the United States.
--
Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz