Guarantees of peace from Armenia: questions remain

After the meetings held in Washington within the framework of the Peace Council, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan wrote on his Facebook page that he was returning to Yerevan with greater confidence in the world. This step is encouraging. However, there are still questions about how much Armenia will be able to guarantee real peace. Certain processes in Armenia and the toxic circles still continuing their activities make it doubtful that it will no longer be a source of threat. Unfortunately, I have to admit this, no matter how much I would like to relax and see the region's tomorrow in pink tones.

We have repeatedly talked about the revanchist opposition. About the hysterics and demagogues who advocate a return to the pre-war agenda and the release of war criminals, offering to go to international courts to prove that the right of Armenians and Azerbaijanis to return is not the same thing. This is a stratum of political losers who are trying to gather the masses around them, but they do not gather in any way. The revanchist opposition has already seen a decline in enthusiasm, despite the upcoming elections. And most importantly, its representatives try to keep within the bounds of civility and not show their caveman insides. Because they know it's disgusting and the world won't appreciate it, and they really need the world to like them if they want to be in power. They also know that any deviation from the peaceful agenda, if they come to power, will mean the end of the Armenian statehood. They are aware of this, as well as the fact that no one will be able to prevent Azerbaijan from eliminating the hotbed of threat by force if Yerevan itself does not do so voluntarily. Attempts to translate today's pre-election demagoguery into real state policy will end very sadly for Armenia.

In the context of the internal political situation in Armenia, we usually only talk about the revanchist opposition and a separatist gang trying to build some kind of political force. But there is another problem in this country, even more dangerous for peace plans than Kocharyan and Sargsyan. It is dangerous because it is formed from the bottom up by playing on the roughest strings of the Armenian consciousness. Cave hatred combined with boundless megalomania has been embedded in the mental space of the Armenian people for two centuries. This is a complex cocktail that poisoned the existence of the Armenians themselves and turned into a tragedy for those peoples on whose lands they were settled. Today, Armenians have a unique chance to get rid of this burden, but the "real Armenian gene" is in the way.

This definition was not invented by us. It was heard in a video by Armenian terrorist Karen Arayan, which was published with a translation by blogger Albert Isakov.

The extremist leads a certain paramilitary group with the epic name "Army of Light", walks in military uniform, conducts training for an armed gang, records "harsh" videos that incite hatred and motivate the Armenian society to extremism. The organization is officially registered and has an office in the center of Yerevan. 

Arayan's latest video was dedicated to the Azerbaijanis who recently arrived in Armenia from Russia in a car with Russian license plates. These Azerbaijanis lived in Armenia before the conflict and were expelled from their ancestral land. Now, taking advantage of the peace process that has begun, they decided to travel to their native places. The videos they recorded were widely distributed on social media. And special emphasis was placed on the fact that they were quietly walking around Yerevan and Gyumri, which especially stirred up the nationalist swamp.

Arayan's followers rushed to him with questions, "why?". Why didn't he take action, why didn't someone slit the Azerbaijanis' throats and gut them? To clarify, the terrorist recorded another "harsh" video. In which he explained that he perfectly understands the bloodthirstiness of his fellow tribesmen. Just like many Armenians, he would like to immediately gut the Azerbaijanis and throw them out for dog food. And this is the "cry of the real Armenian gene." That is, every true Armenian should do exactly that. But, given the upcoming elections, the terrorist decided to wait with the gutting and skinning (all these are dreams voiced by himself), as there is another way to deal with the policy of peace with Azerbaijan and the prospect of Azerbaijanis returning to their historical homeland. We will not repeat the epithets that this animal has chosen for the Azerbaijani people.

Although Bandit does not directly talk about his intention to run for prime minister, the plans outlined by him sound like an election program. He plans to adopt a "defense of Armenian dignity" at the legislative level and turn revenge into a state policy. Armenia, he urges, should become a state that is feared. And judging by his chatter, he knows how to achieve this.

There have always been plenty of chatterboxes and provocateurs in the Armenian segment of social networks. Arayan didn't show up today either, but he differs in that he does have an armed gang. With all the parade and with real weapons. How are paramilitary groups still operating in Armenia five years after the end of the war, and why haven't they been disarmed yet? This is a question for the Armenian authorities. How can you ignore the existence of such a phenomenon if you are going to live in peace with your neighbors and reconcile societies? If Pashinyan wants to cure Armenians of the "real Armenian gene," he should take such videos very seriously. Arayan's gang exists openly, openly rattles real weapons, and its leader does not even think to hide the unhealthy urges of his body, counting (and with good reason) on the demand for cave hatred that still remains in Armenian society.

Arayan, of course, does not represent the Armenian society as a whole, but his Nazi chatter has enough sympathizers. For a certain - and considerable - audience, he is a real hero, and his "army of light" is a heavenly army sent to "save Armenia." A small, well-equipped and armed group can be seen in the posturing video designed to shock and inspire Armenians. The "army" seems to be limited to this group, but Arayan clearly has plans to expand it. He begs by posting bank account numbers on social media and encouraging subscribers to donate to purchase various military items, military equipment and uniforms. All of this is not for sale in stores, which means that the gang has a source from where they can get uniforms, equipment, and weapons. This means that the gang has support.

Who supplies the gang with weapons and how is an interesting question, and Armenia's official law enforcement agencies should urgently start looking for an answer to it. If there is some kind of "army of light" operating in a country along with the regular army of the Ministry of Defense, there is clearly something wrong with this country. This would be impossible in Azerbaijan. And this is not a question of democracy, freedom of expression and pluralism, it is a question of national security and stability in the region. Such masquerading gangs form the overall picture, they set the tone and disorient society. Pashinyan, his team and his party should not be the only participants in the peace process, this process should involve the broad masses and erase the "real Armenian gene" that generates dreams of the massacre of Azerbaijanis.

In Armenia, in general, they approach such issues very lightly. For example, the officially registered Nazi organization Hosank has been operating there for several years. She holds rallies, celebrates the birthdays of her idol Garegin Nzhdeh in the center of Yerevan, and voices extremist slogans. Hosank does not hide that it is based on "Armenian-Aryan ideas" and is going to "turn racism into a militant movement with the blessing of the spirit of Nzhdeh, gain power and build a racialist state based on Aryan ideas, which is the only way to have a prosperous economy, a prosperous society and a victorious society." Already in this one statement of the organization, a lot of criminal articles shine through, while the neo-Nazis were not even spanked.

Recently, the Armenian parliament approved amendments to the law on audiovisual media. According to the amendments, the distribution of content from foreign television and radio programs aimed at the violent overthrow of the constitutional order, promoting violence and brutality, as well as content interfering in the internal political life of the Republic of Armenia will be prohibited in Armenia. That's good, but it's not Solovyov's broadcasts that threaten Armenia's constitutional order.

Why does Azerbaijan care about all this? Because the inability of the Armenian authorities to deal with the potential threat calls into question all the efforts of Nikol Pashinyan himself to achieve peace. The "real Armenian gene" is not a pimple that resolves itself. This is a disease that causes serious relapses and complications, and it requires drastic measures. It is very good that Armenia is now moving towards peace under the guarantees of the United States, which makes it easier for Nikol Pashinyan. But you always need to look ahead, because what is being done today should be designed for many generations to come. What will happen under another White House administration? What will happen if Pashinyan leaves? Now the revanchists, neo-Nazis, extremists and other evil spirits have stopped their practical activity, because the ruling team has gained a foothold in the face of a leading world power. And how will events develop in the event of changes in the ruling circles? It is obvious that Pashinyan is the only one who holds Armenia's peace agenda. We hope that in his next five-year term he will be able to change this situation.

Azerbaijan needs guarantees that Armenia will never again pose a threat to peace and stability in the region. He wants to make sure that the nightmare experienced by the Azerbaijani people over the past thirty-five years will not happen again. And he does not expect these guarantees from Washington, Paris or Moscow, he expects them from Yerevan.