Robert Kocharyan: The silence of the Armenian authorities regarding vandalism in Artsakh leads to the inaction of the international community

ArmInfo. The silence of the Armenian authorities regarding the vandalism carried out by Azerbaijan against the Armenian cultural heritage in Artsakh also leads to the inaction of the international community. This was stated by the second President of Armenia and leader of the opposition "Armenia" alliance, Robert Kocharyan, in the latest episode of "Big Politics."

The politician called the Armenian authorities' claims—that reacting to the destruction of Armenian heritage, including churches, would lead to a new war—baseless. According to him, there can be no one-sided peace, and current events only prove that no peace exists. Regarding the observation that the Armenian authorities justify their behavior by the loss in the war, claiming they must concede as much as requested because they lack the resources to respond, Kocharyan stated that two different circumstances should not be confused. The first is the existence of the Armenian people's "resource of dignity," and the second is the presence of Nikol Pashinyan and his ruling power.

"I suggest separating these two concepts. Armenia and the Armenian people possess the necessary resource of dignity, but Nikol Pashinyan and his small group are trying to convince the Armenian people that they lack this resource. I have no other explanation. It is beneficial for Pashinyan to keep everyone in an atmosphere of fear, and he will do everything to ensure the average Armenian feels this fear, as he has no other chance of being re-elected," Kocharyan said.

According to him, the opposition's task today is to convey this reality to the Armenian people: that the interests of Pashinyan and his team have nothing in common with the interests of Armenia and the Armenian people. Kocharyan emphasized once again that Pashinyan will do everything to maintain this atmosphere of fear and to keep the Armenian people in a humiliated position.

"However, when you do not react to vandalism against your cultural heritage, it means only one thing: you are serving the interests of another country. And the interests of that country, to some extent, coincide with your narrow personal interests," Kocharyan added.

The second President of Armenia also reacted to the Armenian Prime Minister's hints that if one delves deeper into the issue of destroying another's cultural heritage, it is not certain that the Armenian people would come out on top. Kocharyan emphasized that the head of the Armenian government is trying to attribute to the Armenian people actions they never committed.

He recalled that after the liberation of Shushi in the early 1990s, a military post was set up at the city mosque during the first months as a precautionary measure, in case someone who had lost a loved one in the war might try to damage the building in a fit of anger. However, according to the politician, this turned out to be unnecessary, as no member of Armenian society even had such thoughts. Kocharyan emphasized once again that not a single cultural site was destroyed in Nagorno-Karabakh back then.

“The most terrible part is the statement that ‘it is their territory, they can do whatever they want.’ But you are going to the EU, and if you are not stupid or uneducated, you must understand that according to all international norms, what is happening is vandalism, and it has nothing to do with territory or ethnicity. This is a value for all of humanity. The Armenian side's reaction to this vandalism would have been in line with the obligations that Armenia undertook under international norms,” the politician noted.

At the same time, Kocharyan believes that Azerbaijan's behavior has changed over the years, and its goal is to keep the Armenian people in a humiliated position for as long as possible. Meanwhile, according to him, the task of the Armenian authorities is to lead their own people out of this depression, rather than following the lead of others.