Armenian NA declines draft statements on Soviet people`s victory in  Great Patriotic War

ArmInfo. The National Assembly of Armenia at its plenary session on May 27 rejected the draft statement of the National Assembly on the 80th anniversary of the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War submitted by  the opposition faction "I have the honor". Only 27 deputies voted for  the adoption of the document, 54 voted against and 2 abstained.

As the faction's MP Tigran Abrahamyan noted in his speech, the  Armenian parliament has adopted a total of 14 statements in its  history, which touched upon various topical issues, including the  humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh. The presented text is a  continuation of previous statements, especially against the backdrop  of events held around the world. Abrahamyan noted that 80 years ago,  civilized humanity, through collective efforts and great sacrifices,  won a victory over Nazi Germany and its allies. The Second World War,  unprecedented in its scale, was essentially a struggle of  civilization against xenophobia.

"The Soviet Union played a key role in the victory over fascism. The  contribution of Armenians, including Artsakh Armenians, was tangible  in the defense of the Motherland. Moreover, not only in terms of  participation in military operations, but also in other areas of  assistance to the Fatherland. The Armenian Apostolic Church and the  Armenians of the Diaspora also played an exceptional role in the  victory over fascism," the oppositionist said. He added that on this  significant day, the heirs of the Great Victory of May 9, 1992  liberated the Armenian fortress city of Shushi, defeating the  neo-fascist regime. "80 years ago, Nazi Germany lost, but,  unfortunately, even today, manifestations of fascism, xenophobia and  intolerance remain in the world. In September 2023, Azerbaijan  organized the ethnic cleansing of the Armenians of Artsakh, which led  to the forced displacement of the Armenian population who had lived  on this land for thousands of years," Abrahamyan recalled, adding  that this is a classic manifestation of fascism. However, if at one  time the fascist leaders were convicted by a military tribunal, today  the ideologists of neo-fascism come up with false theses, without  receiving due condemnation and censure from the civilized community.   In turn, Hasmik Hakobyan, a member of the National Assembly from the  ruling Civil Contract faction, noted that the parliament had not  previously adopted such statements on the occasion, for example, of  the 75th anniversary of the Victory. In addition, the parliamentarian  emphasized, the parallels between the victory in the Great Patriotic  War and the liberation of Shushi raise objections. Hakobyan also  pointed out the presence of dividing lines in the document, which  lacks the role of allies and calls for peace.

In connection with the issue under discussion, Chairman of the RA  National Assembly Committee on European Integration Arman Egoyan  noted that when drafting the text of the statement, it was necessary  to take into account the events that preceded the beginning of the  Great Patriotic War, including the fact of the Soviet Union's  cooperation with Nazi Germany. As a result of this cooperation, the  Soviet Union occupied the territories of 6 states, including parts of  Finland and Romania, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. "Against this  background, the question arises of how to qualify these actions, was  it done correctly then or not?" Egoyan stated.