How To Explain?

BY HARUT DER-TAVITIAN

Artsakh was liberated during Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s rule, but he was accused of making Armenia “cold and dark” and robbing it.

Levon Ter-Petrosyan opened up to the people and explained what would happen to us if we did not compromise from the position of the winner, but he was accused of treason.

Robert Kocharyan was not an Armenian citizen, but was “elected” President of Armenia by constitutional violations.

The bloc of Vazgen Sargsyan (the main figure in the liberation of Artsakh) and Karen Demirjian won the May 30,1999 parliamentary elections, inspiring the people with a bright future for Armenia, but they were assassinated in the Parliament on October 27 of the same year.

Robert Kocharyan and his allies organized the October 27, 1999 massacre, beheading our statehood, but those who professed the national interest subserviently kept silent.

During the ten years of Robert Kocharyan’s rule, from the presidential to the local elections, they were rigged, institutions of strategic value for the country were handed over to a foreign power, the country’s wealth was plundered, but the propagandists of democracy subserviently kept silent by pocketing their share.

Robert Kocharyan handed over power to Serzh Sargsyan on March 1, 2008, at the cost of firing at demonstrators and killing ten people, but those who preached about putting the interests of the people above personal interests subserviently kept silent.

During Serzh Sargsyan’s rule, all elections were rigged again and the looting of the country continued, but those who advocated for democracy continued to subserviently keep silent, at the expense of a few parliamentary seats.

During the years of Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan’s rule, the foundations of our statehood continued to be eroded, but those who preached about a strong state subserviently kept silent.

During the years of Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan, in spite of our enemy Azerbaijan’s blatant arms purchases, they enriched their pockets with billions of dollars they looted, built castles and invested in foreign countries. But the Armenian soldier was served a low-quality meal, the country’s military industry was not enhanced, the army was not strengthened with modern weapons, and the propagandists of a powerful state continued to subserviently keep silent.

During the years of Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan, the Armenians of Armenia and the Diaspora, with the exception of those in power and those few enjoying special privileges, were in a state of despair in view of the situation in Armenia, which had reached the abyss of decline. It is an obvious reality that the 2018 Velvet Revolution breathed new life into them.

Those who brought Armenia to the brink of the abyss have been fighting since 2018 to regain the monopolies they have lost and hinder Armenia’s development.

The terrible blow that the enemy was preparing before our eyes and was able to deliver, was the result of two decades of robbery and destructive policies of Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan. Unfortunately, the positive changes of the last two years were not enough to avoid the catastrophe. The fact is that the expected 3-5 days of resistance lasted 44 days. It is a fact that during the second week of the war, traitors went to the frontlines to persuade our brave soldiers to lay down their arms. It is a fact that there are deserters among the protesters in Yerevan, who destroy the Parliament building instead of fighting the enemy.

The defeat we suffered is terrible. But those responsible must be identified. All the above-mentioned realities and facts must be sufficient to be convinced that a return to the destructive rule of the former authorities will lead to the disintegration of Armenia and to the demoralization of the Diaspora.