Keghartkeghart.org receives comments from readers which exceed the allotted space, hence they are brought to the regular pages of the website. Below are two samples that deal with current affairs related to RoA and Artsakh.
By Serop Stepanian, April 2022
Since the calamity of the fall of 2020, Armenians in Armenia and in the diaspora have wracked their brains trying to analyze why we lost the war so badly and how the Armenian nation can climb out of the bloody pit. We will address the first question and hope far more qualified people will find the silver bullet which will help us overcome our stunning loss.
We won the First Artsakh War because of smarts, dedication, and courage: neither Armenia nor Azerbaijan had access to sophisticated weaponry. Soon after the end of the war, both parties began to purchase modern weapons. An arms race was on. Armenia was soon declared the third most militarized (after Israel and Singapore) state in the world. This meant Armenia was dedicating the third-largest percentage of its state budget to defense. This sounds impressive but isn’t necessarily so: if the state budget is small, a high percentage allocation to defense will not be a game-changer. Thanks to its gushing gas and oil mines, Azerbaijan could afford to spend far more than Armenia and not be considered highly militarized because the percentage of its state budget allocated to defense was not high.
Because of its limited financial resources, Armenia couldn’t afford to spend more. Since Armenia couldn’t spend more and since heavily-armed Azerbaijan kept threatening us, we should have sought a diplomatic solution to prevent a war that we would certainly lose. We should have sought mediation by Russia, the EU, and the U.S. Failing this, we should have come to an agreement, under the aegis of Russia (?) to hand most of Artsakh to the Azeris. We would have prevented a disastrous war and the death toll of more than 4,000 fighters and civilians.
Kocharyan, Sargsyan, and Pashinyan bear responsibility for the 2020 disaster. Knowing we would lose the war, they should have found a peaceful solution. Instead, Kocharyan and Sargsyan feathered their nests while witnessing snowballing corruption in the public and private sectors. Pashinyan? He was busy persuading everyone that he was the White Knight, Mr. Salvation, Christ.
Will the miracle happen?
By Ashod Mardigian, April 2022
Russia has tried to bypass OSCE Minsk group. Remember Lavrov’s statement that other partners (US and France) are not “cooperative”? What was behind that misleading statement and Russia’s haste to conclude a “Peace Treaty”?
This formula by Pashinyan about Artsakh remaining within the borders of Azerbaijan, I believe, has the heavy footprints of Russia. With respect to France and the US, if by any chance they had at any time entertained the idea of Artsakh’s self-determination, they would have said so in the past thirty years.
Most probably Pashinyan is making it public what already has been tacitly agreed upon between all members of the Minsk group in alignment with Azerbaijan and Turkey. Exhausted and with no real army to defend itself, RoA is paying the price.
Getting rid of Pashinyan, as the opposition demands, is not going to change one iota from the geopolitical situation on the ground. If Pashinyan is considered an unwilling executor of what is cooked up behind the scenes, Kocharyan and his ilk, will be far worse, more than an executor, they will be partners in the dirty deal. They do not inspire. Over decades their deals, self-enrichment, plunder of the country, transforming it into a corrupt, failed, vassal state speak otherwise.
Only a miracle can save the day. It can happen not through Kocharyan, Sargsyan, Vanetzyan and ARF unholy alliance. Let us not get carried away by the patriotic sounding slogans. The miracle can take place if people in RoA and Artsakh stand up in the spirit of Sardarapat. Seemingly, so far, the signs are lacking. People are mostly demoralized, and still others simply do not care. Probably a small minority is trying to navigate in the maze to raise the patriotic conscious of the people. They are those who are preparing themselves for civilian resistance. Thus far they lack the means to reach out to much of the populace and raise the level of awareness of the gravity of this situation. Will they be able to make the miracle happen?
Keghart
Keghart
2 comments
It took you more than 3 years to understand the devastation that Pashinyan regime will bring and unfortunately, now you are realizing the traitor who gave land and keeps giving more lands but accusing the old regime.
Unfortunately, you are trapped in the same mentality as Pashinyan when you are criticizing ARF without realizing your mistakes when ARF was the leading force in Armenia and diaspora warning about the consequences of the Pashinyan regime.
You went Blind when I wrote several times to your Editorial warning them!
Please do not put Kocharian and Sarksian in the same league as Pashinian. During their reign Azerbaijan did not dare to attack because Putin had strongly supported them. Pashinian with his love nest with NATO and the EU gave Putin the right to teach him a lesson.