How Armenia's youth camps fuel anti-Azerbaijani sentiment? Militarised minds

Baku has repeatedly stated that it is impossible to sign a peace treaty with Armenia until the issue of changing the Armenian constitution, which contains territorial claims to Azerbaijan, is positively resolved. That is, it is openly stated that official Baku must be sure that a peace agreement will make any future return to revanchism on the part of Armenia impossible. However, this issue is even much broader than it appears at first glance.

The fact is that for decades, young men and women in Armenia have been brought up in an anti-Azerbaijani spirit. And openly, without even attempts to somehow hide the xenophobic spirit. In confirmation of what we can cite the activity of the Armenian military-sports camp "Three Generations Yerkrap" ("People's Militia"), often referred to as a volunteer union, but in fact it is a terrorist organization. Every year in the summer period this camp, initiated in its time by Armenia's first Defense Minister Vazgen Sargsyan, opens its doors for Armenian youth. Since the creation and existence of this terrorist structure is supported by the Armenian Defense Ministry, it follows that the entire training program is based on the military path.

So is it necessary to reveal what was (and still is) the goal of the ideologists and against whom the annual agenda is directed in the above-mentioned context? Particularly against the background of the fact that Vazgen Sargsyan was the ideological mastermind behind the transportation of the ashes of bandit, terrorist, Turk-hater Andranik to Armenia, although he did not see this action, because, ironically, shortly before the reburial of the murderer of unarmed Azerbaijanis, he fell at the hands of Armenian terrorists.

Of course, it is on the images of such persons as Andranik, Nzhdeh and others that the youth of Armenia get the basics of "patriotic" education. Moreover, as it was already emphasized above, through the armed forces of Armenia. Thus, in April this year, all Armenian resources reported about the full assumption by the Armenian Ministry of Defense of the expenses related to the activities of "Yerkrap" for 2024, a resolution on which was adopted at a government meeting. Children and teenagers are first fed with ideological information, and then military training courses are conducted with them. By the way, from 2021 to 2023, the Pashinyan government allocated to "Yerkrapah" an annual amount of just under $600,000.

Surely, even this open information is enough to understand in what spirit the new generation of Armenians is being brought up in relation to Azerbaijanis and Turks. And hence the question - does Armenian society really need a peace agreement with Azerbaijan? And is it ready to sincerely give up its revanchist aspirations?

Perhaps some particular groups of people in Armenia would really like to ensure a different, non-militarized, upbringing for their children. However, the very situation in the country and around contributes to the militarized format of taking steps in this direction. Among the latest developments in the voiced vector is the information that became known thanks to Caliber.Az, which reported about the arrival of military cargo, including specific military cargo that requires special military training, to Yerevan "Zvartnots" airport by the U.S. Defense Ministry.

In other words, Armenia today is ruled by militarization fueled from outside. Hence, there is a new round of revanchist waves in various strata of Armenian society, which is what the young men and women of Armenia are growing up on. Unfortunately, under the conditions of the "Three Generations of Yerkrap" military-sports camp with a known agenda, it is unlikely that the attitude of the Armenian population, including the younger generation, towards Azerbaijan or Türkiye will be seriously reformatted. And it can hardly be otherwise, as long as, against the background of constant calls for peace on the part of Azerbaijan, the Armenian government itself feeds aggressive aspirations in young people, actually preventing them from forming peace-loving ideas.

By Teymur Atayev