Jackals of "miatsum" From delusional statements to direct threats

The news that Yerevan has agreed to Baku’s terms for the peace agreement text has sparked mixed reactions in Armenia. Alongside thoughtful public discussion, as expected, various figures from different quarters have rushed in with condemnations of the authorities, accusing them of "surrendering" national interests. Some of these statements are striking in their intensity.

For example, the "All-Armenian Council of Diplomats" is demanding that the Armenian authorities publish the text of the peace agreement agreed upon with Azerbaijan. In a statement issued by the council on March 17, it is noted that this agreement allegedly has nothing to do with peace; on the contrary, its signing will "only encourage Azerbaijan to make new demands or pave the way for a new war against Armenia." "The All-Armenian Council believes that achieving long-term and stable peace through negotiations, in which one side satisfies the maximalist demands of the other, is impossible," the organization declares.

We will intentionally refrain from commenting on these revelations, as we do not want to create even the appearance of a possibility for a dispute with this dubious organization. What is more interesting is whose interests this council serves. It strongly seems that this structure is funded by the Armenian diaspora, especially since a similar statement was made by another diplomat, the first foreign minister of the Third Republic and U.S. citizen Raffi Hovannisian. He even compared the situation in the South Caucasus to both the Weimar Republic and the Munich Agreement. "This is only the beginning. If we allow this scenario to unfold, we will become the Weimar Republic or, more precisely, the Munich Chamberlain, who read ‘peace’ in Hitler’s eyes," said Hovannisian. Without further digging, we note that the parallel is not so much bold as it is convoluted and foolish.

Next, Hovannisian repeats the standard revisionist set of values for which he calls to fight: "the right to self-determination" and "the return of the forcibly displaced people of 'Artsakh'"; the right to the release of "prisoners of war," and the right to preserve their own constitution. And, of course, "the preservation of subjectivity within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group and other international diplomatic bodies."

However, this time the revisionists did not limit themselves to political statements and moved on to direct threats. The Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, Alen Simonyan, claimed that he had received threats directed at him and his child. According to him, the threats came from radically-minded nationalists unhappy with Yerevan's course on signing the peace agreement with Azerbaijan. Armenian media reports indicate that Simonyan published screenshots of messages containing insults and direct threats. One of the messages stated that they would "find him," using obscene language.

Neither the "All-Armenian Council of Diplomats" nor Raffi Hovannisian stand any chance of gaining significant popularity in Armenia. However, this should not reassure the ruling party. Threats directed at members of the Civil Contract party may be early signals of the marginalization of the revisionist protest. The closer we get to peace, the greater the likelihood that nationalists, both within the country and in the diaspora, will begin recruiting mentally unstable individuals to carry out terrorist acts.

It is noteworthy that there has been no attempt to organize protest actions in Armenia. Ideally, parties associated with the revisionists, such as the Karabakh clan, should have declared a nationwide strike by now. Yet, not only have they refrained from doing so, but they have also generally avoided commenting on the situation. It seems they recognize that their popularity is at rock bottom and have decided not to aggravate the public with unnecessary moves. However, the passivity of domestic players in Armenia may lead to unconventional pressure from the diaspora on official Yerevan, the first signs of which we seem to be witnessing already.