Karabakh Armenians: Strangers among their own A truth-teller by choice

Armenian blogger Roman Baghdasaryan’s recent comments on YouTube channel ArmVlog about Armenians voluntarily relocating from Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region to Armenia come as no surprise. Baghdasaryan, to put it mildly, was very displeased with how they live and the demands they have in Yerevan, Gyumri, and other Armenian cities.

“They want to live in Yerevan and consider themselves first-class citizens. At the same time, they do not want to obtain Armenian citizenship; they look down on it. They don’t want their children to serve in the Armenian army—95 per cent of Karabakh Armenians do not send their children to the Armenian army,” Baghdasaryan noted.

He then recalled the events that followed the presidential elections in Armenia in 2008.

"On March 1, 2008, people from Karabakh came to Yerevan to kill its residents for money—they don’t care who they stab or kill. They do it with pleasure. They complain that they are paid too little, yet they don’t want to live near the border. Excuse me, but you lived in the villages of the Mardakert region (Aghdara - ed.), Martuni (Khojavend - ed.), and Askeran (Khojaly - ed.). You lived in the villages of the Hadrut region. You lived in other people's houses in the seven regions of Azerbaijan—you lived in Kalbajar, Gubadli, Fuzuli, and Aghdam. And now, suddenly, these villagers from Karabakh think they should be going to the opera in Yerevan, that they should be working at the conservatory," expressed Roman Bagdasaryan in his statement.

He did not report anything unexpected or sensational. The conflict between the Karabakh Armenians and the Yerevan Armenians has always existed. In 2006 and 2007, when I was in Armenia, I personally saw how deep the divide was between them. Sometimes it even led to public disputes at international conferences. The people of Armenia rightly blamed the Karabakh Armenians for their problems.

This was during the period when the "Karabakh clan," led by Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan, was in power in Armenia. The clan lost power as a result of Nikol Pashinyan's "barbecue revolution," of which Roman Baghdasaryan is a vocal supporter. It is in this context that one should assess all past, present, and future statements made by this blogger.

Baghdasaryan has always criticized the "Karabakh clan," trying to defend Nikol Pashinyan, who has also committed serious crimes. For example, under his orders during the 44-day war, peaceful Azerbaijani cities were subjected to rocket attacks, resulting in injuries and deaths among the elderly, women, and children.

After Armenia's defeat in the 44-day war, Baghdasaryan began to actively express his views on social media, blaming the "Karabakh clan" for all the problems. He repeatedly made such statements. For example, he once said that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev was right when he stated in an interview with Euronews: "We are building cities, while they were building villas for themselves."

"While Aliyev was building cities, Arkadi Ghukasyan was buying hotels in St. Petersburg. While Aliyev was building cities, Bako Sahakyan was buying the 'Artsakh' hotel, a three-story palace for his driver, a shopping center, stores, and commercial spaces in Moscow. While Aliyev was building cities, Arayik Harutyunyan was building a house and a hotel in the Stavropol region and buying property in Dubai and Paris. While Aliyev was building cities, Arthur Aghabekyan set up a foundation from which he embezzled money, spending it on girls and banquets. While Aliyev was building cities, Robert Kocharyan was buying an island in Greece, a hotel, and hundreds of properties for his son Levon," Baghdasaryan stated.

As we can see, both then and now, he spoke the truth, but only the truth that is favorable to the to the current Armenian government, which continues to see a threat in the "Karabakh plan" that has brought Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan to the forefront of the struggle against Nikol Pashinyan. At the same time, the Karabakh Armenians have grievances not only against the Armenian authorities.

The so-called "former ombudsman" of the abolished illegal Karabakh junta, Gegham Stepanyan, revealed that a number of European countries are not allowing Karabakh Armenians to enter their territories. According to him, the embassies of Poland, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, and Spain are particularly selective. He laments that this issue has not been resolved and that "the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not express a public position."

This is yet another piece of evidence of how deep the divide is between the Armenians of Karabakh and the current Armenian government. It's all a chain reaction. The Armenian government is in conflict with the Karabakh Armenians. This is known worldwide, and as a result, several countries do not grant the right to relocate to those who were yesterday's separatists. Europe has enough of its own separatists. In this context, only one question arises: What claims can there be against Azerbaijan, given all that is happening?!?

However, this is a rhetorical question.