UN and the glorification of Nazism in Armenia The West turns a blind eye

This week, Azerbaijan voted in favour of a resolution presented by Russia at the United Nations General Assembly titled "Combating the glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to the escalation of contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance." The resolution, which includes 74 provisions, strongly condemns incidents related to the glorification and promotion of Nazism, supports efforts to preserve historical truth, and urges measures to prevent the denial of crimes against humanity, the distortion of history, and the revision of the outcomes of World War II.

Interestingly, Armenia also voted in favour of this resolution, despite the fact that the glorification of Nazism has long been a widespread phenomenon in the country. It is the very same Armenia that ignored four UN Security Council resolutions on Karabakh, flagrantly violating international law and norms. In this case, despite formally supporting the resolution condemning the glorification of Nazism, Armenia is, in reality, pursuing a policy directly contradicting the content of the resolution adopted at the UN.

This is clearly evidenced by the commemoration of Nazi collaborators Garegin Nzhdeh and Drastamat Kanayan, as well as the militants of the terrorist group Nemesis, with monuments to them erected throughout Armenia. This demonstrates that the foundation of the state's policy in Armenia is a fascist ideology, which has been promoted since the time of its occupation of Azerbaijani territories.

Back in October 2017, members of the Russian Public Chamber formed a working group to prepare an appeal to the International Court of Justice concerning the glorification of fascism in Armenia and several other post-Soviet countries. Russian lawmakers expressed concern that the glorification of fascism at the state level was happening in Armenia, a country that positions itself as a strategic ally of Russia.

In turn, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev openly addressed the issue of Nzhdeh’s glorification in Armenia during a meeting of the CIS Heads of State Council on October 11, 2019. "We, the heads of state, have repeatedly opposed the glorification of the Nazis. Unfortunately, this is happening in the CIS, in particular in Armenia, where former authorities erected a monument to fascist executioner and traitor Garegin Ter-Harutyunyan, who served German fascists under the nickname of Garegin Nzhdeh, in the centre of Yerevan. Many war veterans from CIS countries have repeatedly expressed vehement protest at this cynical step of the previous leadership of Armenia…Unfortunately, the new government of Armenia did not dismantle this monument. I believe that there is no place for the glorification of fascism in the CIS," said President Aliyev.

Undoubtedly, the monument to Garegin Nzhdeh is part of a toxic nationalist ideology that includes dreams of a "Greater Armenia" and claims of national superiority. It is in the name of this "Armenian national idea" that notorious crimes were committed by militants of the ASALA and Dashnaktsutyun organizations. It is also worth noting that the law of karma worked within Armenia itself when, in 1999, a group of terrorists led by Nairi Hunanyan carried out a deadly shooting in the Armenian parliament.

The current authorities of Armenia, much like their predecessors, continue to encourage the ideology of fascism, exposing the region to new threats. The active militarization of Yerevan by France may inevitably lead to a new war with Azerbaijan.

In a discussion with Caliber.Az about the glorification of Nazism in Armenia, Russian expert and head of the Laboratory for Political and Social Technologies, Alexei Nezhivoy, expressed a similar view on the fascist ideology underlying the state policy in Yerevan.

"Under Pashinyan, Armenia, like all liberal political forces that come to power through the mechanisms of colour revolutions, is rapidly transforming from liberal pseudo-freedom to nationalism and then to fascism. For a Nazi, the enemies are those who are not like him, and in fact, Nazis are those orange liberals who have gathered into a group based on national self-identification. So, what is an orange revolutionary like Pashinyan to do, since he hasn't been able to do anything with his principles and allies, and in principle, he never will? All that's left is to blame the enemies. In Armenia, it’s just a small step from Nazism to classical national fascism. That's why they’re searching for self-identification with the Nzhdeh monument and blaming everyone else, all while tightening political screws to stay in power. But predicting their fate is also easy; we can see in real-time what awaits Armenia if this continues," concluded Nezhivoy.