ArmInfo. Below is a statement by the We Are movement.
Lately, representatives of the RA government and Nikol Pashinyan himself have been making unacceptable remarks about the people of Artsakh, which inflames anti-Artsakh sentiments in some circles.
Contrary to the majority of the people of Armenia, who accepted the plight of the Artsakh citizens who lost their homeland as their personal pain, there are those among high-ranking government officials who reprimand the Artsakh citizens for leaving their home and land, where they have lived for thousands of years.
The absurdity of the situation is that the incompetent policies of the current authorities have led the Artsakh issue to such a critical turning point. Continuing their propaganda of falsehoods and lies, Pashinyan declares that he knew in 2018 that Karabakh could not be part of Armenia, despite announcing in 2019 in Stepanakert Square, "Artsakh is Armenia, and that's it." By claiming that the main goal of the Artsakh exodus was to overthrow his government in Armenia or that an Armenian Artsakh would lead to Armenia becoming a "province of Russia," Pashinyan once again reveals not only his superficial understanding of the Karabakh conflict but also consciously distorts the history and essence of the Artsakh problem.
Today, not only the future of the people of Artsakh but also their past is being questioned. Our victories and achievements are being devalued, with attempts from the highest podiums to attack our dignity and honor.
The uncalculated and short-sighted policies of the Armenian authorities regarding the citizenship, free movement, and documentation of Artsakh residents, as well as the proposal of housing projects without taking into account the views of Artsakh residents, undermine the importance of dialogue about our present and future.
The "We Are" civil initiative expresses its indignation at the multilateral discrimination, attempts to torpedo the solutions to many problems faced by the Artsakh people, and the Armenian authorities' support for Azerbaijan's aspirations to remove the Artsakh problem from the international political agenda.
We are grateful for everything being done for the people of Artsakh at various levels, but we believe that reducing the Artsakh issue to merely financial support is unacceptable. We need political and legal support, protection of our rights on international platforms, systemic and strategic solutions to our political problems, and tact and empathy.
The Armenian authorities must finally realize that a blow to the Artsakh people is a blow to all Armenians.
We call on political leaders and legal experts to assess the legality of the current authorities' rhetoric.
