Renowned video blogger Albert Isakov, citing Armenian sources on his YouTube channel, has shared video footage of a speech by Armenia’s first president, Levon Ter-Petrosyan. The speech, delivered on July 27, 1993, following the occupation of the Azerbaijani city of Aghdam, was addressed to members of the terrorist organisation “Yerkrapah.”
Notably, this footage has been released online for the first time. It is speculated that it may have been “leaked” by individuals within Pashinyan’s circle to expose both Ter-Petrosyan himself and the Armenian National Congress, which he leads. As we recall, Pashinyan previously called on Armenia’s first three presidents to debate the negotiations they conducted with Azerbaijan regarding Karabakh. This call provoked a sharp response from Ter-Petrosyan.
But let’s return to the video footage, in which Ter-Petrosyan claims that if the expulsion of Azerbaijanis from Armenia had not started in 1988, Armenia would not have gained independence.
“Our greatest happiness is that we organized the work of our militia. The armed detachments we formed became the backbone of our army. This way, we gained enormous experience even before Armenia and Azerbaijan achieved their independence,” he said.
According to Ter-Petrosyan, “Thanks to this movement, Armenia and Karabakh solved a problem that the Armenian people could not resolve for 600 years.”
“Armenia and Karabakh have been completely cleansed of other nations (meaning Azerbaijanis – ed.). I repeat once again, this was a 600-year-old problem. Its significance will be felt by the Armenian people for another 600 years. Imagine, if today in Armenia there were 170,000 people of other nationalities (Azerbaijanis – ed.) who were here before 1988, we would not have a state today. We would not be able to protect our northern and eastern regions, to defend the Sevan area. Moreover, we would have three new problems here. Remember that in three regions Azerbaijanis made up the majority – Vardenis, Masis, and Amasya. They formed a significant portion in the Zangezur corridor. And this problem has been solved. It didn’t come to us as a gift from the heavens. This problem was solved by our movement. The national liberation struggle of our people. The Armenian national movement and its military wing – our self-defense units, ‘Yerkrapah.’ The same thing in Artsakh. Today, the entire territory of Artsakh, and much more, is in the hands of Armenians,” he emphasized.
As we can see, the first president of Armenia admits that the expulsion of Azerbaijanis was part of the policy of Armenian nationalists who had territorial claims against Azerbaijan. In fact, Armenia deliberately and preemptively prepared for ethnic cleansing of Azerbaijanis, who constituted the majority of the population in Basarkechar, Ulukhanli, Aghbaba district, and, in general, in Zangezur. The above statements by Ter-Petrosyan are equivalent to the words of Armenia’s third president, Serzh Sargsyan, regarding the Khojaly genocide, when he essentially admitted that Armenians committed mass killings of peaceful Azerbaijanis with the aim of intimidation.
However, the fascist plans of the Armenians were thwarted by the President of Azerbaijan, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Ilham Aliyev. Thanks to his focused and decisive policies, the professionalism and courage of the Armed Forces, and the unity of the people, Azerbaijan was able to fully restore its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Last year, Azerbaijan was able to regain four villages in the Gazakh district, and this was achieved without a single shot, solely through political means. The next goal is the return of Western Azerbaijanis to their historical lands in Western Azerbaijan. In this context, it is important to once again recall the words of President Aliyev: “I am sure that there will come a time when our compatriots from Western Azerbaijan, their relatives, children and grandchildren will return to our historical land, to Western Azerbaijan. I am sure that this day will come. I am sure that the Western Azerbaijanis will return to their native lands with a great desire and enthusiasm.”
As the world has already seen, Aliyev does not make empty promises.
Caliber.az
