The choice: Free and independent Republic or not

Vahe H  Apelian

 

I post this blog to enshrine prime minister Nikol Pachinyan’s appeal (see below).

We are at a cross road. 

At this crucial moment of our history, and for the very first time, ideologically I  stand with Nikol Pachinyan as a person, who also happens to be the PM of the Republic of Armenia.

 I stood by him as the PM because the citizens of Armenia elected him in an orderly and transparent election to govern them with their consent. But I cross the threshold now and I stand with him because of what he stands for as a citizen of Republic of Armenia. We either have a free and independent Armenia or not.

We either have a free and independent Republic of Armenia or not.

A free and independent Republic of Armenia that freely relates to all nations in the. East, West, North and South and respects their sovereignty, culture and religion, and expects them that they reciprocate likewise

Many of these nations have also welcomed us in our times of need and given us the opportunity to lead a God given dignified life, without fear of persecution. In this transforming process, we have become a global nation.  

The alternative is for the Republic of Armenia be subject to a state of servitude, at the whims of outside powers. 

Nations in the East, West, North and South need not fear us for, in the words of BaruyrSavag, we are a small nation and…

“If we have enslaved, only with our eyes.

And if we have ruled, only with our books,

If we have prevailed, only with our talents.

And if we have ever oppressed,

It has only been with our wounds.”

May free and independent Armenia long live.

 

Armenian Evangelical College (AEC): A United Nations Security Council Session - 1/2

 Vahe H. Apelian

The attached picture is from my high school days and is taken on the stage in the Armenian Evangelical College social hall, which was in the basement of the Armenian Evangelical Church. The church and the school are in the same campus what is now almost officially designated as West Beirut.

The picture depicts the students of the high school acting the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) session pertaining to the Cyprus issue. I checked on the Internet and found out that in 1964 there were several resolutions, I counted six, pertaining the Cyrus issue that pitted the Greek and the Turkish communities of the Mediterranean island. 

It may very well be that what we had staged had to do with one of the 1964 resolutions because I graduated in 1965 and Ara Manougian who is in the picture graduated in 1964. The wordings of our mock UNSC session were the actual words the delegates had used. They were  copied for us by our history teacher Mr. Zaven Messerlian, who was in charge of the history club and this event may have been a history club activity. Note, I did not use Dr, Zaven Messerlian's academic credential because he was not yet awarded the doctorate degree. 

I remember the staging. I was a delegate along with my other two classmates Ohan Armenian and Vaghenag Tarpinian. My wordings were just a few short sentences. After all I was the Czechoslovakia delegate, and thus did not represent a power country. But if you were to look at my face, you will find it serious and pensive much like the facial expressions of the rest of the students staging the UNSC session about Cyprus. After all, it is an important matter, even though we were mock acting it.

What happened?

Our mock session was well received by the students. We put an act and a show and exited the stage. In real life, something similar happened. The delegates did their parts, put an act and a show and moved on because in 1975 Turkey invaded Cyprus and occupied, I am told, 32% of the Island. Cyprus remains divided. 

Life went on.

In 1976 I left Lebanon as another U.S. immigrant and on my way to the New World, I stayed in Cyprus for a few days waiting for my flight. In Cyprus I looked for and was able to contact one of the two Cypriot students in my pharmacy class. They were Kyriacos Georghiou and Phoebus Stavrides. We addressed them by their last names. I sent word through a pharmacy that I am looking to meet them. Georghiou visited me at the hotel I was staying. He told me that he had lost his house because it fell on the Turkish side of the border in the divided island. I wonder if he still is alive as they were a few years older than the rest of us. They were sent by their government to bring their professional qualifications up to date.

Fast forward 

On September 20, 2023, the former Soviet Union’s Nagorno-Karabakh Oblast capitulated to Azerbaijan. The following day, the UNSC held a meeting. The session was held because “France requested the meeting following a letter sent by Armenia to the president of the Security Council. The letter cited Article 35 (1) of the UN Charter, which states that any UN member state “may bring any dispute, or any situation referred to in Article 34 [that is, one that may lead to international friction or give rise to a dispute] to the attention of the Security Council or of the General Assembly”.

What transpired?

I quote my cousin Dr. Ara Apelian’s comment in a Facebook message to friends. He wrote: 

“I watched the entire UN session on Artsakh. I was amazed as to the number of countries who were represented and each took turn to speak, including Japan, China and the chair was an Albanian representative. I was amazed that ALL of them were so knowledgeable about the details of the suffering of the people of Karabakh and urged immediate humanitarian intervention. But after all the speeches (including Armenia and Azerbaijan and Turkey), the session ended just like that, like watching the news. There was no item on the agenda to take any steps or give any recommendations or any ruling to do anything. Good bye .. thank you all, and they left ….”

In 1964, we students had acted a mock session of UNSC on the stage of the Armenian Evangelical collage and moved on with our lives. It had to do with Cyprus. 

Fifty-nine years later, the real players of the UNSC staged their act on the world stage and moved on. It had to do with Nagorno-Karabakh, the historic Armenian Artsakh

Same o՛, Same o՛ (!)

Or

All the world’s a stage,

And all the men and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances………

William Shakespear

Does the Armenian Diplomacy or the Armenian Public....

 Vahe H. Apelian

The attached are my translations of Levon Sharoyan’s posting on his Facebook page during and after the second Artsakh war that started on September 27, 2020 and ended in a ceasefire on November 10, 2020. Almost all Armenians know what transpired since the cessation of the hostility. Artsakh has capitulated and is being depopulated.

It remains for all of us to hold our temper because this war, in the greater scheme of things, has not ended and threatens Armenia, or at least threatens the free and independent state we aspired since the fall of the last Armenian kingdom.

It is imperative to keep law and and order, and help keep law and order in Armenia so that the government can attend to the existential threat Armenia is facing. Whatever has been said below is not gossip but is said by “university professors, high-ranking former officers, retired diplomats, journalists, analysts, party and public figures, "specialists" on Armenian affairs, etc., etc., who respond with an astonishing unanimity and with an effortless consistency echo the official view of the Turkish state that "Armenia is an occupier country and must return Karabakh to Azerbaijan." There is no deviation from this theme and no dissenting opinion. “ 

And the “occupation” of Armenia has not ended with the capitulation of Nagorno-Karabakh, the historic Artsakh, but also more likely will involve Azerbaijan's so called “eastern Azerbaijan”, the historic Syunik where the next phase of the war may very well be, and it may not entail only a corridor but annexation of  Syunik region.

Yes,  it is imperative to keep law and and order in Armenia, and help keep law and order in Armenia. 

I invite readers to read Levon Sharoyan’s postings again, even though I have posted them before.

During the war, on October 22, 2020

 

“Since the first day of this terrible Turanian war that was unleashed against Artsakh and Armenia, for more than three weeks now, I have been following dozens of Turkish stations, day by day. All of them, without exception, simply spread POISON and HATRED against the ARMENIAN PEOPLE.

 These stations invite, for hours on end, university professors, high-ranking former officers, retired diplomats, journalists, analysts, party and public figures, "specialists" on Armenian affairs, etc., etc.,  who respond with an astonishing unanimity and with an effortless consistency echo the official view of the Turkish state that  "Armenia is an occupier country and must return Karabakh to Azerbaijan." There is no deviation from this theme and no dissenting opinion. 

The 80 million population of Turkey listens to these stations and swallows what is presented to them day after day; surely appropriating  the following without further ado, that:

     Throughout history, Armenia has always been an occupier and pre-emptive country.

      Yerevan is Turkish land. At the beginning of the last century, the majority of the population of Yerevan was Turkish Muslim.

     In the 1990s, Armenians carried out horrific massacres of innocent Azeri citizens in Khojaly (Azerbaijan) and went unpunished.

      Armenians not only deported the natives of Karabakh, the Azeris, but also committed a cultural genocide there.

      How dare a poor Armenia, with a population of one and a half million attack neighboring Azerbaijan? The Russians are behind the Armenians

      The state of Armenia is a bandit government. It must be taught such a lesson that it is vanished from the region. We must vanquish the thievish Armenia.

      We negotiated with them for thirty years. The knife cut to the bone. Our Azeri brothers will liberate their ancestral lands and have the red crescent flag fly over them.

      The Armenians make a wild nation. In this region, Armenia is a hotbed of instability and hostility.

      By continually hitting Armenia on the head, Karabakh will be taken away from its hands.

      “Zangezur” is Turkish land. It is necessary to take quick steps to have it as a land bridge between Nakhichevan and Azerbaijan

      It is necessary to restrain the spoiled Armenia. With the support of the West, it has become a plague for the Turkish-speaking peoples of the region.

      The Azeri army did not bomb urban settlements at all. The civilized tradition of the Turkish nation forbids us to do such a thing.  Meanwhile, Armenians continue targeting cities and their innocent residents.

      Pashinyan has become a pathetic figure. To cover up his defeat, he makes statements against Turkey using the myth of "genocide".

      Turkey is with its Azeri brothers to the last point, both on the front line and at the negotiating table.

These many quotes, I think, give an idea of the kind of enemy the Armenian army is fighting.

 

Has anything changed since the days of Abdul Hamid and Talaat?”

***

On November 12, 2020, three days after the cease fire.

 

"As a nation, we live in one of the saddest, most frustrating, and most dangerous periods of our history in the last hundred years. Artsakh is almost emptied of Armenians. It seems it has irreversibly become a foothold for Turks and Azeris. Already everyone knows that during the past weeks, perhaps months, a terrible conspiracy was “cooked” by the Baku-Ankara-Moscow trio and imposed on Armenia on November 10. Turkey and Azerbaijan are jubilant.

About an hour ago (November 12, 2020), the Arabic section of the Turkish state-run broadcaster covered the recent events in Karabakh. The three participants analyzed the situation and clarified Turkey's views, which clearly showed what a long and consistent diplomatic and military efforts Turkey had vested to “swallow” Artsakh. I present to my readers a bunch of confirmations made from the media.

- “Turkey's role in this victory was simply the key. We were the ones who trained the Azeri army. We were the ones who equipped it with modern equipment. We will no longer feel the need to keep this a secret.”

- “In this glorious victory by Azerbaijan, we can say that President Putin also stood by the Azeris. We are thankful for his fair role.”

- “According to the agreement on November 10, in a few days, the Armenian occupation forces will leave the Agdam region forever. Soon 150 thousand former residents of Agdam will return to their homes and thus the region will regain its native Azeri character.”

- “Nakhichevan will take a deep breath henceforth! From now on, Turkey will have a land connection and a bridge with its brother Azerbaijan from Kars and Nakhichevan. This vital corridor will open the way we longed for to reach to our Turkic-speaking countries of Central Asia.”

- “If Armenia tries not to implement the signed agreement, it will be hit very hard on the head with a joint Russian-Turkish fist. Let them have no doubt about this.”

- “Tomorrow, Friday, a large Russian military delegation will arrive in Ankara to discuss with us the details of the unwavering application of the November 10 agreement. Already yesterday, the defense ministers of our two friendly countries signed a memorandum (via an internet meeting), according to which Turkey is setting up a joint monitoring body with Russia to monitor the security situation in Karabakh. We will be allowed to have drones to curb possible illegal movements of the Armenians.” 

- ""Pashinyan will most likely leave his seat. The new Armenian government must be a government "sponsored" by Turkey." (make note what may happen if this government is forcefully brought down.)

- “Karabakh must be rebuilt by Turkish businessmen. We have developed serious programs in this regard. Of course, Karabakh Armenians will also be allowed to come and live there as full citizens of Azerbaijan. They will see that under the auspices of the Azeri state, they will feel much calmer and happier than under the shadow of Yerevan.”

*****

Levon Sharoyan concluded saying:

“I will not continue quoting anymore. Does the Armenian diplomacy or even the Armenian public have lessons to learn from all this, from all that has happened and will happen? »

 

 

 

 

 

What we leave behind.

I saw this listing posted on social media. I copied and pasted the it. In years to come, many scholars will be looking back and writing on these cultural treasures we leave behind in Artsakh. Vahe H. Apelian

Ես տեսա այս ցուցակը տեղադրված սոցիալական ցանցերում: Ես պատճենեցի և տեղադրեցի ցուցակը: Տարիներ անց շատ գիտնականներ հետ կնայեն և կգրեն այս մշակութային գանձերի մասին, որոնք մենք թողել ենք Արցախում: Վահէ Յ. Աբէլեան

⛪ Gandzasar monastery (4th century) and St. Hovhannes Baptist church (1216-1238)

⛪ Dadivank (4th century) and Catholic (9-11th century)

⛪ Amaras monastery (4th century)

⛪ St. George of Tsitsernavanq (4-5th century)

Gtchavanq (4-13th century)⛪

Monastery of Yeghishe Arakyal (Jrvshtik) (5th century), Mataghis

⛪ Vankasar White Cross (5th century)

⛪ Kataro Monastery of Dizapayt and St. Mary (5th century)

⛪ The bread of bread (7-17 century)

⛪ Mokhrenis' covenant (7-17th century)

⛪ St. Hakobavanq of Kolatak (9th century)

⛪ Tsori Holy Savior (9th century)

St. Stepanos of Smaksogh (9-10th century)

White Cross Monastery of Hadrut Vank village (10th century)⛪

Architect Yeghisha Kus desert (12th tour)⛪

Saint George of Chankatagh (12th century)⛪

⛪ Khotavank (12-13th century)

⛪ St. Mary of Karvachar was born in the desert (12-13th century)

Saint Savior of Paul (12-13th century)⛪

⛪ Shoshkavanq St. Astvatsatsatsin

⛪ Horeka monastery (13th century)

⛪ Kavakavank (14th century)

⛪ Gospel of St. Gayane virgin desert (1616)

⛪ Holy Resurrection of Hadrut (1621)

⛪ Pirumashen (1641)

⛪ Holy Virgin of the Gospel (1651)

⛪ St. Stephen of the Cross (1654)

Shoshi New church (1655)⛪

⛪ St. Pandaleon of Berdadzor (Parin PJ) (1658)

⛪ Moskhmhat Ghevondyan desert (1658)

⛪ St. Minas of Haki (1673)

⛪ St. Grigoris Church of Herher (1676)

⛪ Tsakuri Tsakhkavanq St. Mary (1682)

⛪ Monastery of Yeritsman (1691)

Masrik church of Kashunik (1694)⛪

⛪ Desert Holy Savior (Napat) (17th century)

⛪ St. Stepanos of Hochants (17th century)

⛪ Bovurkhan monastery complex (17th century)

⛪ St. Hovhannes the Baptist (1736)

⛪ Holy Virgin Mary of Khnatsakh (1740)

⛪ Saint Stephen of Padara (18th century)

⛪ St. Mary of Mushkapati (18th century)

⛪ Holy Virgin of Dashushen (1843)

⛪ St. John the Baptist of Shushi (1847)

⛪ Saint Mary of Ngi (1853)

⛪ St. Hovhannes Karapet of Martakert (1857)

⛪ St. Mary of Aygestan (1860)

⛪ St. Mary under the stone (1862)

⛪ Shushi's Holy Savior (1868-1887)

⛪ Holy Virgin of Ashan (1896)

Saint George of Astghashen (1898)⛪

Saint George⛪ of Mataghis (1898)

...and many others.

*****

⛪Գանձասարի վանք (4-րդ դար) և Սուրբ Հովհաննես Մկրտիչ եկեղեցի (1216-1238)

⛪Դադիվանք (4-րդ դար) և Կաթողիկե (9-11-րդ դար)

⛪Ամարասի վանք (4-րդ դար)

⛪Ծիծեռնավանքի Սուրբ Գևորգ (4-5-րդ դար)

⛪Գտչավանք (4-13-րդ դար)

Եղիշե Առաքյալի վանք (Ջրվշտիկ) (5-րդ դար), Մատաղիս

⛪Վանքասարի Սպիտակ խաչ (5-րդ դար)

⛪Դիզափայտի Կատարո վանք և Սուրբ Աստվածածին (5-րդ դար)

⛪Հացի Բռի եղցի (7-17 դար)

⛪Մոխրենիսի Օխտը դռնե վանք (7-17-րդ դար)

⛪Քոլատակի Սուրբ Հակոբավանք (9-րդ դար)

⛪Ցորի Սուրբ Ամենափրկիչ (9-րդ դար)

Ծմակահողի Սուրբ Ստեփանոս (9-10-րդ դար)

⛪Հադրութի Վանք գյուղի Սպիտակ խաչ վանք (10-րդ դար)

⛪Ճարտարի Եղիշա Կուսի անապատ (12-րդ տուր)

⛪Ճանկաթաղի Սուրբ Գևորգ (12-րդ դար)

⛪Խոթավանք (12-13-րդ դար)

⛪Քարվաճառի Սուրբ Աստվածածին կուսանաց անապատ (12-13-րդ դար)

⛪Պողոսագոմերի Սուրբ Ամենափրկիչ (12-13-րդ դար)

⛪Մսմնայի Շոշկավանք Սուրբ Աստվածածին (13-րդ դար)

⛪Հոռեկա վանք (13-րդ դար)

⛪Կավաքավանք (14-րդ դար)

⛪Ավետարանոց Սուրբ Գայանե կուսանաց անապատ (1616)

⛪Հադրութի Սուրբ Հարություն (1621)

⛪Փիրումաշեն (1641)

⛪Ավետարանոցի Սուրբ Աստվածածին (1651)

⛪Խաչմաչի Սուրբ Ստեփանոս (1654)

⛪Շոշի Նոր եկեղեցի (1655)

⛪Բերդաձորի Սուրբ Պանդալեոն (Պարին Պիժ) (1658)

⛪Մոշխմհատի Ղևոնդյանց անապատ (1658)

⛪Հակի Սուրբ Մինաս (1673)

⛪Հերհերի Սուրբ Գրիգորիս եկեղեցի (1676)

⛪Ծակուռիի Ծաղկավանքի Սուրբ Աստվածածին (1682)

⛪Երիցմանկանց վանք (1691)

⛪Քաշունիքի Մասրիկ եկեղեցի (1694)

⛪Անապատ Սուրբ Ամենափրկիչ (Նապատ) (17-րդ դար)

⛪Հոչանց Սուրբ Ստեփանոս (17-րդ դար)

⛪Բովուրխանի վանքային համալիր (17-րդ դար)

⛪Տողի Սուրբ Հովհաննես Մկրտիչ (1736)

⛪Խնածախի Սուրբ Աստվածածին (1740)

⛪Պադարայի Սուրբ Ստեփանոս (18-րդ դար)

⛪Մուշկապատի Սուրբ Աստվածածին (18-րդ դար)

⛪Դաշուշենի Սուրբ Աստվածածին (1843)

⛪Շուշիի Սուրբ Հովհաննես Մկրտիչ (1847)

⛪Ննգիի Սուրբ Աստվածածին (1853)

⛪Մարտակերտի Սուրբ Հովհաննես Կարապետ (1857)

⛪Այգեստանի Սուրբ Աստվածածին (1860)

⛪Քարին Տակի Սուրբ Աստվածածին (1862)

⛪Շուշիի Սուրբ Ամենափրկիչ (1868-1887)

⛪Աշանի Սուրբ Աստվածածին (1896)

⛪Աստղաշենի Սուրբ Գևորգ (1898)

⛪Մատաղիսի Սուրբ Գևորգ (1898

Its a matter of headlines, just HEADLINES

 Vahe H. Aբelian

 I screenshot these headlines just a short while ago, one after the other, from different news outlets posted on Yahoo News, as if they were entertainments of sort. It occurred to me that in this visual world,  human plight and misery on the grounds are simply headlines and no more than headlines to grab attention and have more viewers and command more for the advertisements at the site. Note: I may add more headlines during the coming few days. 

In the end, Armenians of Artsakh, who have lived there for generations and centuries, are now rebels in their own land. What a cruel world !!!!!

Echoes of a day: September 20, 2023

Vahe H Apelian

September 20, 2023 will be a date that will go down in infamy in our history and will mar our Independence Day celebration on the next day, on September 21, 2023. 

I have attached some of the reactions posted on Facebook. God knows how we will react to this date in the years and decades to come.  But this is how people reacted and posted on the Facebook on the spur of the moment. The English wording, next to the Armenian on the same post, is my translation.