YOUNG, INJURED ARMENIA

Today Thursday, September 21, Armenia turns 32. One of the youngest states in the world, born out of the collapse of the Soviet Union, it is marking the anniversary amid the sadness of the catastrophic capitulation imposed on the sister Republic of Artsakh. Make no mistake. This is genocide by other means, in which Turks and their Azerbaijani cousins and junior apprentices to crime excel.

It is an undeniable fact that our ancient nation needs its state more than ever to ensure their continuing existence. The Diaspora has been and is engaged in this process with its spiritual and secular institutions altogether. Each and every element of the Armenian nation has its vital role here. Therefore, it is necessary to stand with our state and our people as a whole. 

More than three decades on, the aftershocks of the geopolitical cataclysm that was the collapse of the Soviet Union are still acutely felt. Everything from the blockade of Artsakh to the war in Ukraine are a delayed consequence of that imperial implosion.   

This is why it is a fallacy to suppose that the dissolution of the Soviet Union was bloodless. It was not a nuclear Armageddon as many feared, but it was still violent, as we are still witnessing.  

Yet it is also true that the Soviet Union gave the traumatized, martyred Armenian nation a respite from its genocidal neighbors. They are now at it again, because Turkey and Azerbaijan are states fundamentally built on genocide. What to Armenians and most other nations is a crime, for Turks and Azerbaijanis is foundational: extermination, conquest, and pillage are the way of life that defines them. Not only their criminality has been amply rewarded with  lands and wealth that do not belong to them, but they are still going after more of it. First Armenians, naturally, for Turks and Azeris wealth creation comes through criminal appropriation, not by means of honest work.       

Our strongest line of defense is our statehood, with the unanimous support of the people. The Diaspora must accompany them firmly, united in our resolve for an independent Armenia.