Can Armenia really protect its citizens and if yes, how does it plan to do that? After the first murders, everyone in Armenia got emotional about it but forget about it shortly after. It seemed as though Armenians in Armenia accepted the fact that there are sharp interracial conflicts and murders in Russia, especially since Russians are not only attacking Armenians, but also anyone who clearly looks like a Caucasian.
A group of Armenian intellectuals gathered during a press conference and tried to draw their attention to the fact that there are murders of Armenians. President of the Writers’ Union of Armenia Levon Ananyan said: “Today, only Russians and Azerbaijani kill Armenians, while Armenians in other countries are loved, respected and idolized.” He said that he considered the murders of Armenians in Russia as a request of political activists. “The murders of Tajikistani and Azerbaijani are quickly revealed, while the murders of Armenians aren’t. We know that the Azerbaijani have special and rich resources and we Armenians have to think about counterattacking.” According to him, the counterattack can be through the means of protests, demonstrations and open letters sent to Russian President Vladimir Putin. As for art critic Henrik Igityan, he suggests not forgetting about the work done by investigators. Historian Hayk Ghazaryan compared ostriches to Armenians: “We don’t want to see what’s going on around us”.
“The murders of Armenians are first and foremost in the interest of the Russian authorities. They kill Armenians in spots like the metro or in trains where everybody can see. Putin has worked for the KGB and knows very well how he can put an end to that,” said H. Igityan.
Cinematographer from Moscow Tigran Keosayan paid a visit to Yerevan a couple of months ago. He didn’t deny the fact that he lives with fear in his hometown Moscow and is forced to rent a personal bodyguard for his daughter. He said that he’s certain that the process is getting more and more uncontrollable. “Russia doesn’t realize what kind of dangerous genie it’s letting out of the lamp and perhaps it will be too late to stop it. What can the president of Armenia and the Armenian authorities do about this? I don’t know. Today Armenia’s neighbors are Turkey, which doesn’t recognize the Armenian Genocide, Azerbaijan, which has close ties with Turkey and Georgia with its unstable, lame and non-perspective governance. Let’s not forget Iran, which will soon start bombing the world with its “F-16”…What can Armenia do? I’m not saying that it should run after Russia; it should have its own policy.”
The pain of tolerance
Head of the department of ethnic minorities and religious issues of the Armenian government Hranush Kharatyan mentioned during a recent press conference that racism is a terrible thing, but the Russian authorities tolerate that. “Things are mixed up in Russia. The murders are circumvented and revealing the cases is postponed. That’s part of the political plan. I doubt that the open letters or the demonstrations will help if Russia has decided to eliminate the Armenians of Russia. Racism is a serious issue and it won’t end with Armenians,” she said. Armenian intellectuals are certain that Armenia needs a strict policy in order to have Russia look at Armenia as a dignified country and Armenia needs to do whatever it can to present what’s really going on to the world. “We have to work for the international community, but we’re still making films “for us”, printing books “for us”,’ said H. Igityan.
“Silence is conformism,” said director Armen Mazmanyan. He called the national tolerance of Armenians as “humanism of a donkey” and called on the Armenian millionaires living in Russia to return to Armenia. “Get your millions, your children, get a house in an Armenian village and be the millionaire in Armenia.” H. Kharatyan considered Mazmanyan’s call as an illusion because according to her, only the “helpless” will return, while the rich Armenians won’t return to Armenia as long as Armenia doesn’t provide equal conditions for economic competition and the borders remain closed. But the situation at hand needs to be solved because the murders tend to increase day by day. I’m not talking about cutting off all ties with Russia or declaring war on Russia, but Armenia must defend its dignity. The embassies, intellectuals and journalists of Russia and Armenia can present the situation correctly for the people. H. Igityan mentioned that it’s necessary to fear taking brisk steps because Russia may suddenly decide to dislocate its forces from Armenia and, according to Igityan, Armenia will lose in the future wars. A. Mazmanyan is against always being afraid. H. Kharatyan wants Armenians to form public opinion. In fact, the participants of the press conference said that the Russian embassy in Armenia isn’t doing anything to help solve the situation or explain what’s going on. According to Igityan, the Russian embassy of Armenia is not only indifferent towards the issue, but also shows its anti-Armenian approach to the issue. “The ambassador told me: “Are they killing Armenians? How do they know? Are they killing the right people?” recalled H. Igityan. No state official or official document can guarantee the lives of Armenians living in Russia. The wave of attacks is spreading more and more and the slogan “Russia for Russians” is turning into a justification for the skinheads and there is no time to protect yourself or prevent the attacks.