Hayka Aloyan,
Yesterday, June 15, during a question-and-answer session at the National Assembly, Nikol Pashinyan referred to the coat of arms of the Republic of Armenia. In particular, he announced that the coats of arms of the 4 kingdoms of Armenia, Noah’s Ark, and Mount Ararat depicted on it have nothing to do with the state founded in 1991. The same applies to the lion depicted on the coat of arms, which no longer lives in the current territory of Armenia.
For years, the issue of the RA coat of arms, anthem, and flag has been discussed among us. Some pointed out inaccuracies and shortcomings, some did not like the lyrics or music of the anthem. However, until 2020, those discussions had a different look: they were just the occupation of idle people, and after the war, treacherous steps against Armenia’s sovereignty.
Political scientist Ara Poghosyan says: “I would prefer not to comment on such statements in general, because from the beginning, Pashinyan’s image already contradicts the vital interests of the Republic of Armenia.” “In the content sense, we listen to what is becoming a reality in practical, applied politics. The lion is a symbol of strength and power, and when it sounds like the lion has not lived in Armenia or our region for a long time, it has an implication, that is, we do not want power, we just want to remain in some economic zone, where people will only make money and that’s it: we are not interested in sovereignty, independence, statehood, such things. A national dream, a national vision, these are not new things, what they directly or indirectly announce. Therefore,
As for the image of Ararat, it was clear at the time that at some point Turkey will bring forward its preconditions, will again make demands on Armenia to give up the national dream. Because the most and perhaps the most dangerous thing for Turkey is the national dream of Armenians, the vision that Turkey has been trying to break in us for years.
“Now this is getting practical. besides the fact that it becomes a reality on the ground, it is also used in the war of symbols. The coat of arms condenses the state’s past, present and future. And in this case, to give up our past, to give up our present and to become some kind of entity cut off from the land – this is exactly what Turkey’s goal has been for years since the 1920s. It continues to remain, but in this case already, in this particular period, an attempt is made to reach its final result,” Ara Poghosyan notes.
For a political scientist, the attempt to break the connection between the past and the present is worrisome: when Pashinyan says that a lion has not lived in this region for a long time, it means that we are renouncing our past, our history. We have had statehood, different dynasties, which have rightfully carried not only the emblems of the eagle and the lion, but also carried and implemented its political connotation in the region. And in this case, today’s government, which conducts foreign and domestic policy on behalf of Armenia, refuses all that.
“The third republic of Armenia is approaching its end. And those statements of Pashinyan prove that they are going to organize the funeral ceremony. Because one of the deepest ideological meanings of the third republic was that a united Armenia would be created, having the vision of recognizing and reparating the Genocide and declaring it as a state goal, putting before us the problem of recognition, self-determination of the Republic of Artsakh, and then reunification with Armenia, we formed the mission of the third republic. By abandoning that mission, we ourselves bring about the collapse of that statehood. Something that these authorities seem to masterfully try to do today” emphasized Poghosyan.
“We have several important problems, one of which is what the next authorities will be like, how they will come to power and whether they will be able to mobilize the broad masses of society, will they bring the goals of the top and bottom to a point when everyone looks in the same direction. If so, then not only will we have the opportunity to recover our losses, but we will also have the opportunity to develop. During this period, although new ontological problems are being created for the Republic of Armenia and we are facing a very serious threat to existence, on the other hand, of course, it is exclusively the result of our stupidities, actions, thoughts, etc. of our political power and our elites,” he says. is our interlocutor.
“In the regional and global sense, new opportunities are also being created, between some states that used to cooperate quite well, today wrinkles are visible, and new contradictions are emerging, which may open a new period of opportunities for us. In that sense, I consider the Turkish president’s statement that the main problem for them in opening the so-called Zangezuri Corridor is Iran’s position. Here we see the possible escalation of the Iran-Turkey conflict. Of course, I do not rule out the possibility that Turkey or Azerbaijan will make such a proposal that Iran will have to accept and change its position, but in any case this is an opportunity for us and there are many other opportunities to form a new government, a new national vision, national goals.