Mikael Minasian: Pashinyan's Statement About Shushi Being Azerbaijani is a Result of Ignorance

Pashinyan's statement about Shushi being an Azerbaijani city is a result of ignorance: Shushi has always been Armenian. Shushi became Azerbaijani due to Nikol Pashinyan and his pro-Turkish traitors. This was stated by the former Armenian Ambassador to the Vatican, Mikael Minasian, on his Facebook page.

He specifically wrote, "Why are you surprised and angry about the deranged speeches regarding Shushi? It has been 24 hours since Nikol's insane outburst about Shushi. Anger has passed, even the surprise. And in 'Haykakan Zhamanak', 24 hours later, everything was forgotten, gone. If Nikol has digested the capitulation of Shushi, then why should he not feel responsible for distorting the history of Shushi? And then, this is not the first time Nikol has lied from the podium of the National Assembly and spewed nonsense. He has always done it – sometimes more, sometimes less, it's part of the learning process.

What interests me more is that the statement about Shushi being an Azerbaijani city went unanswered. No historian spoke up, the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia is silent. The history teachers at Pushkin School, where I studied (as well as other teachers), are silent. The priests of the Mekhitarist Congregation, who proudly spoke of Shushi's Armenian heritage (as well as the rest of the Diaspora institutions), are silent. The researchers from the Matenadaran, who presented the manuscripts from Artsakh, are silent. Everyone is silent, because they agree with the new interpretation of the Armenian people's history?

Those who photographed themselves next to the first tank that thought to liberate Shushi are quiet. Perhaps they accept that the tank actually didn't liberate it but 'captured the Azerbaijani city' and now they are embarrassed by those pictures. The liberators celebrating May 8th are also silent. The Commando, who narrated the 'Wedding in the Mountains' operation for more than two decades, is silent. Zhirayr Seferyan, who boasted about the liberation of Shushi and convinced everyone he would save the Armenian people as the commander of a separate battalion, is silent. The political field is silent; not even former presidents of Artsakh, victorious commanders, or former foreign ministers responded. Besides some Facebook users, only Seyran Ohanyan and the former mayor of Shushi spoke about Nikol's statements.

Nikol has become the litmus test of our reality. His ridiculous speeches and his power are the simplest indicators that show there is actually no state, no political field, no serious society. This statement also showed that there is neither a historian nor a liberator of Shushi in our country. If they exist, then for what purpose?

I am genuinely surprised that you are still surprised by Nikol. After all, we all knew who he is. Over these three years, he has proved that he has not changed. He fooled with 'strength' for two years, he deceived during 44 days with misinformation, and he deceived with the imitation of negotiations for 60 days. Moreover, everyone pretended to believe him, then 'we decided' that Nikol should stay. Accept the simple reality: Nikol will not change. He is an ordinary liar, a state traitor, and an enemy of the nation. And he will continue at the same tempo. Everything is very predictable and quite logical. Save your nerves if you have decided to come to terms with the existence of this traitorous disgrace.

P.S. And now a little 'likbez' for the Azerbaijani propagandist holding the position of Prime Minister of Armenia and his followers: Shushi has always been a cultural center of Artsakh, where until the 1920 Turkish-Azerbaijani marauding groups' Armenian massacres, the majority of the population was Armenian. In 1920, the Azerbaijanis killed 8-10 thousand Armenians in Shushi according to various estimates, destroying around 7,000 Armenian buildings. The remaining Armenian population was forced to leave their historical homeland, while Azerbaijanis began to settle in Armenian Shushi. According to the first census of the Russian Empire in 1897, the total population of Shushi was 25,881 people: Armenians numbered 14,420, while the number of Tatars (present-day Azerbaijanis) was 10,778. Therefore, Pashinyan's statement about Shushi being an Azerbaijani city is a result of ignorance. Shushi has always been Armenian. Shushi became Azerbaijani because of Nikol Pashinyan and his pro-Turkish traitors."