One Day They Will Say We Are the Aggressors, Not Azerbaijan: Former MP from My Step to the Authorities

The former MP from the My Step faction in the National Assembly, Tatevik Hayrapetyan, has written:

“There is an interesting phenomenon. The more persistently they try to devalue the struggle, the victory, and to create disdain for sacrifice and dedication, the more nationalism is quietly growing in our country. When you try to take away a person’s identity, to devalue and label everything they believe in, that person clings more tightly to their roots instead of giving up.

The more government legislators speak, the more they will make it impossible to implement their anti-national agenda. Resistance is not only formed on the streets and not just in numbers—many will not join today’s parliamentary opposition for obvious reasons. However, there are many people with honorable motivations who are looking for methods of struggle and solutions to offer an alternative to society. So let the authorities continue to devalue the struggle, mock the victories of the ’90s, preach hopelessness and the inevitability of surrender; perhaps this propaganda will affect some, but in the long run, it will have the completely opposite result, in my opinion.

I would not be surprised if one day they declare that we are the aggressors, not Azerbaijan. I am no longer surprised by anything.

There has not been a single MP in Azerbaijan for 30 years who said, ‘Let’s allow the Armenians of Artsakh to live peacefully; let’s not preach hatred from morning till night,’ while in our National Assembly, there are so many fake ‘peace advocates’ who are, in fact, proponents and defenders of Azerbaijani theses. Vazgen used to say, ‘No one likes war and fighting, but you must respect it.’ Nevertheless, we will get through this difficult phase as well; it requires will, patience, and clarity in our plans.”