Worrisome Stance of Araik Harutyunyan, Say Former Officers of NSS

Without external forces, particularly the support of Azerbaijan and Turkey, without provoking armed conflicts, and without terrorizing the country's population with war, the government cannot survive through repressions for long and will ultimately yield, as the struggle is for national values and homeland.

This statement was released by the union of former officers of the National Security Service (NSS).

Observations made during our participation in rallies and marches allow us to conclude that with proper organization of activities and certain successes, the number of participants shows a clear trend of growth. Among the protesters are individuals of various ages and professions, primarily conscious individuals with higher education, who have taken to the streets out of deep concern for Artsakh and Armenia, regardless of identity or political affiliation.

It is evident that both the participants and the organizers are resolute in their actions, patient, and measured, conducting the events exclusively in peaceful conditions, without aggression or the risk of mass disturbances. At the same time, there is a willingness to go to the end, a readiness for self-sacrifice.

Therefore, if the authorities continue to disregard, ignore the people, overlook their opinions, justified and legitimate concerns, and attempt to undermine the movement through various means known to us, the peaceful activities in the streets may also cease in the near future. However, this does not mean that the public will calm down, that people will reconcile themselves and tolerate the anti-Armenian, anti-national policies of the authorities.

On the contrary, underground activity will begin, violence will escalate, and individuals and forces will emerge who will seek to stop the surrender of the lands of Artsakh and Armenia, even through harsh measures and the use of weapons. As a result, serious confrontation will begin within the country, which is unacceptable and a path to national ruin, as it will weaken the country from within and will be beneficial only to our enemies.

In this context, the stance of the Artsakh authorities and particularly President Araik Harutyunyan is particularly concerning regarding his passivity towards the internal political events of Armenia and especially the protests that are unfolding in favor of Artsakh. It can be stated that a second front has opened in Armenia in the struggle for Artsakh, and by not participating or supporting this, the president of Artsakh and the other passive officials are merely becoming deserters and pawns clinging to their positions.

Do Araik Harutyunyan and the others realize what will happen tomorrow to Artsakh if this movement stops, or do they think that this is only an issue within Armenia? If this is how they think, if this is what they want, then they are at least being dishonest towards the people of Armenia and the Diaspora.

They here and there express opinions that they supposedly do not want to interfere in Armenia's internal affairs, then why did they tolerate and call on our thousands of boys to go to war? After all, by going to Artsakh, they were essentially interfering in their internal affairs.

It is clear that through silence and passivity, these officials are solving the problem of preserving their vast wealth, but at least they should have the courage to publicly declare that they are not opposed to living under Azerbaijan; otherwise, it appears that Armenians and the Diaspora are engaged in self-deception, and they have taken up the struggle against their will or in their absence.

Araik Harutyunyan must stand among the leaders of the protests before the thousands of our fallen and brave soldiers, as these protests primarily concern the survival of Artsakh, and therefore also personally for him. Otherwise, he should publicly declare that he is against the movement and in favor of Nikol Pashinyan's pro-Turkish policies (at least the latter has stated his position clearly and honestly), the cost of which is primarily Artsakh.