The Radio Director is Just the Radio Director: Arshakyan Responds to the Director of Public Radio

Firstly, it should be noted that the owner of Public Radio is the public; the radio director is just the radio director. This was stated by Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Hakob Arshakyan on his Facebook page in response to the Director of Public Radio, Garegin Khumaryan.

He specifically wrote: “It should be recorded that it has indeed been said that we should cease to be a tool, stop living in dreams. It has been said that the strong strengthens their state with what they have, not by aiming to have something that is not theirs – legally, of course, it is very much connected to their distant dreams because their ancestors lived there, it was theirs in the past, but in today’s reality, they have something that needs their care and attention – today and now, not in dreams.”

“Yes, let us strengthen ourselves, let us stop polluting what we have, recognized by the world as ours, let us not ignore it when it needs our attention, let us not underestimate it when it needs to be elevated, let us not abandon it when it needs warmth, let us not evade, slip away, or be lazy when it needs our strength, let us not betray.”

“Let us love our homeland – the Republic of Armenia, because there is a biblical truth: ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.’”

“Is this a game to buy time? At least the history of the past decades should remind us that the Armenian ‘shustrutyun’ of playing for time is not working. Moreover, only Armenia’s ‘shustr’ authorities have believed in this ‘shustrutyun’, who told the people within this logic: ‘Dear people, hold on, you must live in poverty, experience hardships, because we are buying time and getting stronger, building an army.’ And in reality, they were squandering the wealth of an already impoverished country.”

“Perhaps many would be happy if this slumber continued, but with deep reluctance, they note that no one is ready to lull them anymore, to nourish them with dreams, to feed them with historical justice, to blind them with the sowing of hatred.”

The Director of Public Radio equates Eastern and Central European countries with ordinary nations, while classifying Armenia among the unusual or special ones, justifying it by claiming that Armenians are threatened with genocide – a new genocide.

“In the last century, dozens of countries have emerged and disappeared from the map in Eastern or Central Europe; genocides, uses of chemical weapons, Nazism, communism, glorious victories and humiliating defeats, ruins and massacres with tens of millions of victims.”

“I understand that it is difficult to be one of all, with its peculiarities and differences, but it is possible to be one of all – responsible for oneself, and at the same time, for the course of history; one among all who is happy like everyone else, unhappy like everyone else, special like everyone else, unique like everyone else, strong like everyone else, free like everyone else, a soldier in the battlefield like everyone else, a director in the director's office, a servant in the church, a politician in the National Assembly, one among all – responsible for oneself, responsible for everyone.”

“The reality is that we are one among all, with linguistic and cultural peculiarities, traditions, spiritual and material heritage, advantages and disadvantages; we are part of the whole and complete the whole with our existence.”

“No longer being genocided – the goal formulated by the director cannot alone be a state objective, but even for achieving that goal, it is necessary to stop being a legitimate target, to stop throwing challenges that are not yours – they belong to others. We must stop enslaving ourselves to our own hatred – imported hatred. Yes, there are many reasons to hate, but it is impossible to be free if you are filled with hatred, regardless of who or what it is towards, regardless of the reason.”

“Even in wartime, hatred is unnecessary. We must live and create with our own priorities, our own agenda – based on our people’s and state’s interests – stop being a tool and a pawn, a blind bargaining object.”

“I only feel sorry for all those people who view the Republic of Armenia as an absolute means to escape genocide, or as a tool to address the issue of Artsakh, or as a means to restore historical justice; it is so sad.”

“The Republic of Armenia must stop being a target, being used as a means of trade; the people should not be blinded by hatred. We must reassess our dreams and goals, people in Armenia should be free and creative, caring for what they have – by the right of ownership, strong and ready at any moment, without hatred and without hesitation, to defend everything we have – brotherly, side by side.”

“And this is our goal, our issue, not that of others. This is a conversation with ourselves, a conversation with ourselves that should be conducted without unnecessary emotions – with cold reasoning – with ourselves.”