VIDEO: 'These are not your father's lands, nor are you a king to hand them over' - Bishop Bagrat of Tavush

The statement about handing over four villages in the Tavush region is not only a hostile demand but unfortunately also a manifestation of the Armenian government's and its leader's feebleness, and I can clearly say, a mentality of not having a homeland. This was stated by Bishop Bagrat Galstanyan during his sermon following a mass at the Holy Mother of God Church in Voskepar.

'One must be blind, or have accepted blindness, to forget, or not be able to recognize this inherited territory as theirs due to fear. I won’t hide from you that we are constantly part of this entire process of betrayal and being uprooted. The Bishop emphasizes that no one has the right to hand over any part of their homeland. 'They say now, no, we are not handing over villages, these are territories. These are not your father's lands, nor are you a sultan, a khan, or a king. You did not even buy these lands to hand them over or attempt to do so now.'

Bishop Galstanyan insists that the people must decide whether to submit or to resist, to 'cut off the hand that is trying to disturb our home.' He recollects that Monte said, 'by giving away Artsakh, we turned the last page of our history. Handing over these villages in Tavush will not merely turn the last page of history but will close the book of Armenian history, as we are somehow placed in a coffin with only the last nails remaining, leaving us without hope of resurrection. But it will not happen, whatever you do,' he said. For more details, watch the video.