By Questioning the Genocide, Pashinyan Encourages Turkish and Azeri Denialists — By Harut Sassounian
There has been much debate recently among Armenians about Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s controversial statements regarding the Armenian Genocide.
Pashinyan’s supporters argue that he has not denied the Armenian Genocide, but has merely asked questions. Meanwhile, his opponents condemn him for denying the Genocide or raising unnecessary questions about a well-established historical fact.
More importantly than internal Armenian debates is the damage that Pashinyan may have done to the Armenian Cause by repeating similar questions raised by Turkey and Azerbaijan, intended to cast doubt on the veracity of the Genocide.
The Turkish Coalition of America published last month an article titled, “Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan’s Statement in Davos Zurich: Genocide was Moscow’s Creation.”
The Turkish Coalition added: “Pashinyan suggested that the long-standing accusations of the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire in 1915 may have been fabricated and that the topic itself was promoted by Moscow during the Cold War era…. Moreover, Pashinyan argued that the roots of the 1915 tragedy lay in false promises made to Armenians and their misplaced expectations…. This is not the first time Pashinyan has touched on the subject of “genocide” in ways that deviate from the traditional national narrative.”
The Azerbaijani and Jewish media also took advantage of Pashinyan’s pointless questions to deny the Armenian Genocide. Azerbaijan’s Trend news agency published an article on February 25, quoting from a lengthy article in THEJ.CA (international Jewish news in Canada) written by a well-known Israeli denialist Rachel Avraham who describes herself as “the Voice of Baku.” Avraham’s article was titled: “Nikol Pashinyan and the Events of 1915.” Avraham is “the CEO of the Dona Gracia Center for Diplomacy and an Israel-based journalist.”
Avraham wrote: “Pashinyan opened the Armenian Pandora’s box, which is something that cannot be questioned or doubted — the Armenian Genocide. Pashinyan raised doubts about the way Armenians interpret the events of 1915 and criticized how they have clung to their narrative over the years.”
In the following two sentences, Avraham contradicted herself about the supposed role of the Soviet Union in the commemoration of the Armenian Genocide. She first wrote: “the Armenian narrative of the ‘genocide,’ along with the myths added to it, was invented by the Soviet Union and promoted by Karen Demirchyan, a member of the Central Committee of the Soviet Armenian Communist Party.” She then claimed the exact opposite: “although the Soviets promoted the Armenian narrative and added myths to their interpretation of events, the Armenian narrative was not invented by the Soviets but by the Armenians themselves.”
Avraham then made another contradictory statement: “On February 21, 1985, the Politburo of the Soviet Union, under the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev, discussed ‘measures related to the 70th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide’…. Gorbachev agreed to the Armenians’ demands but was forced to make the opposite decision due to opposition from veteran members of the Communist Party such as Tikhonov, Gromyko, and Grishin. They argued that supporting the Armenian narrative, which blamed the Turks for the genocide, would harm relations with Turkey, which were beginning to warm at the time. In that meeting, Gorbachev sided with the opposition of the three veteran members for the sake of Soviet internal politics, but a month later, after Gorbachev was appointed General Secretary, he removed all three from the Politburo and replaced them with people more accommodating to the Armenian issue.”
Avraham then made the ridiculous claim that Uruguay recognized the Armenian Genocide in 1965 only after getting the green light from Moscow. Going further, she claimed that no country recognized the Armenian Genocide until Armenia’s independence in 1991. She is wrong because Argentina recognized it in 1985, Armenia in 1990, Cyprus in 1982, Pres. Ronald Reagan in 1981, and the U.S. government in 1951, in an official document submitted to the World Court.
Pashinyan does not seem to realize that he is the Prime Minister of Armenia. As such, his words have consequences for the Republic of Armenia, Armenians worldwide and the Armenian Cause. Furthermore, his statements are observed by friends and foes alike around the world. The governments of Azerbaijan and Turkey are always ready to exploit every word he says to damage Armenia’s interests. Therefore, Pashinyan has to be very careful in his public pronouncements. He needs the assistance of professional speech writers and expert advisers. The problem is that he is inexperienced and listens to nobody. Recently, when he was asked in the Armenian Parliament whom he consults before making a decision, his answer was: “I consult no one.”
Pashinyan will depart from his office someday, but the damage he leaves behind for Armenia and Armenians will last for decades. That is why, the sooner he steps down, the better for Armenia.
It is truly a disaster for Armenians that the Prime Minister of Armenia is joining with the presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkey in raising questions about the Armenian Genocide.
