"Many whom you regard as friends are not friends at all, and many whom you don’t regard as friends are your friends indeed."
Democritus
In the past when rulers in southeast Asia were willing to become friends with each other they used to give a white elephant as a gift, which was regarded as the most precious present. This seemingly beautiful and attractive gift became a headache for its owner, since the cost of looking after it was a heavy burden.
In the past, similar gifts were given to the Armenians by their "friends". There are too many to fit into this article, but I will try to note some that I remember and many of us know.
At the beginning of the 19th century after Tsarist Russia seized Azerbaijani khanates one by one, the migration started of Armenians from Iran and other areas to the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the "Armenian province" which had formed around the Yerevan khanate, annulled by a decree signed on 21 March 1828 by Nicholas I. Though it’s not known what the Russians promised the Armenians, the goal was to form a strategic buffer zone at the borders of Iran and Turkey.
So, Armenians were forcibly moved from their homes and high-ranking positions (the chief treasurer of the Iranian shah's harem was Armenian) to a place that they had never seen and did not know (despite the fact that Armenians masterfully took ownership of these places in a short space of time) and had to live with new neighbours. As a result, for 200 years now neither Azerbaijanis nor members of other nations have been able to live in these lands in peace.
Near the end of the 19th century, their Western "friends" started action to destroy the Ottoman Empire and began to take advantage of the Armenians. Parties such as Dashnaktsutyun and Hnchak, formed with the financial and moral support of missionary organizations, caused unbelievable acts of terror and conspiracy and fomented hatred and distrust of the peaceful Armenian population in the Ottoman Empire, thereby managing to give a stimulus to the enemies of the empire. It’s surprising to find dozens of Armenian names among the upper echelons of the Ottoman Empire - foreign and finance ministers, ambassadors and diplomats.
But why did Armenians take a treacherous position? During the First World War, they struck the Turks, whose bread they used to eat for centuries, from behind by openly and secretly supporting the Russian, British and French armies. And it’s true that at the beginning of the 20th century, with the support of these countries, the Armenians, who had always been good pawns in geopolitical games, managed to form their own state in historical Azerbaijani land.
In subsequent periods, the Armenians' "friends" used them again by giving them false promises. Julius Caesar’s "I love treason but hate a traitor" and Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s "He who is slowest in making a promise is most faithful in its performance" are apt aphorisms here. These "friends" who put forward the so-called "Armenian genocide" and adopt laws on it in their parliament are trying to show that they are good guys, but in reality they understand full well the situation in which they have put Armenia. The aim is not to take land and indemnity from Turkey and form "Greater Armenia", as this is not possible; their real aim is to use the Armenians to weaken Turkey and increase their own authority in the region.
Despite the fact that 20% of Azerbaijan’s territories are occupied, that the country has one million refugees and IDPs and not a single Azerbaijani lives in Armenia, nearly 30,000 Armenians live in Azerbaijan. Following the earthquake in 1988 emergency aid was sent to Armenia from Azerbaijan (one of the planes carrying aid crashed for unknown reasons).
Even during Armenia’s military aggression against Azerbaijan, Turkey sent wheat aid to Armenia out of humanitarian considerations. Today, 100,000 Armenians live illegally in Turkey. When Arthur Manukyan and his family, living illegally in Turkey, risked deportation, the prime minister took his poor health into consideration and allowed him (and hundreds of other Armenians) to remain in the country, which is an example of the attitude towards them. It is ungrateful people who forget favours and kindness.
The events of August 2008 [Russo-Georgian war] and the global economic crisis showed that "friends" disappear in hard times. The West and international finance organizations offered a large amount of financial assistance (loans) to Armenia, thereby increasing their debts even more (the foreign state debt in 2011 was $7bn) and, in return, Armenia gave part of its infrastructure to other states. Armenia does not even fear limiting its independence through this move.
Maybe Armenian society has reasonable people who love their nation and want a prosperous future. These people are constantly searching for outlets from the tough social and political situation and understand the importance of improving relations with neighbouring countries, Azerbaijan and Turkey, in particular.
No matter how strange it sounds, the sad situation in Armenia today is forcing not only people but also animals to leave the country. Our compatriots living in bordering regions with Armenia witness this every day.
This was verified by Gevorg Pogosyan, chairman of the Armenian Sociological Association and director of the Philosophy, Sociology and Law Institute of the National Academy of Sciences. In a futurological map for 2050-80, published in the US, he couldn’t find a state with the name of Armenia.
Ramid Namazov
Collaborator of the Foreign Relations Department of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan
News.Az
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