Dispute over the mountains: Armenia refuses to mention Ararat
Armenia continues to move towards Azerbaijan and Turkey. As part of the reconciliation policy, starting from November 1, Yerevan will cease to depict Mount Ararat on its border stamps, which is considered a national symbol, although it is located on the territory of a neighboring country. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
From print to joy
The Armenian government decided on November 1 to remove the image of Mount Ararat from the border stamps. According to the decision of the officials, instead of the outline of the peak, there will be the word "Armenia" in the local and English languages, as well as the name of the border crossing point, the date of crossing and the type of transport used by the passport holder.
Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Arsen Torosyan explained that the stamps have been brought into line with modern requirements. According to him, now in most countries of the world, only information that is directly related to border crossing is given on seals. He also added that Yerevan adheres to the ideology of "real Armenia", that is, abandoning the conflict with Azerbaijan and Turkey.
In turn, Secretary of the ruling Civil Contract party Artur Hovhannisyan said that the reform was carried out to improve relations with neighbors. "We are doing everything so that there are no misconceptions about our country. Every action we take, whether it's a form of press, a statement, or anything else, should not send dangerous messages to neighboring states," he stressed.
At the same time, the opposition sharply criticized the decision. Artur Khachatryan, a member of the Armenian parliament, said that the country's government is "dancing to the Turkish tune." "Perhaps Erdogan called in the morning and decided to inject another dose of humiliation for fun... Imagine what they will demand for a more serious "compromise" that they will bargain for before the elections," he said.
Former Ambassador-at-Large Edmond Marukyan stated that Turkey had never raised the issue of images of Mount Ararat. According to him, the current Armenian authorities are voluntarily "editing national identity." A heated discussion also broke out on social media. "Mount Ararat has always occupied and will continue to occupy the most important place among all national and state symbols," one user noted.
The fight for the top
Ararat is a symbol of Armenia. In good weather, the mountain can be seen from Yerevan, although there are 60 km between them. The peak is located in Turkey, and it came under Ankara's control in 1921 after the conclusion of the Moscow Peace Treaty. Officially, the Armenian side has never made territorial claims to its neighbors, unofficially, the mountain has always been the subject of numerous discussions and an important part of national identity.
In recent years, however, the country's authorities have been changing their approach. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has repeatedly said that the highest point of the country is not actually Ararat, but Aragats, which is located on the internationally recognized territory of the country. According to him, only such an approach will help the Armenians achieve peace and preserve their state. "A different approach puts us in a certain historical cycle, at the end of which is the loss of the state," he argued.
Nikol Pashinyan
Pashinyan has also repeatedly called for teaching children in schools that Aragats is the highest point in Armenia. He added that this is an extremely important issue for the country's Armed Forces. "If we reform the army within the framework of the discourse about Ararat and historical Armenia, no one will not only sell us weapons, but also will not approve military cooperation with us. We will turn ourselves into a target," he assured.
The head of government also removed the image of Ararat from his office and reception hall, and Pashinyan posted a cover with a photo of Aragats on his social network page. Now, in parallel with the news about the reform of border stamps, information has also appeared that the mention of Ararat will be removed from the charter of the ruling party, the final approval of the changes is scheduled for September 20, when the unification congress will be held.
In parallel, a discussion about the coat of arms of Armenia unfolded against this background. Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan ridiculed the emblem in a rather harsh manner. According to him, the lion on the state symbol "looks like a smiley face," the sword is chained for some reason, and Armenia itself is "under water." It is believed that the authorities actually want to remove Ararat from the coat of arms, but they are still shy about stating this directly.
At the same time, the matter is not limited to the issues of mountains and hills. It is known that information about Armenian temples and monuments in modern Turkey began to be deleted from school history textbooks, and many toponyms began to be given in the Turkic manner. Another important step was the actual abandonment of the struggle for international recognition of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire.
In addition, the national anthem was changed earlier this year. If earlier it ended with the glorification of those who died for their homeland, now the final phrase contains the exclamation "May there always be Armenia!". The amendment of the Constitution is also being discussed, which now contains a reference to the country's declaration of independence, and it speaks about the desire to reunite with Karabakh and to condemn the genocide.
So far, however, all these efforts have had limited effect. In mid-September, Turkish Special Representative Serdar Kilic visited Yerevan. The parties agreed to "prepare conditions" for increasing flights between the countries, as well as to conduct research on the railway and power lines at the border. Contrary to the expectations of some observers, there was no breakthrough in relations.
What the experts say
Armenian political scientist Tigran Kocharyan recalls that Pashinyan promotes the concept of "real Armenia", within which it is proposed to deal with the development of the country within the state border.
— Ararat does not fit into this concept because it is located in Turkey. Accordingly, the memory of him is methodically etched out. Apparently, sooner or later it will come to changing the national emblem. Unfortunately, the authorities do not understand the peculiarities of our region. Constant concessions and willingness to compromise are not appreciated here. Such behavior is considered a sign of weakness, provokes not retaliatory steps, but all new claims," the expert explains.
Russian Caucasus expert Artur Ataev says that Nikol Pashinyan is acting quite logically.
— The Armenian authorities are trying to establish relations with their neighbors, changing their approaches for this, including in matters of state symbols and emblems. It is clear that this is a painful process, and important and long—established ideologies are being debunked. But eventually, a new order may be established in the region, which will ensure the mutually acceptable coexistence of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey. Apparently, Nikol Pashinyan is trying to achieve exactly this," he believes.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
