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AWAKENING
http://artsakhtert.com/eng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=915:-awakening&catid=3:all&Itemid=4
Wednesday, 30 January 2013 09:27
The year of 2013 has fully come into its rights. As you know, it will
pass in the NKR under the slogan of the Karabakh Movement, the 25th
anniversary of which will be publicly marked in February. 25 years
ago, on February 20, 1988, an extraordinary session of the Council of
People's Deputies of the NKAO of the twentieth convocation took place,
which adopted a resolution on applying to the Supreme Soviets of the
Azerbaijani and Armenian Soviet Socialist Republics for the transfer of
the district from Azerbaijan to Armenia. Simultaneously, the session
applied to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR for approving the issue of
transferring the NKAO from the Azerbaijani SSR to the Armenian SSR.
This truly crucial resolution, which became the culmination of the
national movement, was actually the legal endorsement of the free will
of the people, because it was based on the mass appeals of the NKAO
inhabitants to the supreme power of the USSR on this issue. It is
known that the session was preceded by gathering tens of thousands
of signatures put under the petition addressed to the leadership
of the Soviet Union. In fact, the resolution of the session of the
district Council marked a new stage in the Karabakh Movement. We can
say without any exaggeration that this event became a phenomenon also
in the public-political life of the Soviet Union, as the first time
in its history a parliamentary and democratic resolution was adopted,
which was truly based on the people's free will and was not vertically
ordered in the best traditions of the "Soviet parliamentarianism".
To be fair, we should admit that the national awakening of the Armenian
people in the late 80's of the last century was the result of the
policy of glasnost and perestroika proclaimed by the new Soviet leader,
Mikhail Gorbachev. It is well known that the Karabakh issue as such
had occurred, in fact, since the violent including of the district in
the structure of the Azerbaijani SSR in July 1921, against the will of
the majority of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh. During the Soviet
period, Armenians of the NKAO had repeatedly put before the central
leadership of the Soviet Union the issue of reunification of Artsakh
with Armenia, fairly considering it as salvation from Azerbaijan's
policy of national discrimination and as a guarantee for safe
development. Unfortunately, the federal authorities did not resolve
the problem; moreover, they drove it deeper with their inaction. And
only in 1988, when as a result of Gorbachev's "perestroika" some
signs of liberalization of the USSR public-political life appeared,
the people of Nagorno-Karabakh again raised its voice in defense of
its national rights and raised the issue of the withdrawal of the
district from Azerbaijan's structure.
It should be noted that initially there was a belief in the fairness
of the Union center, the party leadership, and in Gorbachev himself.
The people believed in him and wanted to change for the better, hoping
to solve the crucial issues. It is not accidental that at the initial
stage of the Karabakh Movement the people of Karbakh participated in
mass demonstrations in support of the demands for reunification of the
NKAO with Armenia under the slogans reflecting the unwavering belief
in the justice and sincerity of the Soviet leadership. The greater
was the disappointment with the democratic ideals of "perestroika".
Deception and hypocrisy were on what was based the "democracy"
of Gorbachev who positioned himself as a reformer of the stagnant
public-political life of the USSR. Looking ahead, we should note that
it was the falsity of Gorbachev's clique, the inability or rather
unwillingness to resolve long-standing problems, including national
ones, that ultimately led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. The
slogans on the socialist internationalism, on which the communist
ideology was based, devalued and could no longer ensure the unity of
the Soviet people.
Unfortunately, the leadership of the Soviet Union, led by Gorbachev,
took the national movements, including the Karabakh one, as a
threat to its power. With the filing of Gorbachev, the democratic
movement, which developed in strict accordance with the norms of
the then legislation, was assessed as extremism and separatism. (By
the way, this contrived propaganda thesis, which has already become
anachronistic, is used by Azerbaijan even today, after a quarter of
a century). As a result, a tandem of Moscow and Baku was created -
the Union Center did not suppress the aggressive manifestations of
the Azerbaijani nationalism, which turned into pogroms and massacres
of Armenians in Sumgait, Baku, Kirovabad, Mingechaur and other towns;
moreover, it actually encouraged the bloody actions for suppressing
the truly nationwide Karabakh Movement. Life has proven the failure
of Gorbachev's estimates, as well as the inability to destroy the
freedom-loving spirit of the people of Artsakh.
The Karabakh Movement, which emerged in the late 1980s as a desire for
reunification with Armenia, turned into a struggle for independence
in the new political environment, which occurred as a result of
the collapse of the Soviet Union. The independent Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic has existed for over twenty years, seeking its international
recognition. For the people of Artsakh, the lessons of the severe
struggle against the Soviet totalitarianism and Azerbaijani nationalism
for protecting their own honor and dignity were not in vain. Evolution
of their ideology took place, which led to the understanding of the
truth that only national unity, reliance on their own potential can
lead to the achievement of the higher goal. These lessons are needed
for all of us, but first of all, for the new generation of citizens of
the independent NKR, which should preserve and continue the traditions
of the elders.
Leonid MARTIROSSIAN Editor-in-Chief of Azat Artsakh newspaper
http://artsakhtert.com/eng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=915:-awakening&catid=3:all&Itemid=4
Wednesday, 30 January 2013 09:27
The year of 2013 has fully come into its rights. As you know, it will
pass in the NKR under the slogan of the Karabakh Movement, the 25th
anniversary of which will be publicly marked in February. 25 years
ago, on February 20, 1988, an extraordinary session of the Council of
People's Deputies of the NKAO of the twentieth convocation took place,
which adopted a resolution on applying to the Supreme Soviets of the
Azerbaijani and Armenian Soviet Socialist Republics for the transfer of
the district from Azerbaijan to Armenia. Simultaneously, the session
applied to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR for approving the issue of
transferring the NKAO from the Azerbaijani SSR to the Armenian SSR.
This truly crucial resolution, which became the culmination of the
national movement, was actually the legal endorsement of the free will
of the people, because it was based on the mass appeals of the NKAO
inhabitants to the supreme power of the USSR on this issue. It is
known that the session was preceded by gathering tens of thousands
of signatures put under the petition addressed to the leadership
of the Soviet Union. In fact, the resolution of the session of the
district Council marked a new stage in the Karabakh Movement. We can
say without any exaggeration that this event became a phenomenon also
in the public-political life of the Soviet Union, as the first time
in its history a parliamentary and democratic resolution was adopted,
which was truly based on the people's free will and was not vertically
ordered in the best traditions of the "Soviet parliamentarianism".
To be fair, we should admit that the national awakening of the Armenian
people in the late 80's of the last century was the result of the
policy of glasnost and perestroika proclaimed by the new Soviet leader,
Mikhail Gorbachev. It is well known that the Karabakh issue as such
had occurred, in fact, since the violent including of the district in
the structure of the Azerbaijani SSR in July 1921, against the will of
the majority of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh. During the Soviet
period, Armenians of the NKAO had repeatedly put before the central
leadership of the Soviet Union the issue of reunification of Artsakh
with Armenia, fairly considering it as salvation from Azerbaijan's
policy of national discrimination and as a guarantee for safe
development. Unfortunately, the federal authorities did not resolve
the problem; moreover, they drove it deeper with their inaction. And
only in 1988, when as a result of Gorbachev's "perestroika" some
signs of liberalization of the USSR public-political life appeared,
the people of Nagorno-Karabakh again raised its voice in defense of
its national rights and raised the issue of the withdrawal of the
district from Azerbaijan's structure.
It should be noted that initially there was a belief in the fairness
of the Union center, the party leadership, and in Gorbachev himself.
The people believed in him and wanted to change for the better, hoping
to solve the crucial issues. It is not accidental that at the initial
stage of the Karabakh Movement the people of Karbakh participated in
mass demonstrations in support of the demands for reunification of the
NKAO with Armenia under the slogans reflecting the unwavering belief
in the justice and sincerity of the Soviet leadership. The greater
was the disappointment with the democratic ideals of "perestroika".
Deception and hypocrisy were on what was based the "democracy"
of Gorbachev who positioned himself as a reformer of the stagnant
public-political life of the USSR. Looking ahead, we should note that
it was the falsity of Gorbachev's clique, the inability or rather
unwillingness to resolve long-standing problems, including national
ones, that ultimately led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. The
slogans on the socialist internationalism, on which the communist
ideology was based, devalued and could no longer ensure the unity of
the Soviet people.
Unfortunately, the leadership of the Soviet Union, led by Gorbachev,
took the national movements, including the Karabakh one, as a
threat to its power. With the filing of Gorbachev, the democratic
movement, which developed in strict accordance with the norms of
the then legislation, was assessed as extremism and separatism. (By
the way, this contrived propaganda thesis, which has already become
anachronistic, is used by Azerbaijan even today, after a quarter of
a century). As a result, a tandem of Moscow and Baku was created -
the Union Center did not suppress the aggressive manifestations of
the Azerbaijani nationalism, which turned into pogroms and massacres
of Armenians in Sumgait, Baku, Kirovabad, Mingechaur and other towns;
moreover, it actually encouraged the bloody actions for suppressing
the truly nationwide Karabakh Movement. Life has proven the failure
of Gorbachev's estimates, as well as the inability to destroy the
freedom-loving spirit of the people of Artsakh.
The Karabakh Movement, which emerged in the late 1980s as a desire for
reunification with Armenia, turned into a struggle for independence
in the new political environment, which occurred as a result of
the collapse of the Soviet Union. The independent Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic has existed for over twenty years, seeking its international
recognition. For the people of Artsakh, the lessons of the severe
struggle against the Soviet totalitarianism and Azerbaijani nationalism
for protecting their own honor and dignity were not in vain. Evolution
of their ideology took place, which led to the understanding of the
truth that only national unity, reliance on their own potential can
lead to the achievement of the higher goal. These lessons are needed
for all of us, but first of all, for the new generation of citizens of
the independent NKR, which should preserve and continue the traditions
of the elders.
Leonid MARTIROSSIAN Editor-in-Chief of Azat Artsakh newspaper