Akhundov: Monument to terrorists who committed series of political assassinations in 20th century unveiled in Armenia

A monument to the terrorists participating in the Operation Nemesis, who committed a series of political assassinations in the 1920s, has been unveiled in Armenia, Report informs referring to political scientist Fuad Akhundov.

“On April 24, a monument was opened in Armenia... to terrorists. More precisely, to the militants participating in the Operation Nemesis, who committed a series of political assassinations in the twenties of the twentieth century. They cracked down on members of the governments of the Young Turks and the People's Republic of Azerbaijan. They are respectfully called in Armenia "avengers" for “Armenian genocide.” But that doesn't stop them from being terrorists,” he said.

According to Akhundov, it is important to remember that these terrorists found followers - already in the seventies, Armenian terrorists of the "new generation" will carry out a "campaign" of killing Turkish diplomats in different countries, including the US and Western Europe. “And they also assured that they were not just bandits and murderers - they were "avengers" for the "genocide of 1915." And at the same time, they killed Turkish diplomats who were not yet born during the First World War. Or, as Varuzhan Karapetyan did at the Orly airport, they planted a bomb on a civilian airliner - long before the tragedy over Lockerbie. Or they opened fire on passengers at the Ankara airport. "One and a half million Armenians died then, what difference does it make how many of yours will die now?” one of the terrorists was shouting, Akhundov said.

The political scientist believes that it is precisely such individuals for whom a monument is erected in Yerevan, making them "heroes" and "an example to follow."

“To be honest, it seemed that after the monument to Garegin Nzhdeh, Armenia couldn’t fall lower than that. This person voluntarily became an agent of Hitler, (the Nuremberg Trials recognized these agents as war criminals), took an active part in the massacres of Jews, sold the valuable things looted during the Holocaust. In Armenia, of course, a legend is ready: A monument was erected for Nzhdeh not for his service to Hitler, but for his "exploits" in Zangazur. They even made a sickly tearful film about this. In this film, Nzhdeh asks how many "Turkish villages" are left in Zangazur, after which he proclaims: "We will liberate these villages!" Is it that Napoleon captured these villages, and Nzhdeh is going to liberate them? In Azerbaijan, there is hardly an urgent need to explain to anyone that they "liberated" the villages from peaceful indigenous Azerbaijani population. It is enough to look at today's villages of Karabakh, or rather what is left of them, to understand what it means to liberate villages in Armenian way," he said.

The political scientist specified that a monument to Nzhdeh was erected in the center of Yerevan for this, and now a monument to terrorists has appeared there.

“I wonder how shifted are the value orientations of the whole nation? A version has already appeared in social networks: they say, this is the initiative of the Dashnaks, etc. But the monument was not erected in a private courtyard. At least the authorities should have given permission for it,” he noted.

“And most importantly, there is such a law in the world as the transition of quantitative changes into qualitative ones. There are too many “episodes” related to attempts to mold terrorists into heroes in Armenia. These are monuments to ASALA militants in Yerablur, and a street named honor of the terrorist Monte Melkonyan, and much more,” the expert added.

He noted that the current generation does not choose the history of their country, it inherits what they already have.

He added that this generation can and should set priorities in this story, decide who is considered a hero and who is a criminal: “If terrorists and murderers are chosen as heroes in Armenia, this is today’s choice, moreover not only the past, but also of the future.”

“The "boomerang law" in Armenia itself has already worked - suffice it to recall how in 1999 a group of terrorists led by Nairi Hunanyan staged a shooting in the Armenian parliament. In 2016, another group of terrorists seized the police base and held hostages there for quite a long time,” Akhundov said.

The political scientist reminded how, on April 24, 2001, the French authorities once again supported Armenia in its addictions to terrorism and released the international terrorist Varuzhan Karapetyan from prison ahead of schedule: “But terror "made in Armenia" is a danger to everyone. And we must respond to it respectively, including in France. But, judging by the original dance "pas" of the French foreign minister, performed in Yerevan, Paris still supports the glorification of terrorism in Armenia, a manifestation of which is the opening of the monument to the militants of the Operation Nemesis.”