‘‘Political language. . . is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind”

George Orwell

On Tuesday, October 26th, a delegation led by Speaker of Parliament of Armenia Alen Simonyan visited Cyprus where they met with Harris Georgiades, Chair of Cyprus-Armenia Inter-Parliamentary Committee on Cooperation.

The meeting emphasizes the political dialogue between Armenia and Cyprus with Simonyan expressing gratitude for Cyprus’s support during the Nagorno-Karabakh war of 2020. Furthermore, Alen Simonyan announced that Armenia and Cyprus could be forming Armenia-Cyprus Inter-Parliamentary Committee on Cooperation with the goal of keeping and advancing their currently united goals.

However, the promotion of Armenia by its delegation was overshadowed and blemished by Alen Simonyan himself when he encountered a group of Armenian protesters.

The delegation of the President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia was “welcomed” by Armenians of Cyprus unhappy with the way the current government and their officials handled the war in 2020 between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The protesters wanted to share their dissatisfaction, armed with harsh words and banners.

Simonyan Insulting Armenian Diaspora

Shouts of “Traitors”, “Armenian killers”, “We don’t want to see you here” could be heard from the moment Alen Simonyan stepped out of his vehicle. And while the behavior of the protesters was creating a commotion, it was not unexpected.

What was unexpected was that Simonyan decided to confront and “deal with” the protesters I’m a very disgraceful way. While people, who could be seen as Armenian diaspora, shared their disappointment in Armenian, the President of the Armenian National Assembly mocked them for their use of the Armenian language. 

“I speak clean (pure) Armenian but it seems you and your friends in this place can’t,” he said to a protestor. When he was asked to explain “which place” he was referring to, he casually ignored it and was already searching for another target. 

A banner caught his eye enough that he had to ask what was written on it. It’s unclear whether he couldn’t see the banner clearly or he was making another jab at the Armenian diaspora for not using “pure” Armenian. Nevertheless,  when he learned that the message on banners reads “5,000 lost because of you” he simply warned the protesters to not make up numbers. 

And while being swamped by protesters would be unpleasant to many, a certain level of manners and good conduct is required and expected from such a high-ranking official. By calling out Armenians of Cyprus for their speaking habits and differences, he inadvertently, or maybe quite deliberately, insulted the Armenian Diaspora as a whole.

And even if his personal stance and feelings about the Armenian Diaspora may be negative, Simonyan obviously forgot his position and his voice should represent the voice of the Armenian people. Therefore, no matter where he is, and especially if he is traveling with a delegation to foreign countries, he should choose his words carefully.

Otherwise, he might risk distorting the image of Armenia’s public opinion and make it seem like Armenians love to belittle their Diaspora.

POWs Return Sabotage 

The “5,000 lost” remark and the way Simonyan implied this number of the victims of the 2020 war was made up is something he did in the past. While speaking at National Assembly, Simonyan was very adamant that the report on torture and mistreatment of Armenian POWs included “fabricated scenes”. Again, Simonyan running his mouth could bring more misfortune to Armenia, their fallen heroes, and their families.

The report was conducted by the Office of the Ombudsman of Armenia, Arman Tatoyan, but the International and Comparative Law Centre and Armenian Legal Centre of Justice and Human rights were also involved in collecting the data and testimonies.

What’s more important, this report was in the process of being submitted to international courts in hopes of holding Azerbaijan responsible for their war crimes and forcing their hand to release all Armenian  POWs still held in captivity.

It is this recklessness and utter absence of professionalism that can cost Armenia their heroes because no European or International court would take seriously a report that is belittled by their country’s highest-ranking officials.

The latest Cypres incident is simply one out of many ways Civil Contract members and officials in Pashinyan’s regime are sabotaging Armenia, its progress, and freedom. 

People