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WE KNOW THE VALUE OF PEACE, SAYS YERKRAPAH UNION CHIEF
tert.am
14.07.12
Tert.am has interviewed Manvel Grigoryan, the president of the
Yerkrapah Union of Volunteers and a former deputy defense minister,
who is celebrating his 56th birthday anniversary today.
The conversation turned out very interesting and meaningful. Below
is an excerpt from the interview.
Following the recent border incidents that saw the enemy's subversive
groups attempting to penetrate into Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh,
causing losses and leaving people injured, many specialists believe
that we are close to war. What does a Yerkrapah [member] think in
that connection?
A Yerkrapah member always follows the principle if you want peace,
prepare for war. No one knows the value of peace better than we do. We
have lost brothers and friends, and we know what a big disaster war
is. That is why we consider that it is necessary to be unanimous in
this country and have a strong state and a strong army to make the
insidious enemy imagine for an instant that he will fall down at our
feet and implore peace in case of any infringement against our border.
Let me recall that it was Azerbaijan that incited a war against us
then while the Armenian formations, under the leadership of Sparapet
Vazgen Sargsyan, imposed peace on the blood thirsty Turk. Just remember
the Azerbaijanis fleeing in panic in 1994. Remember also how generous
and merciful we were. We could have taken many territories, but we
stopped because we know what peace is, because we guide ourselves by
universal Christian values. We satisfied ourselves with liberating
the small part of our homeland that is necessary for guaranteeing
the security of Armenia and Artsakh [Nagorno-Karabakh].
Summing up, I can say that we do not wish a war, but we are ready
for the worst. Should the enemy err and launch a war, I promise
that the military operations will take place on its territory. It
is quite possible in that case that we will not restrict ourselves
with liberating only our native lands, as we did in 1994, and some now
misunderstandingly call them occupied territories. All the territories
liberated in 1994 are Armenian. Once your spade touches the ground
anywhere there, you come across an Armenian cross-stone. Should a
Turkish-Azeri try resort to a new attempt, we may then reach Kirovabad
[Gyanja] and even Baku, apart from liberating Nakhichevan. It is
necessary to nip the evil in the bud. We are not like them; we are
peace- lovers. We haven't slaughtered a child but we know how to
fight resolutely once our homeland or families come under threat.
Should, heaven forbid, the war resume, will the society demonstrate
spirit and the same mental renaissance that it did in the 1990s? Will
our army be efficient?
An Armenian's heroic spirit is immortal. The Armenian mothers are
heroes, and they will never stop giving birth to heroes. Glory to our
mothers! Glory to our brave [fighters] who who were fed on their pure
milk! The under-25 population of Artsakh has never seen the Azerbaijani
yoke. Let, by the way, the entire civilized humanity to keep in mind
that Artsakh was never independent while being part of Azerbaijan. It
was part of Azerbaijan only under the USSR rule. Be confident that
the Armenian nation is resolute; the Armenian nation is unanimous to
protect its native land and independence from an external threat. As
for the Army, we do not separate ourselves from the military. A
general or an officer knows no such thing as retirement.
We all are in the reserve and will invest our might in the protection
of our motherland. Yes, the Army does have shortcomings, which are
corrigible. Have you ever asked the Azerbaijanis if they are ready?
Just have a conversation with both ordinary citizens of both
Armenia and Azerbaijan. See what morals and manners their army
pursues. Their youth serving there is going to fall victims to
the political leadership's adventures. In the early 1990s' war the
Armenians suffered thousands of losses, but the Azerbaijanis' suffered
several times more. Each citizen is dear to us, and we feel sorrow for
those victims. Unlike Azerbaijan's political and military leadership,
we never send inexperienced fellows immediately to the frontline,
making them cannon fodders. Does that mean the army is ready? All
armies are obliged to be ready if they are really armies.Otherwise
they would be a throng of cowards and defeatists, not an army.
From: Baghdasarian
tert.am
14.07.12
Tert.am has interviewed Manvel Grigoryan, the president of the
Yerkrapah Union of Volunteers and a former deputy defense minister,
who is celebrating his 56th birthday anniversary today.
The conversation turned out very interesting and meaningful. Below
is an excerpt from the interview.
Following the recent border incidents that saw the enemy's subversive
groups attempting to penetrate into Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh,
causing losses and leaving people injured, many specialists believe
that we are close to war. What does a Yerkrapah [member] think in
that connection?
A Yerkrapah member always follows the principle if you want peace,
prepare for war. No one knows the value of peace better than we do. We
have lost brothers and friends, and we know what a big disaster war
is. That is why we consider that it is necessary to be unanimous in
this country and have a strong state and a strong army to make the
insidious enemy imagine for an instant that he will fall down at our
feet and implore peace in case of any infringement against our border.
Let me recall that it was Azerbaijan that incited a war against us
then while the Armenian formations, under the leadership of Sparapet
Vazgen Sargsyan, imposed peace on the blood thirsty Turk. Just remember
the Azerbaijanis fleeing in panic in 1994. Remember also how generous
and merciful we were. We could have taken many territories, but we
stopped because we know what peace is, because we guide ourselves by
universal Christian values. We satisfied ourselves with liberating
the small part of our homeland that is necessary for guaranteeing
the security of Armenia and Artsakh [Nagorno-Karabakh].
Summing up, I can say that we do not wish a war, but we are ready
for the worst. Should the enemy err and launch a war, I promise
that the military operations will take place on its territory. It
is quite possible in that case that we will not restrict ourselves
with liberating only our native lands, as we did in 1994, and some now
misunderstandingly call them occupied territories. All the territories
liberated in 1994 are Armenian. Once your spade touches the ground
anywhere there, you come across an Armenian cross-stone. Should a
Turkish-Azeri try resort to a new attempt, we may then reach Kirovabad
[Gyanja] and even Baku, apart from liberating Nakhichevan. It is
necessary to nip the evil in the bud. We are not like them; we are
peace- lovers. We haven't slaughtered a child but we know how to
fight resolutely once our homeland or families come under threat.
Should, heaven forbid, the war resume, will the society demonstrate
spirit and the same mental renaissance that it did in the 1990s? Will
our army be efficient?
An Armenian's heroic spirit is immortal. The Armenian mothers are
heroes, and they will never stop giving birth to heroes. Glory to our
mothers! Glory to our brave [fighters] who who were fed on their pure
milk! The under-25 population of Artsakh has never seen the Azerbaijani
yoke. Let, by the way, the entire civilized humanity to keep in mind
that Artsakh was never independent while being part of Azerbaijan. It
was part of Azerbaijan only under the USSR rule. Be confident that
the Armenian nation is resolute; the Armenian nation is unanimous to
protect its native land and independence from an external threat. As
for the Army, we do not separate ourselves from the military. A
general or an officer knows no such thing as retirement.
We all are in the reserve and will invest our might in the protection
of our motherland. Yes, the Army does have shortcomings, which are
corrigible. Have you ever asked the Azerbaijanis if they are ready?
Just have a conversation with both ordinary citizens of both
Armenia and Azerbaijan. See what morals and manners their army
pursues. Their youth serving there is going to fall victims to
the political leadership's adventures. In the early 1990s' war the
Armenians suffered thousands of losses, but the Azerbaijanis' suffered
several times more. Each citizen is dear to us, and we feel sorrow for
those victims. Unlike Azerbaijan's political and military leadership,
we never send inexperienced fellows immediately to the frontline,
making them cannon fodders. Does that mean the army is ready? All
armies are obliged to be ready if they are really armies.Otherwise
they would be a throng of cowards and defeatists, not an army.
From: Baghdasarian