YEREVAN—The Armenian Revolutionary Federation “Nigol Aghbalian” Student Organization and the ARF Youth Organization of Armenia staged a protest Wednesday, demanding Russia to reject the 1921 Moscow Treaty.
On March 16, 1921, representatives of Russia’s Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and Turkey’s Grand National Assembly signed a treaty, without the consent or participation of Armenian representatives, granting Kars and Surmalu to Turkey and placing Nakhichevan under Azeri control. This illegal document later served as the basis for the Kars Treaty of October, 1921.
The demonstration was organized to protest a visit by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Russia on the 90th anniversary of the illegal document. The demonstrators walked from the Stepan Shahoumyan square to the Russian Embassy chanting slogans and holding placards, which conveyed the day’s message of calling on the Russian authorities to reject the 1921 treay.
Organizers asserted that by accepting Erdogan’s visit to Moscow on this date, Russia, a strategic partner of Armenia, was discarding its relations with Armenia
The protesters demanded that Russia officially condemn the 1921 treaty and consider it not valid.
“This is a disgraceful treaty, which was realized by ignoring international norms, because there is no precedent whereby to governments sign a treaty regarding a third party, especially when the governments of the signatories were not recognized by the international community,” said ARF Supreme Council of Armenia representative, Armen Rustamian.
“This is a case of violation of the rights of the Armenian people. If we do not condemn this, then we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes and suffer similar losses,” added Rustamian.
The ARF leader pointed out that Armenia’s Foreign Ministry could have declared that it did not recognize the Moscow Treaty and as such reject the subsequent Kars treaty, which Bolshevik Armenian leaders were forced to sign. He asserted, however, that official Yerevan has not taken such a step since its independence in 1991.
The organizers handed a protest letter to the Russian Embassy. The letter was carried in a coffin from the protest site to the entrance of the embassy, since Russian officials did not personally appear to accept the protest letter.
“It is time that we show everyone that this treaty cannot have any legal basis for Armenia, and we are stand behind the past, present and future rights of our people, with the established of a free, united and independent Armenian state as our driving mission,” said ARF parliamentary bloc member Artsvik Minasyan.
© 2021 Asbarez | All Rights Reserved | Powered By MSDN Solutions Inc.
It’s about time.
Russia plays footsie with Turkey and Azerbaijan, and Armenians usually sit around and act like it’s ok and that somehow Russia is trustworthy.
History proves that Russia is not to be trusted.
The key passage in this article:
“He asserted, however, that official Yerevan has not taken such a step since its independence in 1991.”
As long as the enemy lurks within, we are wasting our time trying to “influence” foreign governments.
All this is crucial for public awareness. I would take a few sheets of paper and instead of writing big placards, I would write a legal chalenge to that treaty at the world court, at the Hague. But get a world court case decided in Armenias favor, and then you have something to work with. We are still recovering from the most devastating experience our nationality have ever experienced. Others have not come back as we have. Hundreds of civilizations have disappeared after an experience like ours. We as individuals need recovery, and as a National State, we need recovery and development. The population of Armenia was deprived of its natural leaders for a hundred years. Both the Turks and the Russians introduced their stuges to lead us. Some of those leaders rose to the occasion, with the limitations imposed on them, but most were self centerred victimizers. I hope that it does not take a hundred years for the true genius of Armenian selfless leadership to come forward. We have had leaders like that before. We need them again.
I am proud of the A.R.F. and the A.Y.F. to protest against the illegal Kars Treaty. To top it off, one of the signatories, Kemal Ataturk was an outlaw when he signed the Kars Treaty. Also Armenia didn’t put her signature on it. It was a total fiasco on behalf of Russia and Russia must stand up to their big mistake and burn this dispecable ILLEGAL Treaty. Gars, Ardahan, Surmalu and Artsakh was part of Armenia and Russia stole these lands from under Armenians’ feet and gave it to the Azeris and to Turkey. It’s totally illegal and I full heartedly agree with ARF and AYF.
We thank the Armenians in Yerevan, Armenia for protesting & urging Russia to Reject the 1921 Moscow Treaty. The Russian President Medvedev must rectify the injustices committed by the Soviet Communist Regime done to the Armenian Nation. Kars, Ardahan, Nakhichevan as well as the legitimat Sevres Treaty are all Historical Armenian lands that go back over 3000 years and the Armenian Government should be discussing these important issues before the United Nations as well as Medvedev invalidating the 1921 Moscow Treaty.
Absolutely!!! To all the posts above coming from my brothers. Good posts and justified outbirsts dear brothers of mine!!! Gaghant Baba, unfortunately every now and then a “tavajan” appears on the scene who lurks from within. In my above post, I forgot to mention Nakhichevan and Wilsonian Armenia, that has been drawn by the Wilson Arbitration Award and SEVRES TREATY that is a LEGAL DOCUMENT, and yes they all belonged to us for thousands and thousands of years before that so called barbaric herdsmen, the Seljuk turks who came from the middle of Mongolian tents just about 900 years ago, and slowly lurked in and took over our Armenian Highlands!!!!! Just like my brother Edward Demian said above; we should be able to write a legal challenge to that treaty at the world court, at the Hague!!!! Good points and JUSTIFIED points all of you gentlemen and thank you!!!!!
Azad Ankakh miacial hayastan.
PKK jan, Մի վհատիր եղբայրս, մենք դեռ պիտի տեսնենք ՄԻԱՑԵԱԼ ԱԶԱՏ ՀԱՅԱՍՏԱՆԸ լրիւ իր եօթը(7) վիլայէթներով!!!!!!!
i wonder how much russia got paid for this sale
Knowing how hysterically anti-Russian a significant portion of our peasantry will react over this matter that took place between “Bolsheviks” and Turks some 90 years ago, this was Ankara’s attempt to blackmail Armenia’s strategic alliance with Russia. This was their attempt to manipulate Armenian sentiments against Russians. I tell you what – Turks are much smarter than Armenians when it comes to political matters. Nevertheless, it’s obvious Moscow is having none of it. Moscow is only interested in tightening the “energy” noose around Ankara’s neck via Gazprom and Rosneft. Having said that, I glad some Armenians did protest in front of the Russian embassy. Although Russia is a great strategic partner to Armenia, at the end of the day, Russians are not Armenians, they constantly need to be reminded of the matter in question.
Long live our Hayrenik. Long live Mother Russia: the last front against American imperialism, NATO expansionism, Zionism, Islamic Fundamentalism, Globalism and Pan-Turkism!
This website is heavily biased. I, as an Armenian, acknowledge that Russia (along with Iran) have been the only friends of Armenia for the past 200 years (in the case of Iran, much longer.)
The 1921 treaty was signed by communists, not Russians. This website needs to get its facts together sometimes. The fact of the matter is that Armenia needs industry and economic development. Russia, and Russian Armenians, are one of the main sources of that said development.
Armenians are not a political people. In that sense, we are very modest and at times foolish. I do not mind an Armenia following Russia on political matters, as long as we can develop the country we have.
Wow? really again?