ANC: Karabakh movement never fought solely for liberation of Artsakh;  it was struggle for freedom, dignity, and self-determination

ArmInfo.The Karabakh movement never fought solely for the liberation of Artsakh; it was a  struggle for freedom, dignity, self-determination, justice, and law. This was stated by Levon Zurabyan, Vice Chairman of the Armenian National Congress, speaking at an event dedicated to the 38th anniversary of the Karabakh movement.

"I remember very well the February days of 1988, when, intoxicated by  the atmosphere of freedom, we took to the streets and made history.  It was an awakening that enabled us to become a unified national  entity and take our destiny into our own hands. It began as the  Karabakh Movement, but very quickly expanded its agenda to include  democracy, Armenian independence, and economic liberalism. Now they  are trying to discredit the Movement retroactively, claiming that it  supposedly laid the foundation for our current catastrophes. This is  a lie. It laid the foundation for our great national awakening,  victory, overcoming the victim mentality, and restoring statehood,"  Levon Zurabyan emphasized.

He added that the root of today's catastrophes should be sought  elsewhere: in extremism, in the corruption of the ruling elite, in  ignorance, and in the inability to govern. "And now we've fallen into  the other extreme-the 'wisdom' of capitulation, submission,  abandoning our own agenda, and submitting to the will and agenda of  others. They're afraid to even mention the name Artsakh, persecuting  the church, and questioning our history and identity. We are deeply  convinced that the salvation of the Armenian people lies in freeing  ourselves from these two destructive extremes. Perhaps by combining  practical peacemaking with national spirit: achieving one at the  expense of the other is disastrous," the ANC vice-chairman believes.

In his view, the best lesson in this regard is the February 1988  awakening, which set realistic goals and restored the people's  statehood and ability to defend themselves.