THE TRUTH ABOUT "ORIGINAL" AZERBAIJANI LANDS

[Yervant1]

THE TRUTH ABOUT "ORIGINAL" AZERBAIJANI LANDS

http://artsakhtert.com/eng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1144:-the-truth-about-original-azerbaijani-lands&catid=3:all&Itemid=4
Friday, 30 August 2013 09:57

Recently, ex-speaker of the Slovak Parliament Frantisek Miklosko has
published the book "Signs of the Time", in which he has expressed
a significant idea. Noting that the Christian values in Europe
are fading with days and the future of Christianity is in danger,
he called upon Europe to defend its faith, recommending to start it
from Karabakh. According to him, Karabakh is the gate and stronghold
of the world Christianity and the Christian world should stand up
and fight for it.

Knowing the habits of the Azerbaijani authorities, it was easy
to predict that they would hardly leave this "seditious", by the
definition of official Baku, opinion without attention.

The reaction was immediate. "Nagorno-Karabakh is an original
Azerbaijani land, and someone's presentation of this land as Christian
is absolutely wrong", snarled in strict accordance with the spirit of
the official Azerbaijani propaganda vice-speaker of the Azerbaijani
Parliament Bahar Muradova. This was followed by a naive and touching
summary: "Apparently, these words are caused by the lack of knowledge
of Azerbaijan's history and come only from religious beliefs".

Maybe Muradova's categorical statement about Mr. Mikloshko's ignorance
regarding the history of Azerbaijan isn't groundless. After all,
the former speaker of the Slovakian Parliament meant the history
of ancient Christian Artsakh-Karabakh, which has no relation to the
Azerbaijani state artificially created just at the beginning of the
last century by Turkish bayonets, which was neatly called scrappy
by Russian General Denikin. He called it so for the fact that it was
established on the lands annexed from the Armenians, Avars, Talysh,
Tats and other indigenous peoples of the South Caucasus.And that's
why the term "original Azerbaijani land", which is very often used
by the Azerbaijani different-level figures, is just nonsense.

As is known, history has long become a political tool for Azerbaijan.

Baku does not cease its efforts to convert other people's past into
politics, more precisely - into political dividends, in particular,
trying to justify its unfounded claims for Nagorno Karabakh. By the
way, its claims are not only for Karabakh. Ilham Aliyev, speaking
from different tribunes, including international, affords free,
openly criminal treatment of history. He has repeatedly stated that
both Nagorno Karabakh and present Armenia were established in the
Azerbaijani territories. The Erevan Khanate, Mahalia Geycha, Zangezur
are our historic regions".

Not only reputable scientists, but even middle-level historians would
call such verbal exercises the fruit of the sick imagination of the
Azerbaijani paranoid government and quasi-scientists. We'd like to
ask Aliyev: when Armenia had relations with Ancient Rome and even
fought with it, was it taking place on the "original Azerbaijani
lands?" Or, were they "original Azerbaijani lands", on which were
built the thousands-old Armenian churches, which are still standing
in Armenia and Artsakh, preserving, which is curiously enough,
Armenian inscriptions on their walls? Or, maybe Azerbaijanis spoke the
Armenian language in those ancient times? However, the history keeps
modest silence on this. As if in mockery of Azerbaijan, on August 18,
within the annual forum Meeting di Rimini with the participation of the
Prime Minister of this country, the 34th meeting started in Italy, the
program of which, along with scientific and cultural events, included
also the conference "Armenia is the cradle of Christianity". Within
the conference, the presentation of the photo-album 'Armenia' and
opening of the exhibition dedicated to Armenia and Artsakh took place.

But, let us return to our sheep. It is time to advise Aliyev and
his illiterate camarilla to learn the basics of the history. It
indisputably testifies that Nagorno Karabakh, or in Armenian Artsakh,
was a province of historic Armenia in the ancient times, which
is confirmed by the works of ancient authors - Strabo, Pliny the
Elder, Claudius Ptolemy, Plutarch, and others. That as a result of
dividing Armenia between Byzantium and Persia in 387, the territory
of Eastern Transcaucasia, including Artsakh, went to Persia, however,
despite the Persian domination, all the five principalities of Artsakh
preserved their sovereignty. That they were formally united into the
Karabakh Khanate within Persia, which, surely, had nothing common with
Azerbaijan, as presented today by the Azerbaijani party. For the simple
reason that such a state didn't merely exist that time. That only in
the middle of the XVIII century the Turkic element in the face of wild
nomadic tribes began to penetrate in the northern regions of Karabakh,
bringing wars and destruction to the region. That according to the
Gulistan treaty signed in 1813 between Russia and Persia, Karabakh
passed to the Russian Empire. However, after the October Revolution
of 1917, as a result of an illegal resolution by the Bolshevik Party
leadership, Nagorno-Karabakh, against the will of its indigenous
Armenian population, was transferred to Soviet Azerbaijan in the
early 20's, which led to the emergence of the Karabakh problem.

We won't state that the Azerbaijani authorities do not know the
history of the region. Surely, they know, but deliberately distort
it, trying to mislead the international community with far-reaching
political goals. And we haven't made this little historical excursion
for them, because to teach them historical lessons means to cast pearls
before swine. One should respect the history, and not only his own,
but also others'. But, is it possible to urge Azerbaijan to respect
the history of other nations, if it doesn't respect its own?

Appropriating somebody else's history, Azerbaijan actually refuses
of its own history, displaying apparent disdain for it. It does not
matter, whether it is poor or non-presentable - it's yours, and you
cannot refuse of it. One should recognize his own history and extract
useful lessons from it, if necessary, to come to terms with it -
only in this case, he can clear himself and build the present and
the future without forgetting the past. Certainly at peace with his
neighbors in the region.

Leonid MARTIROSSIAN

Editor-in-Chief of Azat Artsakh newspaper