Artsakh at 35: A Glorious Day Turned to Mourning
A multi-millennial homeland is now empty of its indigenous people.
September 2 marked the 35th anniversary of Artsakh’s 1991 declaration of independence, made as the Soviet Union collapsed and affirmed by a December 1991 referendum in which the population overwhelmingly chose independence. In this clip Asbed recalls that history, then turns to the present: Pashinyan, he says, betrayed the cause in 2020 and enabled the defeat, blockade, starvation, and the complete ethnic cleansing of 2023. A multi-millennial homeland now stands empty of its indigenous people.
Asbed draws a direct line from the emptying of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) to the depopulation of historic Armenia during the Armenian Genocide, and he urges every Armenian not to listen to anyone who would sell their history and identity. Hovik answers that unless one is ready to disown their own mother and children, the identity of Artsakh is part of every Armenian’s identity. He calls what is happening shameful, a genocidal agenda carried out through the hands of Armenians, and warns against being gaslit into accepting an undignified peace.
The segment is among the episode’s most emotional, moving from commemoration to defiance. The hosts note that a day once celebrated has become a day of mourning, yet they close on resilience, invoking the more than 150,000 people displaced and the enduring claim to a homeland. For an audience following Armenian news, the loss of Artsakh, ethnic cleansing, and the memory of the genocide, it is a self-contained statement of why the cause endures across generations, and why the hosts insist it must not be forgotten.
Transcript
Asbed Bedrossian: they declared the establishment of the Republic of Artsakh, affirming the Armenian population's legal right to self-governance. Now, Pashinyan, this defeated charlatan in 2020, betrayed the cause of Artsakh. And he enabled and justified the defeat, blockade, starvation, and ultimate complete ethnic cleansing in 2023. A multi-millennial homeland of Armenians is now empty of its indigenous people, just like historic Armenia was depopulated 111 years ago of us indigenous Armenians during the Armenian Genocide. Now, this is the reason why Artsakh's cause and their struggle for their rights and justice remains the cause of all of us Armenians of our generation and future generations. So I urge everyone, every Armenian, don't listen to anybody who wants to sell your history and your identity out.
Hovik Manucharyan: Unless you're ready to disown your own mother, your own children, your own family, then the identity of Artsakh is part of all of our identities. What is happening right now is shameful. That is, you know, the genocidal agenda is being carried out through the hands of Armenians.