Let me repeat something I’ve said before but in starker terms: this is war, people will die, soldiers will die, many soldiers will die, many Armenian soldiers will die, the line of contact will change, the enemy will advance. Again, this is war.
This may last for many more weeks, even many more months. The enemy knows that it is losing so it must fight a war of attrition. For every Armenian soldier, they will send 100 of their own to their deaths because the one dead Armenian will weigh heavily on the heart of every Armenian in the world. But because the enemy knows it cannot win on the battlefield, it must try to win by forcing us to quit. We must not quit. Not ever.
When the Armenian Nation first fought for Artsakh’s independence 30 years ago, it was again outnumbered, outgunned. Nobody could understand how it was that we won, it was a miracle. Then they understood: it was our spirit. There was no looking back for Armenians, there was no other option for us.
The enemy learned this lesson well. Make no mistake that an important part of his strategy is to break the spirit that led to the Armenian victory in the 1990s that awed the world and left the enemy in shambles, with their men fleeing the battlefield in fits of fear and cowardice and their women embarrassed that their fathers, husbands, and sons returned home as deserters and losers.
The purpose of bombarding us with false information, however inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, is to break our spirit. We, each of us, cannot possibly assess the significance of every bit of information, the significance of every plot of deserted land they claim to have “liberated.” Yet they put out video after video, photo after photo, showing us their “successes.” This is to get us to doubt our leaders, our own information, to tire us out, to weaken us, to break our spirit. Do not let them.
The enemy knows how heavily we take the loss of each of our soldiers, he understands how important every inch of land is to us, and he uses it to attack our faith in our ourselves and our confidence in our military leaders and the men and women fighting until their very last breath. Honor our dead, there will be many. Honor those who fought and died. Pray for their souls, pray for their families. But, do not despair. Now is not the time. We must continue to fight until we win. We will mourn our heroes when we are victorious. They will forever be remembered for making the ultimate sacrifice: giving their life to their nation.
Why do you think they hit Ghazanchetsots Cathedral, the crown atop Artsakh’s head? To break our spirit. Why do you think they continue dropping bombs on Stepanakert? To break our spirit. Why do you think they terrorize and mutilate the civilians they encounter? To break our spirit.
Do not falter. Do not doubt. Do not recede. Do not soften. Do not stop.
They cannot break us. They cannot break our spirit. They are going to lose again and we are going to win again. Be sure of it.
The most important contribution you can make to our victory is your faith. With unbreakable spirit, with unshakable faith, we will win. It is our only choice.
William, all I can say is Amen to your wonderful piece. It reminded me of Ghevond Yerets’s speech before the Battle of Avarair. Thanks for injecting us with inspiration that’s so critical for our survival these days.
Thank you for your kind comment, Asbed. I am undeserving of such a comparison but if what I wrote can remind us of our history’s heroes and their words, I can only be grateful.
LIKE THE SPIRIT OF ANTRANIK PASJA IS TALKING.
YOU TALK LIKE THE SPIRIT OF ANTRANIK PASJA.