Hayk Ayvazyan: Russia has gone on the offensive. It's time for us to follow her

Hayk Ayvazyan is the coordinator of the Anti-Nazi Front of Armenia and has already held many actions with his comrades demanding the liquidation of American military biological laboratories, and also constantly advocates in defense of Russia from constant attacks from numerous pro-Western NGOs and political figures.

He kindly agreed to answer PolitNavigator’s questions and spoke about the activities of his association, the difficult struggle against objects working under the Pentagon’s military-biological programs, as well as the political situation in the republic and the desire of the ruling elite to discredit Russia by shifting responsibility for its own mistakes onto it and misses.

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“PolitNavigator”: What are the goals and objectives of the Anti-Nazi Front of Armenia and how did you come to the idea of ​​​​the need to create such an organization?

Hayk Ayvazyan: This initiative was created immediately after the start of a special military operation in Ukraine. Although we voiced the ideas of anti-Nazism constantly and before through other organizations and movements in which I participated. But the creation of this initiative is connected not only with the fight against manifestations of neo-Nazism in the modern world and with attempts to revive, including German Nazism.

In Armenia, we follow an ideological line and say that current Nazism is a broader concept, since it also includes Anglo-Saxon Nazism.

What we see after 1991, when the United States became the sole rulers of the world and they decided that they were exceptional, and other nations were savages for them. And therefore they must control them, tell them how to live, and those who do not agree with this are immediately subjected to aggression, violence and robbery. In fact, this is the relationship between exceptional and inferior peoples for them. And this, in our opinion, is a clear manifestation of Nazism and superiority.

Therefore, we are against all Nazism and, first of all, against the Anglo-Saxon one that now dominates the world, as well as against the “golden billion” that the Russian President has been constantly talking about for several months.

Our front is a union of like-minded people under a single platform, which is based on intolerance towards Nazism in all its manifestations. And within the framework of our Anti-Nazi Front of Armenia, we organized several discussions and round tables, as well as actions. And now we are trying in every possible way to support and promote this idea of ​​anti-Nazism in the information field of Armenia.

_{Of course, the enemy in the republic also works and does not sleep, and they have more resources than we do, but we are still coping with the minimum task. And judging by the reaction of Western NGOs, this idea against Anglo-Saxon Nazism and the dominance of the United States and its allies in the world seriously offends them, which suggests that we are on the right path.}

Another task of the Anti-Nazi Front is information support for Russia’s special operation in Ukraine within the framework of Armenia. In the future, it is possible that the tasks will expand, as events develop quickly and sometimes by leaps and bounds.

“PolitNavigator”: Your association organized a series of actions against 12 American military biological laboratories in the republic. Was there any reaction and how did other political forces and the public react to these speeches?

Hayk Ayvazyan: We have been talking about this since 2016, when the public organization Information and Analytical Center, which I head, held a conference in Yerevan, which was attended by guests from neighboring republics and Russia. This conference for the first time raised the issue of the presence of American military biological laboratories head-on and voiced the topic in the republic.

After this, some media and websites that are funded from the West, in particular a publication that is dedicated to exposing, in their opinion, fakes and manipulations, began counter-propaganda against me personally. Of course, they didn’t find anything serious then and simply called my articles and statements “Russian propaganda,” as always.

_{Unfortunately, at that time, as now, the official authorities denied everything, saying that there were no American military biological laboratories on the territory of Armenia. Actually, just like in Ukraine, they do not officially exist, and they are all on the balance sheet of the Ministry of Health and administered by the government. But this, as we know, did not stop the Pentagon from creating biological weapons there.}

But today this topic is practically not discussed in Armenia. This is due, in particular, to the difficult internal political situation, to the event in Nagorno-Karabakh, since all public attention is focused on this. But at the moment when the special operation in Ukraine had just begun and the first data about the development of biological weapons began to appear, we began to raise this issue in Armenia.

Even some TV channels began to develop this campaign in the right direction. There were several stories with my participation. It got a good following and there were a lot of views. But after that, active counter-propaganda by pro-Western NGOs began again, both against me and against those who participated in this campaign.

In addition, we wanted to ensure that this topic received greater publicity and, in particular, turned to parliamentary opposition factions with a request to organize public hearings in parliament. Such hearings on our laws can be organized by any faction and representatives of various public associations and various experts can be invited. Moreover, the hearings should be broadcast live on television channels, after which they would receive greater publicity.

Unfortunately, it was not possible to hold a hearing. We agreed on everything, but then for some reason these opposition factions did not complete the matter. And then the sharply changed internal political situation related to Nagorno-Karabakh led to the topic being quickly forgotten.

In reality, now in Armenia you can count on your fingers the number of people who are talking about this. In this difficult situation, we are trying to find convenient moments and publish our publications on this issue in order to keep at least some discussions afloat.

As for the actions, they received a fairly wide response in the public sphere, although they have already been forgotten, because this topic is not constantly maintained. The only thing that the authorities understood from these pickets was that it was better to remain silent about it altogether. Because when they told us something in response, they, as always, said something stupid, and we immediately naturally took this into account and raised new counterarguments against them.

Now they have nothing substantive to say and nothing to argue with. The most they can say about our publications and statements is that they are “lies” and “Russian propaganda,” and when they get into the discussion on the merits, they immediately begin to make mistakes. And we used these mistakes.

_{And now, I think that the Americans told them not to answer anything at all, because otherwise they would receive an answer and this issue would immediately become relevant. So they just keep everything quiet.}

By the way, there is one interesting fact. In 2018, the government in Armenia changed, and the heads of biological laboratories, as they were before the “revolution,” remain in their places today. That is, this suggests that formally they belong to the state and must obey the state, but in fact they do not obey and are controlled by the United States and its military department.

 “PolitNavigator”: This year, a memorandum in the field of biological safety was signed between Russia and Armenia, which provides for the access of Russian specialists to these facilities and the transparency of the activities of the laboratories themselves. To what extent have real steps been taken in this direction? Did this memorandum somehow influence the situation or not?

Hayk Ayvazyan: In practical terms, no. No steps have been taken, no checks have been carried out on my information. Here you can understand that the Americans are not stupid, since they at one time created the legal framework for laboratories in such a way that it is not so easy to just go and enter these institutions.

_{That is, these are closed or semi-closed facilities, and I think that the relevant legal documents have prescribed mechanisms for preventing third parties from entering these laboratories.}

But we must understand that these are just memorandums of intentions and wishes, but they have not yet reached the practical level. This kind of memorandum was signed last year, and this year in April, when the Prime Minister of Armenia was on an official visit to Moscow, a statement was signed, one of the points of which stated that Armenia undertakes not to use its territory for the production of biological threats to the other side.

But we see that so far this has not been implemented in reality and these laboratories have operated and continue to operate. Even in our media there was information that a couple of months ago some unknown people came to these institutions and took something from there. Maybe this has something to do with the fact that the Americans are already trying to clean up the traces of their activities?

Also, two months ago, the Armenian government took such a symbolic step, which changes little. The fact is that since 2010, an agreement was signed between the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Armenia and the DTRA agency at the US Pentagon, according to which Yerevan undertook to transfer to the American side all collections of pathogens and everything related to them. And recently the government of the republic agreed to sign a new protocol, which suddenly prohibits the transfer of pathogens to the American side.

But as they say, the train has already left. Since 2010, everything that could be transferred has been transferred. Therefore, this does not particularly affect the situation.

But I think closing these laboratories or removing Americans from them is a political decision. And this political decision may be possible when Russia begins to seriously win in the geopolitical field. Then the new conditions will create the necessary internal political prerequisites in Armenia itself in order to implement this.

_{Until the United States feels that it has begun to lose, it will naturally not make concessions and these laboratories will continue to operate and no one will stop them. Because the authorities in Armenia do not have the will to speak up and contradict their masters from Washington.}

 “PolitNavigator”: In your speeches, you have repeatedly proposed to nationalize laboratories, and not just close them, since there are simply no other similar facilities in the republic and there will be no one to deal with issues of biological safety. What are the mechanisms of such nationalization and how possible is it under the existing government?

Hayk Ayvazyan: This is impossible under the current government. Although even now this could theoretically happen if the power of the Americans weakens as much as possible. But this is not a question for Armenia, since it cannot influence the geopolitical situation. Therefore, what we can do, we do in the public and information field.

Now about the future fate of these laboratories. In Soviet times, there was a biological safety system and entire institutes and laboratories worked there, there were even corresponding laws. For example, the participation of the armed forces in ensuring biological safety was prescribed and all structures knew their functions. It was a whole system and exercises were conducted to protect against these threats with the involvement of the military and intelligence services.

But this system was destroyed in the early 90s, and then everything that remained was taken under control by the Americans. Now, if we completely close existing facilities, then it turns out that in Armenia there is no one to deal with this problem at all, and most likely, things are exactly the same in other republics.

This means they need to be brought under national control, that is, through the adoption of new laws. Firstly, it is necessary to terminate all existing agreements with the Pentagon, throw the Americans out of there, and, with the help of the CSTO allies, organize the activities of these laboratories there for the benefit of the same Eurasian space.

Naturally, there must be some kind of legal basis for this. For example, within the framework of the CSTO, a ban should be introduced on the activities of biological laboratories of third countries on the territory of member states of the defense alliance. And I think that such an initial legal framework already needs to be created, that is, to have our own biological safety system.

Another question is whether Armenia needs all the current 12 laboratories? This is up to specialists to decide, based on national interests and the interests of the allies, and if there are too many of them for the republic, then you can leave as many as is appropriate to ensure security. That is, they must act according to the laws of Armenia and the regulations of the CSTO. I deliberately constantly talk about this alliance, since there is virtually no other structure in the post-Soviet space.

 “PolitNavigator”: In May, after the start of a special operation in Ukraine, the famous activist Mikael Badalyan was arrested for participating in a rally in support of Russia at the Russian Embassy in Yerevan. What is his fate at the moment? And how possible are new repressions against bloggers and activists advocating rapprochement with Russia?

Hayk Ayvazyan: Now pro-Westerners sit in key positions in the state apparatus of Armenia. I would say that there is not a single one who is not pro-Western and all of them were previously activists and members of those NGOs that were funded from various American and European funds, including the Soros Foundation.

_{All these officials and representatives of the “elite” hate Russia so much. Accordingly, everything related to the improvement of Russian-Armenian relations is alien to them.}

Therefore, in order to once again win praise from their American masters, they do not miss their chance, including in the form of repressions against pro-Russian activists. Mikael Badalyan was arrested and then imprisoned for a month and a half, but now he has already been released either on bail or on his own recognizance. And now his case has been sent to court and a few days ago the first hearing took place.

He is still free, although this is not a guarantee that he cannot be taken into custody tomorrow. But now, being free, he continues his active work.

By the way, another pro-Russian film producer Armen Grigoryan, who was also arrested for two months for unknown reasons and under an unclear article of the criminal code, since lawyers say that there was no corpus delicti in his actions, several weeks ago right in the courtroom lost consciousness and died.

He was one of those who was not afraid to speak out about the need for closer integration with Russia and took a pronounced pro-Russian position.

Many today have already become convinced of what the so-called “American democracy” really is, when you can persecute, kill, torture anyone you want.

If earlier a policeman detained some pro-Western activist or simply took him by the hand, then immediately all the embassies of Western countries immediately reacted with loud statements about massive violations of human rights in Armenia. And they are naturally silent about what is happening now in relation to pro-Russian activists.

In one of the interviews with the Armenian media, I said that today’s persecution is only a glimpse and the true face of “American democracy” will now be revealed in the republic in all its terrible guise. Therefore, I advised that they prepare for the worst possible events.

 “PolitNavigator”: Now some politicians from the ruling party, and even Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan himself, are trying to blame their failures in organizing the country’s defense on Russian peacekeepers, who allegedly do not properly carry out their functions.

Similar attempts were noted earlier in relation to Moscow itself. To what extent are such attempts by liberal and pro-Western politicians capable of warming up anti-Russian and Russophobic sentiments in Armenia?

Hayk Ayvazyan: We see such anti-Russian propaganda every day, and pro-Western media work in this direction around the clock. Naturally, the Armenian authorities are also trying to add fuel to the fire. By the way, after the last statement by the country’s prime minister that Russian peacekeepers allegedly did not perform their functions properly, Sergei Lavrov noted that the Armenian authorities had never submitted in writing any proposals on what could be done to correct the shortcomings, and the activities of the peacekeepers would become more efficient.

Naturally, there were no such written complaints and proposals and these statements can be completely called unfounded. In turn, the Russian side has always demonstrated its readiness to discuss all issues together and if problems arise, then solve them together. And since nothing was presented, Lavrov reasonably replied that he could not guess what they were talking about.

In addition, there is direct contact and operational communication between the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan, and they resolve many issues directly among themselves. And if they discuss controversial topics among themselves, and the Armenian side makes some concessions to the Azerbaijani side, then this is their sovereign right.

_{True, I don’t understand what the sovereignty of Armenia consists of after 1991, since the republic, like the entire post-Soviet space, is a de facto colony of the United States.}

But officials claim that they are independent and can make decisions themselves. And so they make decisions together with Azerbaijan, make some mistakes and talk directly with Baku, and as a result of these mistakes, some questions arise among the people. And our government is accustomed to blaming its mistakes on others. It is in their blood to blame their predecessors, and they are trying to blame the omissions in ensuring the security of Nagorno-Karabakh on Russian peacekeepers.

Although we know very well how everything happened in Karabakh during the periods when the ceasefire was violated and what mistakes our authorities made and for what purpose they then tried to shift all the blame onto Russia.

Naturally, there is targeted anti-Russian propaganda here, and I think that American advisers are directing them. Because after each such statement from the Prime Minister, immediately, as if according to a manual, all these anti-Russian active organizations join in and begin to say the same thing.

One can come to the conclusion that they are gradually testing and checking the public's reaction. So, they even began to talk about Armenia’s withdrawal from the CSTO, that the Russian military base is no longer needed, since it does not perform the functions that are assigned to it, and so on. It feels like there is a propaganda system at work here and these pro-Western NGOs and the government are acting together.

_{Even under the Prime Minister of Armenia there is a special council consisting of extra-parliamentary organizations and parties with a pro-American orientation. There is not a single force in this gathering that could be called not just pro-Russian, but even loyal to Moscow.}

They meet periodically and usually, as a rule, after their conversations we see that the same council figures begin targeted propaganda and hit one point together, which indicates that they have received appropriate instructions from overseas.

For our part, we are trying to resist this and conduct counter-propaganda in opposition to their activities.

 “PolitNavigator”: The situation is really difficult in Armenia now. What, in your opinion, should proponents of integration do in such a situation?

Hayk Ayvazyan: In the post-Soviet space and in Armenia, I also see that for some reason politicians are moving by inertia. What I mean is that the Americans are still the masters in the world and many are afraid to say something against them. And pro-Western propaganda did its job, people still think that Russia lost the war in 1991, although in fact the entire Soviet Union lost, and we all became victims of this Anglo-Saxon hegemony.

_{Well, we, in turn, are trying to convey that, firstly, the Americans are no longer so strong. And secondly, that dependence on the United States and its allies is a threat to the physical existence of the Armenian people themselves.}

And of course, a threat to moral existence, since if you accept their rules, then you accept their behavior and rules in all areas, including in the area of ​​spiritual, moral and family values.

Therefore, we are trying to convey to others that there is no need to be afraid and we need to start expressing our opinions openly and fearlessly, since the Americans are not as strong as they used to be. Their world empire is cracking and in many countries their positions are also weakening. And at least in the information and propaganda direction, it is absolutely necessary to go on a counter-offensive.

_{Those times when we acted from underground and defended ourselves have already passed and we must now rise to our full height to attack. Moreover, Russia has already gone on the offensive and we must follow it, since objectively it is she who is the commander-in-chief of the force, since she led this process.}

We are now trying to push other forces into action, and to do this we often criticize those who live according to the old patterns and try to inspire them to be more courageous and not succumb to pressure from the West. We are confident that victory will be ours!