What do "golden antelope" and Armenia's current rulers have in common?

A classic cartoon based on Indian stories titled "The Golden Antelope” was shot in the Soviet Union in 1954. The protagonist is an antelope that is capable of making gold coins by kicking its feet. In the cartoon, the antelope becomes prey to a greedy raja, who forces it to kick gold coins. But the raja fails to stop the antelope in time and gets buried in the gold instead. He dies, and the gold turns into stone.

I wonder whether Armenia's current rulers, officials and deputies have watched this cartoon. The answer is more likely no than yes. The vast majority of them resemble the greedy raja. They try to grab their neighbors' lands, and a striking example is Nagorno-Karabakh. Not satisfied with Karabakh alone, Armenia’s so-called patriots and neo-nationalists have decided to advance claims against Samtskhe-Javakheti, a Georgian province densely populated by Armenians.

Javakh, as Armenians call the region, is the new fictional idea for Yerevan. Since the 1990s, all sorts of provocations, confrontations and protests have been organized in the province. Some Armenians in Samtskhe-Javakheti claim that they are harassed. This was followed by proposals to break away from Georgia and establish an independent Javakh. Thank God that the Georgian authorities took all the necessary measures to prevent provocations based on sad experience of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Later, local Armenian nationalists began to set up clandestine organizations, funded directly by Yerevan, in an attempt to destabilize the situation. But all their campaigns were in vain. Most of the Armenian population in Georgia stayed out of the provocations. This once again proves that the great majority of Armenians want to live in peace and harmony with their neighbors.  

But the nationalists did not stop. They are openly continuing their destructive activities. Not too long ago, Union of Georgian Armenians Chairman, Armenian MP Tachat Vardapetyan said "Javakhk should serve as a 'guest room' for Armenia and Georgia.” It is clear why the territory might serve as a "guest room" for Armenia, but it is odd that the region should act as a such for its rightful owners.

Perhaps, Vardapetyan is still not familiar with housing legislation, and he simply does not know that you cannot claim even a millimeter of your neighbor's apartment. People like Vardapetyan must be treated with understanding and condescension. He probably never saw the cartoon about the golden antelope, or he surely would have known what happens to greedy rajas.


H. Hamidov
/Day.Az/