History has proved that the geopolitical reality has always formed on the basis of relations among civilizations. The motive of any given state in the political arena depends on its civilization factor. Religious, cultural, and historical ties and bonds play a critical role in international relations even in the modern period. English-speaking nations and colonies under the leadership of the US and England, francophone states under the leadership of France, and Ibero-American group under the leadership of Spain represent the large civilization unions in world geopolitics. It is without doubt that nations of the Islamic World defend the common interests in the global plane as well. It is an irrefutable fact that these polarizations stand higher in the international relations system than the norms and principles of international law as well as the concept of justice.
Christian and Islamic civilizations are considered the largest poles in geopolitics. The Christian-Islamic opposition has constantly found itself in processes within anywhere from intra-social environments to the international arena. In the new millennium, one of the main problems faced by the world is the lack of harmony and communication among different civilizations.
The Caucasus, where Azerbaijan is located, is the crossroad of inter-civilizational poles, and the geopolitical environment of the region is formed under direct influence of this factor. It is known that our region has historically been within the sphere of different religions and cultures. Christianity dominated the Caucasus during the Byzantine Period, Judaism during the Khazars, and Islam during the Arab Caliphate and Turkish Empires. Relations among the states in the region have been mostly built on religious factors.
The independent republics located in the South Caucasus are to this day embodying different civilizations in distinctive ways. On one side there is Azerbaijan and Georgia, practicing tolerance towards different religions and peoples and on the other there is Armenia, having created a mono-ethnic state by oppressing local peoples, despite themselves having immigrated to the region.
Armenians have been distinguished in the South Caucasus by their unfaithfulness, just as they have everywhere else. History has repeatedly witnessed Armenia become a tool in the hands of powerful states throughout various periods. Therefore, any form of Armenian betrayal surprises no one in the region. Trying to deceive the world about being the first Christian nation, these people have always used the religious factor with competence. And any Christian nation interested in the region has benefited from such unctuous servitude of the Armenians. In the region, dignity, trusts, and honor -features that unite all Caucasian people- only fail to fulfill themselves in Armenia.
New guardians of this "ancient" Christian nation have emerged in the new millennium. It is interesting that this guardian is Iran, which draws its foreign policy from religious ideology. According to the 11th article of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, "Iran must constantly strive to bring about the political, economic, and cultural unity of the Islamic world."
What does this zeal imply? Armenia has occupied the regions of Azerbaijan, a Muslim nation, and ended the lives of tens of thousands of people with the help of its powerful trustees. The Islamic culture heritage in Karabagh has been destroyed and insulted. With the help of its Christian guardians around the world, Armenia is prolonging the resolution of the conflict and gets no reaction from the international community. So where is the bigotry of Iran, which claims leadership of the Islamic world? How does providing all sort of economic aid to Armenia fall in line with this mission? Civilization scholars such as Samuel Huntington and Arnold Toynbee, who identified religious factors as the reason for the clash of civilizations, are probably just wrong. Or religious bigotry just goes no further than being an ideological flag.
Trade exchange between Iran and Armenia grew by multiples in 2011. Armenia wants to establish a Consulate General in Tabriz. Iran is trying its best to help Armenia, a country with a failed economy. There are actually sufficient instances of obscurity in the economic cooperation between Armenia and Iran, whose economy suffered large losses due to sanctions from the West. According to statistics from recent years, Iranian export to Armenia has not exceeded 0.05% of GPD. That is, the Armenian market accounts for an insignificant portion of the Iranian economy and does not posses potential for an alternative to overcome the sanctions. It is simply that the Armenian economic sectors, namely the money market, are ideal fields for money laundering and secret transactions. That is because in Armenia, the financial sector, which is relatively more developed than other areas, does not reflect the full collapse of its economy. Dirty mafia money and secret transactions by a series of foreign countries and companies stand behind the development of the financial sector. It is interesting that all sides are aware of this issue but take no affirmative action. While the West, which drives Iran to the corner for its nuclear program, is well aware of what purposes the annual transfer of millions of dollars from the Yerevan office of the Iranian bank Bank Mellat to the center serve, it exerts no pressure on Armenia regarding this issue.
It is probably in line with the interests of certain Western spheres to be able to perform any desired transaction in the Armenian financial sector. World-renowned HSBC bank’s operation in Armenia can be associated with this factor. In the South Caucasus region, this bank has only maintained its agency in Armenia. In a period when the global economic crises lead all actors of the financial market to decrease spending, this action provided grounds for suspicion. That is because while this bank considered operations unreasonable in Azerbaijan and Georgia -which have investment conditions and overall economies that are far stronger those of Armenia- continues to operate in Armenia. We can presume that other activities attract the operation of the bank in Armenia. In this case, we can assume that accusations voiced in the media regarding HSBC’s connection to money laundering and service to suspicious customers in Iran and Syria is not groundless. These arguments become stronger as we consider increased mentions of HSBC Bank’s name in connection with narco-trade money in Mexico. Thus, it seems that Armenia’s financial market is an ideal ground for all suspicious activity. It is probably for this very aspect that both the West and Iran overlook Armenia’s double play.
The real scene arises when the faithfulness of Armenia’s policies towards Iran are evaluated in light of processes taking place in the Near East. Maintaining a large diaspora and heavy weight in the Arab world, Armenians are attempting to use the current political processes in favor of their own interests. It is common for Armenians, who have lived in the country for centuries, to sell its public interests to foreign intervention in just one day. Such "honor" of Armenians manifests itself in every country in the region.
Armenian’s pursuit of double politics had manifested itself far earlier in Iraq, which was the first target country of the West’s Near East plans. We know that during the Iraq military intervention by the US and its allies, the Christian community in the country, namely Armenians claimed that they have been facing religious persecution and asked for helped. They even called for military intervention. They wanted to serve for the foreign forces and by this to gain more privileges. However, later events showed that they did not fully anticipate the script. After the overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime, the society had an opposite reaction to Christians in the country and as a result, the mass migration of Christians began. Of a community of 18,000 Armenians, three to four thousand left, and the rest are under great hesitation.
Information regarding Armenian participation in the Libyan events is also encountered. When facts regarding weapon transfer with Armenian-registered airplanes from Moldova to Benghazi for the armament of Libyan rebels was exposed, Armenian traces were found in the processes that were occurring in the country. It seems paradoxical that despite its call for world justice, the West overlooked Armenia’s illegal weapon trade.
Even in the current events going on Syria, Armenians are playing on both sides. On one side, being a Christian community, they are the strongest allies to the Alevi minority in power- the Assad regime. Just recently, President Bashar Assad even appointed a member of the Armenian community as Minister. On the other hand, the issue of aid to Syrian Armenians, as per provocation of American Armenians is on the agenda of the US Congress. It seems that the current motives of Syrian Armenians are in line with US interests.
Thus, Armenians are pursuing their usual motives in the Near East. A people without honor, they now and then gravitate to different poles. Regardless of whom they serve, Armenians representing all poles would sell out anyone for their own interests. Always having been tools in the hands of great powers, Armenians are ready to sacrifice anyone when it comes to it. Their motives manifest themselves even in the processes of the Near East. During the US invasion of Iraq, armament of the opposition of Libya, escalation of issues in Lebanon, as well as the processes in Syria, claims regarding motives of Armenians serving the interests of outside forces find their confirmation. Leaving this prism, we can presume that in its plans for Iran, the West might use the Armenian communities in the country for their own interests. The experiences of other Armenian communities in the Arab world show that Armenians would be ready to fulfill this mission wholeheartedly. This issue should get Armenia’s closest Iran to think. No one can guarantee that Armenians who betrayed everyone else will not one day turn on Iran as well. And only time will show when Iran’s limits of trust towards Armenia will finally be reached.
Arastu Habibbayli (PhD)
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