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Expert on Turkey, Doctor of History and Professor Ruben Melkonyan says the ones who “renounce Artsakh, Mush, Van, Sassoun are traitors”, adding domestic enemies with Armenian names are “even more disgusting”.

His comments came after Gegham Manukyan, an MP from the opposition Armenia faction, on Tuesday was forcibly removed from the parliament podium for the statement, “The ones who renounce Artsakh are traitors”.

“I would like to ask a semi-rhetorical question: what were those, who entered politics in 1988 and were in power in the first half of the 1990s, as well as believed and continue to believe that Artsakh can be part of Azerbaijan, were thinking when they enthusiastically chanted "unification" during the numerous rallies of the Artsakh movement? What did they want to unite to? Artsakh to Armenia or Azerbaijan to Nakhichevan through the so-called "Zangezur corridor"?” he wrote on Facebook.

“This question concerns figures of different "caliber" and no "caliber", who came to power in the 1990s and distanced themselves from the idea of “unification” in their political career.

“The enemy is predictable, while the enemy-loving domestic enemies with an Armenian name and surname are even more disgusting.

“Therefore, yes, those who renounce Artsakh, Mush, Van, Sassoun, who ridicule this idea are traitors and sooner or later will end up in the political dump where traitors of different times were sent.

“You have to eventually realize that our enemy does not expect us to make concessions, it seeks our non-existence both as a state and as a nation. Consequently, political pragmatism (of which I am an advocate) and the national identity shaping memory, the components of the perception of the homeland cannot be opposed to one another," Melkonyan said.