Who Is The True Armenian? Nikol Pashinyan Or William Saroyan?

 Facebook Post Published By Zinq / Զինք On 21 Feb 2026

Today is the international mother tongue day.

The mother tongue is a power that has gone through historical stages, has overcome numerous crises, and remains the active pulse of Armenia.

Our language, Armenian, has been preserved for centuries, even no power of the enemy, no crisis has been able to influence the Armenian spirit. We have remained steadfast in our thinking and our language, in order to change history, form national thinking and strengthen our Armenian identity through the mother tongue.

According to UNESCO, language loss directly threatens cultural identity and national security.

Language is the form of our struggle and resistance, our strong identity, so let's stay true to our identity, keeping Armenian, our mother tongue as intact as possible.

Personal Opinion:

While I endorse without any hesitation the fact that the preservation of our mother tongue is very critical for the survival of the “Armenian Culture,” I cannot support the argument that “...language loss directly threatens cultural identity and national security.”

What threatens Armenia’s national security, the survival of The Third Republic, and the destruction of a nation, is the category of Armenians born with the soul of a Turk, or what Commander Nzhdeh calls “Turk-like Armenians,” chief among them Nikol Pashinyan. 

Pashinyan as a former “Yellow Journalist” and the current Prime Minister of Armenia has a good mastery of the Armenian language. But unfortunately he lacks the soul of a true Armenian dedicated to the survival of his nation. He always prostituted his pen for the highest bidder for his services, based on the notion that

 “ավելի լավ է լինել Թուրքիայի շունը, քան լինել Ռուսաստանի ստրուկը”

English translation:‭ ‬“Better be the‭ ‬dog of Turkey rather than remain the slave of Russia‭”

Pashinyan had a childhood characterized by poverty. He grew up in an environment where Artsakh was the name of a restaurant that his family cannot afford to visit and enjoy, because it was well beyond the financial means of his parents. Artsakh the restaurant was exclusively reserved for the rich corrupt merchants and hi-ranking Communist party apparatchiks.

Pashinyan displaced his childhood anger of Artsakh, on Russia, The Armenian Apostolic Church, the heroes who shaped and colored Armenia’s history, and anyone and everyone who believed in the sanctity of the land and expressed a readiness to defend the national identity of Armenia with blood and sacrifices.

Pashinyan, the failed “Yellow Journalist”, enjoyed the “Support” of Western Democracies in general, and The U.S. in particular. At a point where his newspaper Haykakan Zhamanak was edging close to bankruptcy in the late 1990s, The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) on behalf of the CIA channeled more than $200,000 over a period of several years to sustain the operations of Nikol’s newspaper.

In the mid 1990s, Nikol published regularly editorial articles condemning the Armenian occupation of the Azeri territory known as Nagorno Karabagh, emphasized the so-called atrocities committed by Armenian fighters during The First Artsakh War, insisted that Armenia should “Normalize” relations with Turkey to prosper economically and move away from an over-reliance on Russia, and last but not least, Pashinyan copiously insulted and denigrated the memory of Armenian heroes he blamed for trapping Armenians in a painful present where Armenian citizens worship their ancestors, and make no attempt to liberate their country from the ghosts of history.

In an article titled “FORGET THE HEROIC PAST" published on December 9, 2005, Pashinyan aggressively expressed his contempt to key figures in Armenian history and insisted that “...our ancestors have bequeathed to us only such a stock of genocides, humiliations, betrayals, and immorality, which, as it turns out, is complicated and extremely difficult to overcome. I condemn our ancestors; I curse them because they did nothing for us to live more dignified and proud today. Our ancestors did not care for their generations, at least as much as animals care for their offspring thanks to their instincts.”

Contrast the words and behaviors of Nikol Pashinyan with the creative history and dedication to the Armenian heritage of a literary giant named William Saroyan.

Saroyan was exceptionally influential and well known in the US and the entire English-speaking world. A prolific author and playwright who left profound marks and made lasting contributions to the English literature. He was recognized and hailed for his mastery of the English language, his unique voice, and towering creativity. Yet, he struggled all his life with the limited understanding of the Armenian language. A pain he carried in his heart, but never prevented him from forming strong bonds with Armenia. 

When Saroyan died in 1981 his body was buried in Fresno–his native town. His family members and friends honored a request he highlighted in his his will; “Slice my heart into two portions. Leave one in Fresno and bury the other part in far-away Armenia.” 

Today, every time I encounter his writings, his photos, his achievements, and his legacy I remember the words of the giant who worshiped the Armenian nation, the Armenian history, and the Armenian Church: 

“Although I write in English, and despite the fact that I’m from America, I consider myself an Armenian writer. The words I use are in English, the surroundings I write about are American, but the soul, which makes me write, is Armenian.” 

In conclusion, one is forced to confront the following question: Who is the real Armenian? Is it Nikol Pashinyan born with the soul of a Turk but with good mastery of the Armenian language? Or William Saroyan who had no mastery of the Armenian language but his heart and soul were mobilized to defend the survival of the Armenian nation? 

To honor Saroyan’s memory let us convey to future generations the following statement he made about Armenia and Armenians:

“I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race: this small tribe of unimportant people whose history is ended, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, whose literature is unread, whose music is unheard, whose prayers are no longer uttered. Go ahead, destroy this race. Let us say that it is again 1915, there is war in the world. Destroy Armenia. See if you can do it. Send them from their homes into the desert. Let them have neither bread nor water. Burn their houses and their churches. See if they will not live again. See if they will not laugh again. See if you can stop them from mocking the big ideas of the world. Go ahead, try to destroy them. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a new Armenia.”