During a phone call with his family, Ruben Vardanyan relayed the content of his closing statement at the February 10 court hearing.
Refusing to participate in a sham justice, Ruben Vardanyan spoke of dignity, responsibility, and peace, which are only possible between equals.
The text of Ruben Vardanyan’s audio message in Armenian is available below.
“On February 10, I made a closing statement, prohibiting the lawyer from presenting defense arguments, as I consider what was happening not a trial, but a judicial farce, as there was no proper trial. Therefore, despite the judges’ resistance, the lawyer did not present any arguments or justifications. And I spoke very briefly. I don’t want to repeat myself; I already discussed the main ideas in December. But I read an important poem that I would like to read to you: I read two poems there. Now I want to introduce you to one of them. And it’s probably more about Armenia than about the place where I am.
This poem was written in the early 16th century by the Azerbaijani writer Fizuli, translated into Russian by Vladimir Lugovskoy.
Падишах золотой земли подкупает людей серебром,
Он готовит полки для захвата другой страны,
Сотнями интриг и уловок он её завоёвывает,
Но есть…» В этой стране нет ни радости, ни тишины.
И в тот роковой час, когда судьба повернет,
погибнет сам падишах, и страна, и миллионы людей.
Смотрите: это я, правитель, дервиш, сильный в армиях слов.
Громогласное слово — источник моей победы.
Видите, каждое мое слово — гигант, дающий силу из истины.
Если слово пожелает, море и земля повинуются ему.
И куда бы я его ни спалал, слово чужны почет и кажне;
Слово, захватив страну, никого не посадит в тюрьму.
Все стихии вселенной не сотрут моего слова,
Колесо коварной судьбы не раздавит его.
Пусть правители мира не даруют мне добра;
У меня на голове корона скромной резьбы.
Я свободен во всем! Кем бы ты был, мой слушатель,
Ты не должен за корку Не будь рабом за кусок временного хлеба.
And even for gasoline-powered trains. I say and repeat: we must understand that we have a long road to peace ahead of us, and it is not an easy one. We still have a great internal revival to go through, and above all, we must restore ourselves, because, I repeat, peace is only possible when there are two equal neighbors.
If one submits to the other, nothing will work; there will be no peace. I hope we recognize this and understand that everything depends solely on us, on our ability to self-recovery, to self-respect, without losing the understanding that we truly need to live in peace in our region.
I told the court and repeated three times what they tried to prevent me from saying: Artsakh was, Artsakh is, and Artsakh will be in the most ontological sense. That Artsakh was, is, and will be.
This is not a legal issue, but a question of the fact that it is simply impossible to erase someone. And I am deeply convinced of this. I said I would do everything possible to ensure that, in our lifetimes, I hope, the leaders of the three parties to the conflict will lay flowers together at the graves of representatives of all nations and religions and apologize to all mothers for their dead children. I hope this will happen one day, and that it will happen with respect for everyone and for each other.
I also said that I am happy to represent the Armenian people here in this court. I fear no punishment or decision and am ready to accept it with absolute calm, because this is not a trial, but a verdict. And, unfortunately, they failed to seize the opportunity, failed to hold a proper trial that would have laid the foundation for a truly lasting peace. Instead, they staged an incomprehensible, unprofessional show, which, unfortunately, benefited no one, least of all, the Azerbaijani state itself. I am certain of that.