Zartir Lao Finds New Life as Battle Cry of Opposition

Present Day Context of Zartir Lao 

Prior to the current protests, the song has been used in other instances. It has been used in pop culture, with a rendition by Ruben Matevosyan in the 1967 Soviet Armenian film “Triangle.” The film takes place in Leninakan (Gyumri) and the song is used as a call to fight the Nazis.

Zartir Lao was also used in opposition protests led by Raffi Hovanissian in 2013, which were ironically against Serzh Sargsyan’s regime. While the song is a call to arms for Armenians to face the enemy, today it pits one group of Armenians against another.

The opposition is essentially calling Armenians to join them and “wake up before it is too late.”

Varak Ketsemanian, a historian who has tackled subjects such as nationalism and inter-communal stratifications, addressed how he believes the opposition is relating the lyrics of the song to the present-day realities of Armenia.

The song starts with “khuzhan askyar zork e zhoghver,” which translates to “the barbarian soldiers have gathered.” The song is referring to the Turks, and Ketsemanian believes the opposition is making connections to the Azerbaijani military having a presence on sovereign Armenian territory.

Another lyric says “merav Turki bardke (other versions use harke) dalov,” which speaks to the  oppression of Armenians due to the taxes levied by the Turks.

“This is especially and exactly the message that the opposition leadership is actually communicating to its followers saying, ‘this Pashinyan regime is supported by the Turks, it’s actually realizing the interests of the Turkish government or the Azerbaijani government,’” Ketsemanian said.

Ketsemanian believes there are three main groups within Armenian politics at the moment. Ardent supporters and sympathizers of Pashinyan, supporters of the opposition, and the third group that remains undecided for various reasons.

“People are very skeptical about how these two [former] presidents or their sympathizers, or the political groups that follow them, will actually resolve the issue now that Armenia is in a very vulnerable situation, diplomatically, militarily, and regionally,” he noted.

Ketsemanian explained how the skepticism stems from the main argument which questions former Presidents Robert Kocharyan and Sargsyan’s intentions, and whether they are just using Artsakh as a trump card for them to regain power because they have not clearly communicated a pragmatic agenda.

Among those who are on the fence, but lean towards the opposition is Tigran Balayan, a Los Angeles resident who hails from Hadrut, Artsakh. He can trace four generations in Qoçbəyli (Aygestan) village.

The war caused devastation within his family, not only because they could not return to their ancestral lands, but also because a video surfaced on Telegram of his uncle’s home being ransacked by Azerbaijani soldiers.

“There’s not a day I don’t see Hadrut in my dreams,” Balayan said.

Balayan made it clear that he is not a fan of Pashinyan because of the aftermath of the 2020 Artsakh war.

He also has his problems with the opposition. He lived in Armenia until 2013, served in the army from 2003 to 2005 in Khojali, and says he experienced the corruption of the old regimes firsthand.

The goal of the opposition would be to convince people like Balayan to join their movement — to essentially “wake up.” Balayan is not fully convinced.

“I’m already awake, but I don’t see anything,” Balayan said.

However, he said he would fully support the opposition if it picked up steam.

Ketsemanian argues that the opposition’s communication and use of the song is narrow, targeting their followers or party affiliates and leaving little room for people who may slightly disagree to get involved. Specifically, using the song to label anyone who is not actively supporting the opposition as a Turk or Turkish sympathizer.”

Martin Adamian, a UCLA PhD candidate in Armenian history, expressed that he is a fan of the song, but had mixed feelings about its use. He interpreted it as the use of the term “Turk” in internal politics.

“It’s bringing it to a new level of enmity between the opposition and the government,” Adamian said. “It’s little by little justifying violence.”

Adamian explained how the song is directly connected to the idea of the Turkification of Armenia, and there are two present-day interpretations of this. The first, which in Adamian’s opinion is the real risk, is opening borders with Turkey and then using their capital to gain economic influence in Armenia. The second interpretation is literally calling Pashinyan and his supporters Turks. Both of these interpretations of the song have been used in the opposition’s messaging.

The opposition’s messaging is hardline and circles back to their song of choice — arise, overthrow what they believe to be a Turkish-supported regime, or be seen as vain — just as the mother saw her son in Zartir Lao.

( The author tried to contact the supporters of the opposition movement, including Saro Paparian, the Creative Director of 301 AD, for interviews. The author also contacted the Armenian Youth Federation of Armenia and did not receive a response. Tigran Balayan is not related to Brandon Balayan, the author of the article.)