Hraparak.am newspaper addressed questions to second President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan and published a part of the interview today.
– The investigation and trial of the March 1 case has gone beyond the legal boundaries, even beyond the borders of the country, the issue has reached the Constitutional Court, Venice and ECHR. In your opinion, what continuation can the investigation of this case have?
– This criminal case has been out of law since the first day. The accusation itself is absurd and has nothing to do with both the law and the 2008 law. with the events of March 1. Add to this the widespread violations of procedural norms, harsh and overt pressure on the courts.
The outburst of shameful phone conversations about my arrest, the
blocking of the courts at the Prime Minister’s call, the prosecution of
Judge David Grigoryan, the disregard of the Constitutional Court’s
decision and the attack on the Constitutional Court and its president,
the absurdities of the CC President’s family and his son-in-law and his
family members the whole list of obvious crimes aimed at oppressing the
entire justice system is not the whole. I am confident that all these actions will have to be answered in the near future.
The fake case cannot have a legal perspective.
However, given the legal authority, the final resolution of this
criminal case under the present authorities can be awaited with the
intervention of the ECHR.
Hraparak.am newspaper addressed questions to second President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan and published a part of the interview today.
“The formula “we’ll throw them against the walls and lay them down on the asphalt” says a lot about the mental illness of the authors of that formula. This is one of the fruits of any “revolutionary” propaganda and has been studied by social psychologists. There is no sense in seeking cause-and-effect relationship in the irrational behavior of people. In 1998, the majority of the population of Armenia was demanding the imprisonment of Ter-Petrosyan and the entire elite of the Armenian Pan-National Movement in general. At the time, I believed it was necessary to build the future, not fight against the past. Every president has political opponents who can convey destructive emotions to their supporters.
However, as a result, such emotions turn against those who set the mood. A society in which people enjoy seeing others sent to prison can’t be a creative society. I am ready for healthy criticism of my presidency. The irony is that, as a rule, the allegations have nothing in common with the reality. That which can be recalled to criticize me and is worth criticizing me for is not recalled,” Kocharyan said.
– A section of the public continues to accuse you of abolishing your detention. How do you explain those sentiments, either by the policies of the current authorities alone or by looking for reasons in your previous work? In your opinion, what part of that attitude is objective, subjective and directed? What does your team do to differentiate these emotions and the legal process?
– According to recent Gallup polls, the Armenian population is the most outraged among the 140 countries surveyed. We are even ahead of the war-torn Iraq. It is a mere “merit” of the authorities, who root out hatred and evil as a political tool. People in distress are more likely to be manipulated and ready to direct their dissatisfaction with anyone, leaving only one antidote. The formula “Slamming the walls and spreading the asphalt” speaks about the intellectual weakness of its authors and the underappreciated mental state of the “gullies”.
It is one of the fruits of any “revolutionary” propaganda and is well studied by social psychology. It is useless to look for rational causal links in people’s irrational behavior. In 1998, a significant part of the population demanded that Ter-Petrosyan and the entire Armenian National Movement (ANM) be seated. I thought at that time that we should build the future, not fight the past. Any president has political opponents who can give their supporters unconstructive emotions. But such emotions turn against the very creators of those moods. A society in which people rejoice in detention cannot be creative.
I am ready for the sound criticism of my presidency. The irony is that accusations, as a rule, have nothing to do with reality. What I can and should be criticized for is not mentioned at all.
We patiently explain the essence of what happens to people. In our estimation, people’s attitudes are literally changing day by day. The stage for sober reflection and reassessment has come, and the authorities’ apathy is the best driver of the process.
– After the events of 2018, the Armenian political arena is very difficult to rebuild. It is a fact that the opposition field is not formed. In your opinion, what is the reason and what should be done to form a strong opposition in the country?
– The mass rallies that took place in April 2018 and brought about the change of power were a real “political tsunami”, which was driven by the country’s usual political landscape. Such heated processes have a strong inertia, and the society needed time to return to the rational state. Euphoria and, at the same time, the waiting state of politicians have passed, and now a new outline of the future political field is in active shape.
The potential here is enormous, as the intellectual resource of society is concentrated mainly outside parliament, where the main political discourse is taking place. The Vernatun debate showed the need for a broad consensus on the inability of the authorities to govern the country and the need to form an active opposition. A year ago such a discussion would have been impossible. So, the stage of numbness and tactical waiting has passed, the society is entering a phase of active action. The most active and active will play leading roles in the new political order.
There is a sense that the parliamentary opposition also has an identical assessment of the situation, which was reflected by its activation.
– What ways do you see your release solely through political struggle or do you think the legal path is not yet exhausted? Why aren’t the international structures, the PACE, the ECHR, the Russian authorities, the Western powers trying to interfere in your destiny?
– European organizations have traditionally been slow to accelerate only in the face of torture and health risks.
At the same time, they need time to understand that what happened in
Armenia was a bloodless shift of power and has no democratic essence. I think we will soon hear the Europeans too, as the actions of the authorities are beyond the permissible limits.
Russia has repeatedly and quite clearly shown its attitude to the one taking place.
– Can we expect justice from the Armenian courts?
– The judiciary is under intense pressure from the executive branch. Judges first assess their vulnerability and only make judgments based on it. It is not justice, but personal risk assessment by judges.
Corrupt judges and prosecutors are more obedient to the regime. Of course, there are also judges who have retained their dignity and professional honor, who are ready to fight for their independence. The positive decisions in my case were made by such judges, contrary to Prosecutor’s Office.
– Suspicious processes are underway in Armenia. Only the campaign against the Constitutional Court and its president would have been enough in the past for human rights defenders to make harsh statements, a clear international response. How do you explain this infantilism of civil society? How to change the situation in this regard?
– It turned out that the former structure of the human rights system of Armenia was a fake one and it completely collapsed. In fact, it was created and funded with a certain focus on serving opposition forces. Few human rights defenders remained loyal to their title. Today, a new community of people dedicated to human rights activism is emerging who are able to rise above their political inclinations. By the way, their intellectual and moral level is incomparably higher than the level of primitive and lazy grantmakers.
– There are elections in Artsakh in the near future, the negotiation process has reached a deadlock. What should the leadership of Artsakh do, and who do you see as a worthy successor at this stage?
– Pashinyan’s slogan that the solution should satisfy all parties to the conflict is a blank, wordless, mediated resolution. This is direct proof that Armenia has no action plan. The latest round of negotiations in Bratislava and the developments surrounding it have shown the utter bankruptcy of our authorities’ negotiating strategy (if, of course, such a strategy exists at all). Artsakh should take the initiative and clearly define its position on the key components of the settlement. This is the only way to avoid irreparable consequences. At the same time, Artsakh is obliged to rely on its Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, not fearing disagreements with the Armenian authorities.
The absence of a proclaimed successor in power has led to the extreme fragmentation of the political arena. There has never been such a number of presidential candidates representing different parts of the Karabakh elite. This is not a sign of democracy but a manifestation of fragmentation, which is a challenge to the security of Karabakh. The border of democracy in Artsakh should be conditioned by security, not vice versa. The joining of non-governmental organizations funded by external forces to the elections raises questions. Such organizations and pacifist religious sects should not be in Artsakh at all. What is happening is more dangerous than military incidents on the contact line, because it destroys the very values by which we have won. I would like to make a mistake, but in my eyes this is a scenario wrapped around the neck of Karabakh, and it seems that it is being implemented with the participation of the Armenian authorities.
It is unacceptable to have a conceited president in Karabakh who obeys the whims of anyone, including the Prime Minister of Armenia. These qualities are specific to the weak and weak, and such “leadership” can have disastrous consequences for Artsakh. It needs courageous leaders war-torn. I hope the choice of the Karabakh people will be just like that.
– What do you foresee in 2020, what scenario do you see for Armenia?
– A government whose legitimacy is perpetrated on a single person cannot be stable, regardless of the number of parliamentary seats. The country’s inability to run the country, lack of coordination in the work have stimulated the active dis-legitimization of the authorities. The Prime Minister has no more fanatical supporters. The lack of a clear economic and social policy orientation does not ensure the support of the social groups benefiting from this policy. The collision of two diametrically opposite accelerating processes is evident. On the one hand, after drunken euphoria, the adequacy of society is restored. On the other hand, the sovereign prime minister who imagines himself to be Jesus Christ loses adequacy. This multiplies the declining speed of his popularity and allows him to be sure that it will end in snap elections. By the way, it is very likely that it will happen next year. It depends on the ability and determination of the opposition to unite efforts.
Source: https://hraparak.am/post/629da6dbf6aa8fe26cab20f9b5029e98