“The problem of rebellion is to take power. his political goal will be clear after taking power”. A few days after the October Revolution of 1917, Vladimir Lenin, the leader of that revolution, wrote sincerely. April 23 marked the fifth anniversary of the Velvet Revolution or, more precisely, the anti-constitutional coup, whose goal was also to seize power. And what the political goal became clear during the five years following the seizure of power.
The goal of the anti-constitutional coup was declared to be the creation of “New Armenia” as opposed to the existing “Old Armenia”. The new one should be different from the old one by its loyalty to democratic values, absence of corruption and patronage, transparency in state administration, freedom, fraternity and equality should prevail in the country. The overwhelming majority of the public, especially those who were not personally acquainted with the initiators of the coup, were not aware of their real value system and exploits before the revolution, believed that everything should be as it should be. After a very short time, hope was replaced by disappointment, faith in tomorrow’s bright future was transformed into anxiety and uncertainty about the future.
The leader of the revolution, who declared himself Che Guevara, who initially spoke about love and tolerance, only days later began to divide society into blacks and whites, past and present, revolutionaries and anti-revolutionaries. Only, unlike Che Guevara, the revolutionary Pashinyan preferred not to shoot his political opponents, but to spread them on the asphalt and plaster the walls. Being a dictator by nature and intolerant of dissent, the first step to establish a dictatorship in the country was the usurpation of the judicial system, including filling the highest court, the Constitutional Court, with subordinates. The blockade of the courts, the labeling of the independent judges who issue judicial acts that are not desirable to them, “grieving under the walls” showed that those in power will not tolerate any manifestation of independence, or impartiality.
In order to finally legitimize the seizure of power, extraordinary parliamentary elections were held, through which Pashinyan formed a body composed of obedient, self-serving individuals, in which the representatives of the Pashinyan family clan played a significant role. After carrying out the usurpation of legislative and judicial power, Pashinyan moved on to occupy local self-government bodies. Having the support of the courts and other structures called law enforcement, Pashinyan seized the local governments as well. In addition, this occupation was carried out by mass execution of illegalities and other illegal actions. Where possible, candidates opposed to the government were forced to refuse to participate in the elections, where necessary, a non-government candidate was allowed to win, but the power was taken away from him. In Gyumri, Armenia’s second largest city, the Pashinyan CP was defeated, the people of Gyumri voted for other parties, and a non-CP member was elected as mayor, but the city government actually ended up in the hands of CP members after the election. Mamikon Aslanyan, the elected mayor of Armenia’s third largest city, has been in prison for nearly two years without trial, and the people of Vanadzor are deprived of their elected government. The mayor of Berdi won the elections, but under the threat of criminal prosecution, he declared that he did not want to work as a mayor. Mamikon Aslanyan, the elected mayor of Armenia’s third largest city, has been in prison for nearly two years without trial, and the people of Vanadzor are deprived of their elected government. The mayor of Berdi won the elections, but under the threat of criminal prosecution, he declared that he did not want to work as a mayor. Mamikon Aslanyan, the elected mayor of Armenia’s third largest city, has been in prison for nearly two years without trial, and the people of Vanadzor are deprived of their elected government. The mayor of Berdi won the elections, but under the threat of criminal prosecution, he declared that he did not want to work as a mayor.
Along with the usurpation of the courts, Pashinyan began the systematic disintegration and discrediting of the army. Announcing the so-called reforms of the army, the most visible of which was the introduction of strawberries in the soldiers’ rations for one day, after which they were no longer seen in the army, Pashinyan changed the plan to modernize the army and equip it with the latest weapons, directing the budget funds to the purchase of morally and physically useless weapons or the acquisition of such military equipment. which was not used in the theater of hostilities. Fake cases were made against experienced military figures who had rendered services to the motherland, the destruction of the Yerkhapah Volunteers Union, which unites war veterans and is considered the reserve of the army, began. The anti-constitutional coup was declared a higher value than the Artsakh liberation struggle and its actual achievements. With his provocative and provocative statements, Pashinyan brought the negotiation process of the settlement of the Artsakh issue to a dead end, giving Azerbaijan a legitimate opportunity to start a war against Armenia and Artsakh on September 27, 2020. The consequence of not preparing the country for war, of deliberately or incompetently defeating military operations was the occupation of three quarters of the territory of the Artsakh Republic, the death of more than 4 thousand Armenian soldiers, the material loss of billions of dollars, and the moral and psychological decline of the Armenian society. The war ended with the act of capitulation on November 9, but the creeping aggression of Azerbaijan did not stop. During the following two and a half years, Azerbaijan continues to occupy territories both from Artsakh and from Armenia. If Pashinyan declares the Russian peacekeeping troops responsible for Artsakh’s losses, then the military and border guards, spies and agents are to blame for Armenia’s territorial losses. Pashinyan released himself and the government from any responsibility towards Armenia.
The country’s financial resources are used mainly to cover the costs of ensuring the well-being and safety of its own team. New facts are becoming known about large acquisitions of property by state officials, disproportionate increases in officials’ salaries and bonuses, and the inflation of the state apparatus. As a result, Pashinyan, who had 70 percent support just a few years ago, walks around Yerevan accompanied by thousands of policemen, he does not even dare to be in the parliament hall without the presence of a bodyguard. An unprecedented thing, which has not happened in the entire history of Armenia, and which is an insult to the members of the parliament.
During the past 5 years, the government managed to spoil relations with Armenia’s main allies. Russia, the main guarantor of Armenia’s security, and its army were declared a threat to Armenia’s security, Armenia did nothing to establish closer and multifaceted military-political relations with neighboring Iran. The main line of Armenia’s foreign policy has become wooing the enemy Turkey and Azerbaijan, meeting their demands and preconditions, in the hope that it will be possible to avoid big losses as a result of small concessions, while the parable “The end of evil” shows that the villain is not satisfied with eating one cow’s milk. , his target is the entire mountain and forest, and the only effective way to deal with it is to respond adequately to the enemy.
Having lost public support and realizing that his government and himself are perceived by the Armenian society as a group of renegades, traitors and capitulators, Pashinyan is intensifying repressions more and more. Its only support remains the power structures, and the only means of protection is violence. The group that came to power 5 years ago with the slogans of democracy and freedom has turned into a cornered wounded beast, which is ready to ravage anyone, if not to save its own political existence, then at least to some extent in the hope of prolonging it. And the prolongation of the existence of the Pashinyan government became possible only because of the lack of systematic and united resistance. The instinct of self-defense will eventually force the Armenian society to unite and remove the regime that threatens its physical and species existence. Rubber has the ability to stretch, but eventually snaps when it reaches its stretch limit.
Avetis Babajanyan