Yesterday, during a conversation with an Aravot journalist, Aram Sargsyan, the leader of the Republic Party, gave two very logical answers: if Smbat Ayvazyan wishes to engage in merely social activities, there is nothing strange in it; if his – Aram Sargsyan’s – brother Armen likes Serzh Sargsyan, it is normal too – it is not necessary for all Armenians to have the same opinion on all issues. The official response of any other party would have been – we self-purge, we get rid of strangers who couldn’t withstand temptations etc. Those who have learnt the history of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) know quite well that social democrats of the beginning of the 20th century and then the Bolsheviks “self-purged” and struck “serious blows” against this or that “deviation” from one congress to another in roughly the same manner. Why did it happen? Because the Bolshevik doctrine, according to them, was the most powerful, since it was true. In reality, however, there are no such doctrines, they cannot be.
Those who are engaged in Armenia’s political life today are mostly people over 45 and even if they think of themselves as democrats and liberals have learned the CPSU history with a certain degree of diligence and willingly or unwillingly keep in their minds the stereotypes of “the only true doctrine” and regular “self-purges,” passing them on to the next generation. But it seems to me that the political and party models we know, which were formed in the 20th century, are obsolete today. And by the way, they – party members – also talk about it. Lately Armenian National Congress (ANC) member Hrant Bagratyan, for instance, proposed to change the form of management of the Congress, legitimately calling the ANC a “party.”
It is clear that the general tendency of parties’ development should be giving up on dogmas and not paying so much attention to definitions. For example, thousands of citizens, including me, think that Tigran Arakelyan should not be condemned to 6 years in prison and that punishment is illogical and ridiculous. One should not demand that all those citizens favor the ANC or generally the opposition. One should not compel those citizens to express their protest in the definitions and slogans, which are common in the ANC circles. In the end, one should not claim that protest should be expressed in the ways that are dear to Tigran and his friends – at the top of one’s lungs.
I understand that if this approach is applied, the borders of parties will become unclear and fuzzy. However, otherwise there is a grave danger of becoming a sect.
Aram Abrahamyan
