The Republicans did a wrong thing that they didn’t participate in the extraordinary meeting convened by the opposition. The parliament is a place to exchange thoughts and, why not, to propagate them. If one is convinced that he is right, one should participate, express his opinion and vote against the bill one doesn’t like. If the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA)
had done so, I guess it wouldn’t have been the end of the world. On the other hand, oppositionists are obviously wrong, saying that MPs are required to participate in a National Assembly meeting according to the Constitution – one should have consulted with lawyers before making such statements.
However, I am talking about the protest outside the National Assembly fence. Watch those videos and listen to what those people are saying. I don’t know whether they are ANC activists or just “representatives of the people,” but their judgments and the level of their “arguments” make one sick to hear (if such a language is appropriate). It is obvious that those people don’t know at all what they have come for and what the protest is held to achieve.
I don’t think that the legislators of 4 parliamentary groups intend to unite the people around the 100-percent proportional representation or the parliamentary system. All MPs representing the Armenian National Congress (ANC), the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), the Heritage party and 8-10 MPs of the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) are smart enough to understand that a parliamentary republic will not inflame the people. The majority of our people will not agree with me, but it seems to me that democracy, legitimacy, constitutional order, rule of law, justice etc. cannot be a uniting idea for modern Armenians. Those concepts are two abstract, and it is almost impossible to establish a connection between them and every citizen’s wage or pension. “Getting rid of the regime” also cannot be such a uniting idea, although here, as far as I can understand, there is no unity even among the opposition parties. It seems that “getting rid of the regime” should unite all the displeased, because during the same street rallies, you will hear choicest swear words, curses, complaints, manifold manifestations of hatred. However, those emotions are not defined as political convictions and demands. While it is so, those complaining and cursing people will easily take bribes and vote “properly.”
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ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
