“What are you doing on my territory?” is a typical “Republican” question, which a representative of that party asked representatives of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) who were handing out leaflets in Nor Nork yesterday. (For some reason, the members of the RPA are particularly irritated in that very administrative district; perhaps it is because of the air.) The phrase “on my territory” is very typical; there are people who think that in Armenia or in Yerevan, there are territories, which belong to them or their party. There is a mental handicap at the bottom; it doesn’t occur to those people that they should compete with other parties on equal terms, prove in word and deed that their arguments are stronger, and only then can one talk about a possible victory or defeat. And if you just want to drive away, force out, silence your opponents, it means that at the end of the day, you have lost.
Therefore, dear Republicans, don’t avoid peaceful, friendly, and civilized debates with your rivals! When the mass media organize them, don’t run away; no one is going to eat you there. At the end, you will smile, shake hands; that’s the way it should be. It is not necessary for you to be the master of the situation everywhere, it is not necessary for you to have police officers armed with batons behind you. Furthermore, it is not necessary for you to be the majority everywhere. I for one realize quite well that there are few people inside, as well as outside, parties in Armenia who think like me about both political and, even more so, “national” issues.
The time for monological culture is over; one cannot wash people’s brains, banning all alternative opinions. Tough musclemen who “bring votes,” heads of corrupted departments of administrative districts gradually lose their political significance. There is no monologue of the government on TV, it has never been in newspapers; well, there is such pluralism on the internet that the sky is the limit. However, on the other hand, it is a fact that incumbent Mayor Taron Margaryan hasn’t participated in a debate with any of his rivals. It is also obvious that many offices of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) consider their neighborhoods as their “private property,” where “aliens” must not be allowed.
First of all the very Republican Party should be interested in appearing as a political force, not pinning hopes on the “muscles of neighborhood guys” and the batons of police officers. If they don’t start to think, if they don’t start to communicate with their political opponents, it will come to a bad end. Therefore, instead of throwing the rivals out of your own neighborhoods think what counterarguments you can put forward. Don’t shift everything on Ashotyan!
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ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
