President Sargsyan had urged his party adherents “not to leave the trench,” in other words, not to be absent from the parliament plenary sessions. As far as I understand, it was said half-jokingly, but the admonition itself was appropriate, because there are many RPA MPs who have no clue about legislation, and sitting in the hall of the Parliament becomes painful and boring for them, and is needed only for pressing the button, in addition, their main concern are their own businesses. For the sake of just, let’s say that such MPs are also found among PAP.
The opposition members did not like the word “trench”. “Look, they said, how the government visualize the political struggle.” But let me ask, does the opposition visualize it differently? Doesn’t the opposition say over 20 years, “they are thieves, robbers, and plunderers, and they must be destroyed,” whereas the government says, “they want to destroy the country, and they must be isolated.” Hence, the sides, so to speak, are “deep in the trenches”.
Mostly, media are also in the “trenches”, which correspond to the political forces’ “trenching position.” Do you consider it likely that, let’s say, any opposition website would notice and neutrally put down any positive phenomenon in the life in Armenia? Pro-government media are more restrained in this regard. They, of course, state in an excessively tedious form, “the president went here”, “the prime minister went there,” but the “anti-opposition” campaign as such has been significantly reduced in the last years. Relatively, of course. Note, for example, how “Haylur” was raging many years ago. Now, the young RPAs are regularly “raging” with “anti-opposition” fiery speeches in the Parliament and on the Facebook. Well, they probably have understood the word “trench” in the direct meaning of it.
While not being “in the trenches” of the media, I understand as a bridge and balance between different forces. Isn’t there a rational grain in the words and deeds of RPA, PAP, ANC and all other parliamentary forces? Maybe to try combining them? For example, the “independent” forces being out of the parliament, current PANM, “Free Democrats”, Hayrikyan and other former Soviet dissidents, Shant Harutyunyan (in fact, let’s think why all of them have appeared out of the parliament), are ideologically closer to me, but it never occurs to my mind to advocate in favor of them and against others.
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I agree with those who say that the trench (this time without the quotation marks) for all of us is only in one place, in the Contact Line of the Armenian and Azerbaijani armed forces. But whether those who say so do not act in the inner life with a logic of the “trench”?
ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
