One More Protest Action
On 29 January, there is going to be a protest demonstration in front of the OSCE Office in Yerevan entitled “OSCE is a Silent Supporter of Azerbaijani Aggression” organized by Karen Vardanyan, a publicist and news analyst. Answering to Aravot’s questions as to who will be participating in the protest, why it was decided to organize now, what it is aimed at, and what they will achieve through the protest, Karen Vardanyan said that everyone who is willing to participate will attend the protest. According to him, “The action was decided to organize now because every day there are violations of the ceasefire and this structure is not doing its business. There are also many people accusing the Russian party and authorities, but for some reason, no one dares to accuse the OSCE. The protest will join numerous people, citizens, journalists and fighters, mainly those with national mentality”.
To the question – what if there are clashes, whether there is need for such tension, our interlocutor answered, “I don’t think there will be pro-Westerners coming against the OSCE, therefore clashes are excluded. In addition, I will also invite the police to keep the order. As for the effectiveness, it will only become clear after the protest”.
According to Karen Vardanyan, “over the years, pertaining to Artsakh problem, we have relied our hope on a structure, which actually does nothing, it is unable do anything, and we are standing still, while this will not resolve the issue”, therefore, he has decided to raise the issue on the agenda and show the authorities that there is such a public demand, and that it is also possible to think of other options rather than hang on one futile and useless structure. And as an example, Karen Vardanyan recommended to visit the website of the OSCE Office in Yerevan and see when it was last updated, which is the latest news, which will be the evidence of their work.
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To the next question that it is “accepted” to threaten the political activists with cheap tricks and beat them, so whether they are not afraid of such things, Karen Vardanyan said, “Why should I fear; besides, I don’t believe that a person can be beaten just for no reason. This is not an internal political event and is not anti-authorities; there will be no calls for changing the regime as I am not supporting such things, I am not an oppositionist by my views, I just want to draw the attention of the authorities on this issue. I do not believe that people can be beaten in our country just for their political views, if you are talking about beatings for swearing, then I am strongly against swearing, against personal insults. I have been working as a journalist and news analyst for 14 years, and during this period, especially in the recent years, I have also written articles criticizing the authorities (I am talking about constructive criticism rather than the abuses) and I do not remember a case when tricks were used against me”.
Eva Hakobyan
