It has already become difficult to distinguish about who feels a stronger personal antipathy towards the overnight-spending “live wall” between the protesters and the police: the very police officers or various political parties for whom there are unpleasant faces in this “live wall”.
The senior police officers do not also pretend to be innocent that there is no need for this wall, as if the incidents on June 23 have not happened, when they have exerted violence against the protesters and the journalists covering the event. “It is even unclear to me when they come here to make a barrier between us and the protesters, from whom they are defended, I do not know,” says Deputy Police Chief, Valery Osipyan, just a few days after the event. “Have they stood a live shield…? Are we the enemy of these people…? The police will not do anything against its own people,” shouts the Police Chief Vladimir Gasparyan. “Indeed, when you’ve done it,” ironically said the MP of the Rule of Law faction, Hovhannes Margaryan, who was also a part of this “live wall”.
The need for this wall was clearly apparent on June 28, when it seemed that there was a hairbreadth of recurrence of June 23. It was at this moment that one of the initiators of the “live wall”, Nikol Pashinyan, was reminding the infuriated police officers that they have broke the requirement of the law and have not provided the reasonable deadline to leave. It was at this moment that it turned out that the predictions were vain that the “live wall” will collapse in the presence of a real threat. On the contrary, it became more crowded.
Generally, we already saw that the “status quo” between the police and the protesters in Baghramyan Avenue may be broke every day and the tension may grow caused by garbage bins and the loudspeakers… And in this situation, maybe a little naive, but people who hope that their reputation and credit will prevent the collision are really brave.
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Braver was the move by the representatives of the ruling majority, who on the next day of the beatings on June 23 formed a part of the “live wall” knowing that they will not appear in the camp of their own people. Especially, since there were many political figures in Baghramyan Avenue that day, and even the video clearly shows that the first person chanting the well-known profane motto, the unique “conductor”, is miles away from being a young man and definitely represents a political party. And even when the others are chanting, “We are the masters of our country”, he still continues with profane chanting to clean up the old party accounts.
And at the end. The critics say that becoming a “live wall” was a good opportunity for self-advertisement. For God’s sake… Let us still leave aside that these figures are standing silent, and a great part of it avoids interviewing. “Do not pay attention on us, we will stand here until morning,” said the ARF faction MP Aghvan Vardanyan the very first day. In addition, the lion share of the figures forming a part to the “live wall”, the artists and representatives of the show business, do not need a PR at all. Let’s say, it is just enough for Hovhannes Azoyan to change his hairdo, it already becomes a material for coverage by some, pretty massive websites. And definitely, he would not dare to spending the overnight in the street for just a media coverage, when there is no guarantee whether the media will write about this night in their morning coverage too. “Last night, it was quiet in Baghramyan Avenue.”
Anna ISRAELYAN
“Aravot” daily
