According to the British “Economist Intelligence Unit” consulting company, Armenia was a semi-authoritarian country in 2015, but in 2016, it became authoritarian. I do not know to what extent this company is reputable and what standards it is guided by, however, in my opinion, the year 2015 particularly did not differ from 2016 by the index of authoritarianism. Moreover, it seems to me that neither one differs from each other for the period of 1991-2017.
Certainly, the experts will give a more scientific characteristic, but in my perception, the authoritarian system is when people can complain, protest, utter loud curses, be engaged in political activities of the opposition, write critical articles and “statuses” but they cannot influence the adopted state decisions: this “monopoly” belongs to a small group which has possessed all major political and economic levers. In this sense, the Armenian regime has always been authoritarian for 25 years.
This can be taken as a fact, it can even be considered desirable, 20 years ago, I also used to think that after the war, in the phase of the establishment of market relations, the regime should be authoritarian. Maybe I was wrong. But those who rightly believe that democratization is Armenia’s only true way, they must face the facts: Armenia has never been a democratic country, it was not even “less authoritarian”.
Vartan Oskanian has not shut down the “A1+” TV channel, he was even against it deep in his heart, it was done by his “boss” Kocharyan. But since Mr. Oskanian is protesting now that allegedly Armenia has become “more authoritarian” from “less authoritarian” country, and consequently, he attaches great importance to this point that he should publicly admit that the closure of “A1 +” was a wrong decision, therewith, in fact, he will prove that he has nothing to do with this “boss”. I have never heard such a statement from him. Seyran Ohanyan has not issued a command to kill unarmed people on March 1 no matter it is tried to prove the opposite today. (Incidentally, finding fault with him for all defects disclosed during the April war is also wrong, these were the defects of the entire state system). However, I have never heard Ohanyan condemn the massacre of March 1. If he signifies the right to peaceful rallies, then he must condemn.
Read also
If the first president’s supporters believe that our country should proceed by the democratic path, they must admit that they were wrong by closing political parties and newspapers and giving tribute to the arbitrariness of “Yerkrapah”. If tomorrow, Armen Ashotyan and Eduard Sharmazanov become opposition and begin to complain about authoritarianism, they must first admit that sentencing Shant Harutyunyan to prison for 6 years was a mistake. Otherwise, I do not believe in their honesty.
