Candidate for Yerevan mayor, actor Hayk Marutyan does not have any political experience and that’s why he made bold statements during his famous speech. That wouldn’t have been as big of a problem for me if his more experienced political colleagues tried to correct him. But since that didn’t happen, it’s assumed that Hayk clearly and honestly says what members of his political team think, but they sometimes are careful in saying it out loud.
The logic, as far as I understood, is as follows. “We (Civil Contract, My Step alliance, Pashinyan’s supporters) and only we personify the collective people. And that’s why we’re the white forces: we’re good, we’re sweet, we’re flawless, and therefore, there’s no game against us and the people. There are also people who “aren’t us,” or “aren’t the people,” and since “they” aren’t the people, they’re the black forces, they’re against the people and they need to be politically destroyed.”
In the context of the Yerevan City Council elections, that could be understood like this: there’s “us,” the “My Step” alliance, that needs to be elected, and there’s “not us,” the “Luys” alliance, the Prosperous Armenia Party, “Heritage” and more, that do not need to be elected. Everyone who’s not a part of the “us” framework and who do not want “us” to win are thieves and robbers who drink the blood of the people and who fix elections.
I think that there’s a mistake in this method. It isn’t possible to limit the word “people,” even to a very large group. At the moment, yes, the majority of people support Nikol Pashinyan and, to some extent, his team. But first, the situation, as well as any other political situation, is temporary. And secondly, the people who don’t support the current prime minister are also part of the “people.” The word “people” isn’t endearing or a compliment. Those who support other political parties, who are Republicans or Kocharyan supporters, who don’t care about politics, who are criminals, and who are thought to be criminals are also part of the “people.” The terms “for the people” and “against the people” are meaningless for me. There are people who respect the laws of the nation, and then there are people who violate the laws who need to be punished. All other evaluations are optional. Just as black and white.
In Gevorg Danielyan’s comedy “Kin-Dza-Dza,” the people on a faraway planet have a special tool, a “Vizator,” which they use to see what color other people are. But there, people are either green or orange.
Aram Abrahamyan
