Imagine the following situation. The commander-in-chief comes to the Ministry of Defense- someone who understands absolutely nothing about military affairs and is guided not by the interests of national security, not even by simple logic, but only by his own ambitions, fantasies, and aspirations to conduct PR activities. He holds a consultation with the command staff, during which he orders, “Tomorrow, you will all take water pistols, go to the border villages of the Syunik Province, and fire upon the enemy.” What should the generals do?
- Kick that commander out of the room.
- Announce that they will not be carrying out that order.
- They should nod their heads with a serious expression and carry out the order- of course, right in front of the Prime Minister’s cameras.
In the first two instances, they will break the law and perhaps be accused of organizing a military coup. In the third instance, they will make themselves look bad in the eyes of the people and they will put our national security at risk. (By the way, it is very possible that they were forced to carry out such ridiculous commands during the war, and now, according to the behavior of the government, the army is to blame for everything).
In this case, the only dignified and legal way out for the generals is to resign, and then to appeal to society: “Dear compatriots, our commander-in-chief is not normal, his commands are ridiculous, and his remaining in power is a threat to our national security.” In particular, that is what the former director of the National Security Service, Artur Vanetsyan, did. Any command to “catch the devils” is insulting for any sane person, and that is how several other leaders in that same power structure- who are obviously no longer in power- feel. The current director of the NSS, on the contrary, does not consider the order to “catch fakes” to be offensive, and he happily carries it out.
Let’s go back to the military commanders. Without resigning, those people expressed their mistrust towards the Prime Minister, which could also be seen as a special message to society. The government accused them of interfering in politics, and the opposition accused them of being indecisive. As a result, the chief of the General Staff and his deputy resigned, and the rest dealt with being degraded.
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But the more important issue here is what to do if the leader of your country is incapable, but the majority of citizens are satisfied with their leadership, they support the leader, and they do not want the leader to resign regardless of what that will mean for our country. In any case, it is truly worth checking that through elections. If that leader is truly supported by the majority of citizens, then those citizens are the ones to blame. The generals are unable to help in any way.
Aram Abrahamyan
