Yesterday, I listened to another jab towards an unnamed general (I don’t know who, perhaps Seyran Ohanyan, Movses Hakobyan, or Onik Gasparyan) from a young deputy.
There is no doubt that the “boss” of the ruling party deputies loves speeches like these, which, by the way, makes use of the uncertain “opposition general” phrase. It’s clear that we are in the pre-election phase. The representatives of the ruling party perhaps have been ordered to insult all opponents and critics.
Perhaps the place the members of My Step will take on the party’s pre-election list depends on the persuasiveness of such slanders and on the severity of the rhetoric of “putting them in their place.” It is also clear that generals are not saints at all, and we may not like their political views. But when I talk about such people, even critically, I still try to “balance” our services, my path, and the path they have taken.
The next generation’s government most likely needs to do the same. Especially when they are referring to the army. We have had both corrupt and greedy generals who lost their minds from power. We had (and we cannot say that we don’t still have) commanders who sold gasoline to the military units. But to present the 20-year history of our army as widespread looting is an exaggeration.
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That is wrong from two perspectives. First, a lot of evidence needs to be brought forth to prove that “widespread looting,” such as X amount of money was pocketed instead of used to buy weapons, and Y amount of money got lost. That is not only necessary when accusing someone, but also for counting inventory in the future.
Second, from the same point of view, the army, as the most important institution of the state, must refrain from propaganda blows and discrediting statements. It is obvious that the war of 2020 was not the last one in the history of the Armenian people, and sooner or later, we will have to turn our backs on the shameful defeat. Therefore, to eliminate a certain period in the history of our state and army for political and pre-election reasons is harmful. It creates an atmosphere of distrust and nihilism, which makes it impossible for us to fix our nation’s backbone.
As long as the authorities of Armenia do not present themselves as authorities but as the opposition of the former regime, and as long as all its activities are directed towards propaganda, rejection, and playing with the emotions and behavior of certain masses, it is too early to talk about fixing our backbone.
The state and society can find themselves once again only when they are united and when they have a mutual goal. The current authorities, to put it mildly, do not promote that.
Aram Abrahamyan
