Issues have arisen in different provinces and communities throughout Armenia regarding irrigation and drinking water. It’s not as if the issue is new; as far as I remember, there have been issues with the water supply in the summer regardless of the nature of the authorities and regime in place. That doesn’t mean that people and plants are suffering from a lack of water, so it is not necessary to write or speak about that. It is not necessary to demand that the current state system resolve the problem. And those who do not have water do not have the right to push their problem forward.
But since the current authorities’ perspective is that there are no mistakes or flaws for which they are to blame, and if there’s anything lacking, then the former authorities are to blame for it. Their traditional excuse also applies in the case of water.
There are two rumors. 1) Kocharyan ordered cuts in the water supply, 2) In the past, water companies were stolen from…
Let’s not discuss the first rumor; the main people who believe that are the typical representatives of Pashinyan’s electorate. The second rumor is based on the eternal “what if.” It seems believable for the majority of the population.
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But I have very clear explanations for that. If you are the authority, you should not limit yourself to unaddressed accusations. You should explain in detail where and what kind of violations took place; that is the only way to eliminate the problem. And finally, you had time to eliminate that problem, but since you didn’t do that in three years, then the responsibility is yours, not the former regime’s.
And the most important question: for how many years will personal failures be explained using the excuse of the “former regime”- 5, 10, 20 years? The answer to this question is obvious- for as long as the majority of citizens buy into that. That trick works now, and the recent elections are proof of that.
The water issue is, perhaps, not the most important one; I simply used that as an example of the authorities’ propaganda. No matter what sector you look at, the former regime’s shadow pops up, which immediately conceals all the current regime’s flaws and failures.
Everything from the humiliating defeat in war to the famous doctor’s arrest is excused in the following way: ‘when it happened before, was that good?’ The question is rhetorical, of course. It was obviously bad, but who said that it must be bad now too?
… My recent conversation with a fellow citizen. “When will our country get itself together?” “How should I know?” “It’s a pity, our people are always lied to.” “They should not believe the lies.” “It doesn’t work; the people lying to them have snakes’ tongues.”
Aram Abrahamyan
