How should democracy be- representative or direct? You will naturally answer that one should complement the other. But that answer is purely theoretical because it is impossible for tens of thousands of people to take to the streets all the time, to protest, to hold pickets, and so on. There are times when citizens make their choices and step aside. Especially when no one seriously suspects that the will of the citizens has been distorted. This is especially true in Armenia in 2018 and 2021.
Let’s try to explain why the majority gave a mandate to Pashinyan’s government. In the case of Artsakh, I think everything is clear. On June 20, the majority approved the government’s policy on this issue and the results of the war. I suppose that the further steps of the government to be taken in the same spirit will not cause dissatisfaction either. Of course, it is predictable that there will be more protesters who will take to the streets. But they will be a minority that will be labeled “former,” and that will close the issue. Here, it seems to me, it is clear what awaits us.
Let’s talk about smaller issues. For example, has the government received a mandate to raise property taxes? I think so. If you are dissatisfied with that, then you are against democracy. What if the Amulsar mine starts operating? Did the Civil Contract promise to close it before the elections? No? So, it can operate easily. Did the people give a construction mandate to the pro-government oligarchs in the scientific banner of the Institute of Physics? And the mandate to beat protesters, including minors? But why not? If the people have elected this government, then the “red berets” have all the legal grounds to trample on the people. It was before that, in “Serzh’s time,” when it was condemnable, and on each such occasion human rights NGOs wrote several reports to the relevant European structures. The situation has changed.
What about persecuting the opposition? It should not be mentioned at all because they are not really opposition, they are enemies of the people, criminals and thieves, and the mandate to pursue them is not an ordinary one, but a steel one.
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It turns out that we have 3 opposition deputies imprisoned. Everything is within the framework of the “democratic process.”
Aram Abrahamyan
