American researcher Jarrett Diamond, whose work “Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis” I have already had the opportunity to refer to, mentions among the many mechanisms that it is necessary to “build a fence.” This “fence” separates what has more or less happened in the country from what did not happen and takes the country back. Of course, being honest and giving an assessment not to pursue political interests is an important precondition for further actions.
It is not that everything is bad in Armenia as the opposition and their supporters try to portray. Let us mention what our strengths are. 1 / The banking system, we have witnessed the relative stability of the Armenian dram over the last year and a half, 2 / Healthcare, which, in general, resists the pandemic, 3 / Human capital, the experience and abilities of working people, which, according to the methodology of the World Bank, is above average, 4 / The judiciary was on the way to establishment, but the executive branch has been making obvious violations recently, 5 / Our country has held fair elections twice in a row, and if that happens 2-3 more times, the issue will be removed from the agenda.
All this is “on this side” of the fence. And now let’s talk about what has not happened in these 30 years. The most important problem is that the authoritarian system, against which the revolution of 2018 was directed “at the level of words,” has remained exactly the same, which, by the way, calls into question the word “revolution.” One of the manifestations of the authoritarian system is that the parliament does not counterbalance the executive power in any way. The only duty of the deputies representing the majority is to protect the “boss” from the opponents (sometimes even by using their feet). It has been talked about a lot and will continue to be talked about.
The other key issue is that big business is not independent of the government. The latest example is Gagik Tsarukyan. As soon as he said about a year ago that the government should resign, numerous criminal cases were filed against Tsarukyan and the Prosperous Armenia party members both in connection with businesses and on charges of electoral fraud. The government propaganda at the time even recalled the 40-year-old rape case (which I think is ethically unacceptable).
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But as soon as Tsarukyan and Prosperous Armenia “got smarter” politically (presumably after meeting with the Prime Minister), all that was forgotten, and now neither that businessman nor his businesses are threatened. It proves two things. a) Law enforcement agencies continue to fulfill the orders of the political power, b) no business is protected from government interference. The government can overthrow or destroy any business, which means that it is too early to talk about a free market and competition in Armenia.
People change, but the problem that has existed for 30 years remains the same.
Aram Abrahamyan
