The worst thing that can be done to people is to make them hostile. It refers to the division of societies, as well as to the demarcation of nations and states. The current government of Armenia has done everything to create a “black-and-white,” “present-former” split in our society. It is a tool both to come to power and to stay in power. Since no positive agenda or achievements can be boasted about, one should talk endlessly about the “former” without taking any steps to eliminate the mistakes of the former.
Now the same government is nominating a presidential candidate who is initially “white” (ie, from Pashinyan’s team) and as such should consider the parliamentary opposition “black” (ie, representatives of “thieves”). In this case, is it possible for the president to represent all the citizens of Armenia, including the tens of thousands of people elected by the “representatives of the thieves”? The mistake, thus, does not come from the person of the presidential candidate, not from pushing that candidate forward, but from the deepening split in 2018.
The parliamentary opposition, in turn, has no positive agenda and insists on the “immediate removal of the current government,” although it has tried to do so both through the “street” and the elections, but has not succeeded.
The same thing is happening in the international arena. Two groups of people very close in culture and religion have become enemies because of Russia’s imperial ambitions, and Putin, by launching an aggressive war against Ukraine, has created an abyss between those nations that will not be closed in the coming decades, no matter what happens. It also splits in Russia. For example, media outlets that use the word “war” and express views that are different from the official ones have been blocked. This means that the government of that country divides its population into “patriots” and “non-patriots”.
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The war also divides people of different nationalities, when, for example, Ukrainians demand that everyone condemn Russia’s aggression or join the sanctions. Zelensky, for example, was “offended” by the Georgians. The majority of Armenians, when Azerbaijan attacked Artsakh, did not demand anything from anyone; countries and people responded as they saw fit.
I also think it is wrong to mix sports and culture with politics. They are a way to unite people, not to divide them.
Aram Abrahamyan
