Imagine such a scene: a group of Armenians take to the streets of Yerevan and Armenian citizens hold posters with the words “There was no Armenian Genocide in 1915.” It is impossible to imagine such a thing, is it? “Being Armenian” implies that you accept some of the key episodes of our state. In Armenia, unlike a number of other states, campaigning to deny the fact of the Genocide is not criminalized. There is no need for that, it is a “red line” beyond which the sphere of “not belonging” to our nation begins.
Calls to renounce the sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia are also not criminalized, although our country has been declared a sovereign state by an unchangeable article of the Constitution. The lawyers explain: for ordinary citizens and non-officials, what is not forbidden is allowed. For example, swearing until August 2, 2021, did not mean criminal consequences. Now it does, and much of the efforts of the police and other law enforcement agencies are now aimed at catching insults against Pashinyan and holding those citizens accountable. Of course, swearing is a fluid term in itself. Of course, one is not held responsible for swearing at the Prime Minister, but that, as the same lawyers say, is a “legal practice.” And swearing is criminalized by the law itself. Meanwhile, propaganda against Armenia’s sovereignty is not criminalized.
Unlike the case of the Armenian Genocide, there is no “red line” drawn by society here. In other words, when people take to the streets and call for the Republic of Armenia to become part of another state, it is not prohibited by law on the one hand, and on the other hand, the majority of society does not consider it an extraordinary behavior insulting our national dignity. Like holding protests in the streets of Yerevan carrying the letter “Z,” which symbolizes aggression, death, and the shelling of cities.
Just as the majority of our citizens calmly accepted the loss of most of Artsakh and expressed their support for the commander-in-chief of the defeated Armed Forces in the elections, so they will not be against Armenia joining the Russia-Belarus-DNR-LNR union. Unlike Armen Ashotyan, I think it is not a matter of “emotions.” It is a matter of value system and civilizational choice. Or, as in the case of our society, the issue of being deeply indifferent to them.
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Aram Abrahamyan
