Former Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian received a notice inviting him to a “parliamentary inquiry into the circumstances of the 44-day war.” Let me remind you that the 44-day war started on September 27, 2020, and Oskanian resigned as Foreign Minister in April 2008. The invitation itself is significant, proving once again that the purpose of the commission is not to study the circumstances of the war, but to remove the responsibility for the defeat from Pashinyan and to blame the military and the former.
In the context of these accusations, the government wants to “prove” (of course, on a propaganda level) that the former negotiated “losingly” with Azerbaijan, in particular, that the Madrid Principles, in which Oskanian was actively involved, were bad, and that contributed to the resumption of the war. (The Madrid Principles may have been bad, but they are simply wonderful compared to the topics being discussed now). In short, Oskanian was invited to a commission to promote propaganda to blame the former. The former Foreign Minister himself diplomatically rejected the invitation, writing: “I am not convinced that the goals of that commission are sincere and honest. Moreover, I am not convinced that this commission can ever come to a fair and objective conclusion.”
Indeed, the Civil Contract members say almost every day that Pashinyan has nothing to do with the defeat, and that the rest of the world is to blame, and that their conclusions are unlikely to deviate from the stated convictions.
But the problem is deeper. Whatever commission is set up, the supporters of the government and the opposition will stick to their convictions that the propaganda here is absolutely meaningless. Let’s just theoretically imagine that all the members of the commission would be from Sweden, Australia or Alpha Centauri and would come to a completely unbiased conclusion. If it is in favor of the government, those with opposition views will say that it is “part of a treacherous plan.” If it is in favor of the opposition, the supporters of the government will claim that the commissioners worked with “stolen money.” No one can be persuaded about anything anyway.
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So now that all of the people in action on September 27, 2020 have political interests, it makes no sense to set up such a commission, regardless of who will be involved. Now, perhaps, a commission can be set up to study the circumstances of the Battle of Avarayr. But even in this issue, I am not sure that political passions will not ignite. It is very possible that the supporters of “realism” and “idealism” will clash here, and this will be reflected in the current situation. I recently read a brilliant analysis on this topic.
Aram Abrahamyan
