Edmon Marukyan, the ambassador-at-large, recently made two speeches: one on H1 and the second on Facebook. The main thesis of the latter is the following: the government is making concessions on the issue of Artsakh, because… that is what the opposition is talking about. In other words, if the opposition did not talk about handing over Berdzor and Aghavno, it would not have reached Aliyev’s ears. It would not have occurred to him to demand handing over the Lachin Corridor, and our government would not have had to make that concession. Therefore, the ambassador concludes, the current opposition and the government of Azerbaijan work in cooperation. I have already had occasion to write that the world is living in such an era that it is not important at all how much, in particular, what politicians say is compatible with common sense or formal logic. It is important how acceptable those words are for the masses. The ambassador’s conclusions are believed by hundreds of thousands of people in Armenia, and therefore, as they say, “good for them.”
The main thesis of what Edmon Marukyan said on H1 is national unity, and it is a really important agenda issue. But after the 2018 revolution, the policy of the government is not aimed at national unity, but at national division. The government that, for example, was ready to hold a nationwide referendum to change the president of the Civil Contract, is unlikely to be sincerely in favor of national unity. When the government’s propaganda is directed exclusively against the “formers” or opposition, but does not contain any positive program, then in the absence of that vision, what is it possible to unite around? It is difficult to achieve national unity by not letting Diaspora Armenians enter Armenia and imprisoning opposition members. Of course, the opposition also contributes to hatred and enmity, and in that sense they complement each other. If our main political players change their behavior then it will be possible to talk about national unity.
…I remember that David Shahnazaryan was also an ambassador-at-large. But he, like all other ambassadors, engaged in negotiations and diplomacy, not campaigning for the government and against the opposition.
Aram Abrahamyan
