In contrast to totalitarian regimes, autocracies usually strive to provide a semblance of legitimacy whenever possible. Even Putin does not openly declare: “I am your eternal king, and that’s it.” As is well known, he “zeroed” the constitutional terms of being the president, again an undisguised arbitrariness covered with a light veil of “law.”
That is also the case with political persecution under authoritarian regimes. Kremlin propagandists portray Navalny or Yashin as criminal criminals. Also, since the persecution of Ashot Bleyan and Vano Siradeghyan in Independent Armenia, the mentioned pattern has been working, and today’s authorities continue those well-known traditions of autocracy to present political persecution as criminal.
However, as in other cases, I am also looking for the problem within us: are we, in this case, the society doing everything it can to ensure that there are no political prisoners? Obviously- not. I see the disunity of society as the basis of the power and “invincibility” of authoritarianism. Everyone knows that Ashotyan is sitting (in prison) because of his political activity. I leave aside to those who, for one reason or another, feel compelled to say otherwise. What about the rest? Why, for example, does ANC not raise this issue? It is because it has problems with the RPA. If tomorrow Pashinyan decides to arrest any ANC representative (nothing is really excluded), RPA and Dashnaktsutyun will not raise a voice either, and for the same reason.
The same divisiveness exists in more significant national issues. If Artsakh is officially recognized as a part of Azerbaijan and, as an inevitable consequence, 120 thousand of our compatriots are killed or deported (which is what the policy of the current authorities is leading to), after a particular time, the Armenian state will cease to exist.
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I think all political forces understand this. Therefore, an elementary idea should unite everyone: Artsakh should not be under the rule of Azerbaijan. In all other matters, people can oppose each other, argue with each other, and even hate each other. Deeply agreeing on the issue, the healthy part of the political field and, in a broader sense, the society does not come together. The government takes advantage of that.
ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
