“There is no serious opposition in Armenia” is a refrain often heard from government representatives and their supporters. For them, it serves as a justification for repressions and atrocities. If the opposition is deemed “not serious,” it becomes easier to imprison people, injure them, and use flash-bang grenades against them.
Occasionally, this idea of “unseriousness” is also voiced by individuals with opposition views who aspire to secure a place in the political system but, for various reasons, fail to do so.
As someone who is neither aligned with the “titled” nor “non-titled” opposition (and certainly not with the government), I aim to be objective in assessing how the seriousness of the opposition is measured. I propose three criteria:
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- Ability to Change the Government: Has the opposition succeeded in changing the government? No, it has not. Even during the most crowded events, the government, with its thousands of security forces, managed to suppress the demonstrations. Thus, the opposition has failed to achieve its stated goals, indicating a lack of seriousness in this regard.
- Political Techniques: Is the opposition more convincing in its use of political techniques compared to those in power? Again, no. In terms of negotiations, propaganda, organized collective attacks, and brainwashing, the current authorities are unmatched. From this perspective, the government is more serious.
- Ideological Advantage: The current opposition has an ideological advantage? Pashinyan and his team promote an agenda that aligns with the endless demands of Erdogan and Aliyev, claiming it will provide a “good life” in Armenia. This “ideology” is frivolous as it will likely lead to war and the eventual loss of statehood. Ideas that oppose this reckless “hedonism” are more serious in comparison.
However, it should be noted that both previous and current governments have spoiled and degeneret our citizens to such an extent (there is a Russian word “растлить”) that most no longer believe in any serious ideology.
Aram Abrahamyan
