Pashinyan’s speech and meetings in New York once again confirm that he intends to make Armenia dependent on Turkey. It’s possible that he has at least the tacit approval or friendly support of all interested parties—except Iran. What’s crucial here is not so much what the Prime Minister of Armenia did or said, but what he failed to address. He did not raise the issues of ethnic cleansing in Artsakh, the occupation of Armenia’s sovereign territory, or the Armenian prisoners held in Baku. As a result, Azerbaijan continues to make dozens of demands of us (a list that seems to grow by the day), while we have no demands in return. In other words, we are surrendering.
Perhaps Pashinyan believes that this will be limited to political dependence and economic expansion, similar to what happened in Adjara. In that case, he may hope to cling to his coveted, albeit symbolic, position. However, the ultimate goal of Turkey and Azerbaijan is to dismantle Armenian statehood altogether. If that happens, Pashinyan may end up riding a bicycle at some “dacha” near Moscow.
This destructive course can be stopped by the political forces—if they can present a viable political agenda that is more appealing than Pashinyan’s proposal to “just eat bread.” So far, all we hear from the opposition are shouts of “Ner,” “land-giver,” “traitor,” and other emotional outbursts, which only serve the government, as it allows them to respond on the same shallow level.
Of course, these exclamations resonate with people and lead to hundreds, perhaps thousands, of “likes” and “hearts.” Their therapeutic effect is undeniable. It’s known, for instance, that some psychologists recommend punching a pillow in moments of anger.
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But in terms of substance, these slogans achieve nothing. The question of how to avoid war while preserving Armenian statehood is one that must be answered by the political forces. So, instead of the common, naïve question “who do you support,” which is often asked of me, a more appropriate question would be, “what are you not seeing?”
Aram Abrahamyan
