The illegally persecuted businessman Samvel Karapetyan is forming a political party. All citizens of Armenia who have not yet lost their sense of reason should, I believe, wish this party success—while refraining from jealousy and gossip. But there will be no success if this new political force acts in isolation and does not become part of a broader consolidation.
What is needed for that to happen?
One of the key prerequisites is this: the first, second, and third presidents of Armenia, the ARF, the Republican Party, Samvel Karapetyan, and all others who understand the catastrophic consequences of Pashinyan’s continued rule must, for the next year, completely set aside their ideological, political, and personal differences. Every word spoken or written in criticism of the current or past actions of the genuine opposition only contributes to the free fall we are now experiencing.
Who did what in the past, who offended whom, who wants to be “number one” or not—these are secondary issues compared to the existential threats now facing our state. If opposition groups continue arguing among themselves (for example, over the impeachment process), they should not be surprised when the next parliament includes only the Civic Contract party and its “pro-Western” satellites.
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In this context, I do not imagine the party being formed by Samvel Karapetyan as just another party, but as a force that can help bring everyone together. The questions “around whom?” or even “around what idea?” are irrelevant at this moment. What matters is uniting around the person or force capable of pulling the emergency brake. After that—when the Beast (or Devil, or Beelzebub) retreats—then we can begin thinking about everything else.
To be clear, the Devil is not the current Prime Minister of Armenia. The true evil, the real enemy, is within us: our fragmentation, our vanity, our ambitions.
Naturally, any dialogue must also include the rational supporters of Pashinyan. I emphasize rational. If someone is simply a sectarian loyalist, no amount of reasoning will work. For instance, if a person genuinely believes that the Catholicos is destroying the Armenian state, or that 300,000 Azerbaijanis will come to Armenia while 500,000 Armenians will move to Azerbaijan—then dialogue with them is, unfortunately, pointless.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
