There’s a saying: “You can’t hide an elephant in the room.”
Roughly speaking, it means committing acts whose baseness is obvious, while pretending that this baseness somehow goes unnoticed.
We know from books and documents what was happening in the Soviet Union in the 1930s. Those sources show that, under totalitarian terror, it was impossible to resist — even through silence. But I can say that things were completely different during my own childhood and youth. When the Communist authorities persecuted dissidents, it was by no means mandatory to step onto the “stage” and publicly thank the beloved Party and government — and the equally beloved KGB and courts — for “isolating hostile elements.” Those who behaved that way revealed their servility for everyone to see.
And today, the situation is even clearer. I believe everyone — even the least educated person — understands perfectly well that Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan never called for an armed coup. If his interview in February 2024 had contained such a call, it would have drawn attention then, not suddenly in June 2025. It turns out the authorities spent a year and four months “deliberating” on the supposed danger of that statement.
Despite the absurdity of the charge, members of the ruling Civil Contract party and its satellite groups continue to repeat it. To some extent, this is understandable: they are obliged to “give a legal appearance” to their leader’s fears, complexes, and whims. Otherwise, their careers, positions, and businesses could be jeopardized.
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But what I cannot understand is the behavior of others — above all, the human rights defenders. Suppose, for the sake of argument, that European structures have instructed them to present Armenia as a “bastion of democracy.”
Even so, is it really impossible to remain silent?
To refrain, at the very least, from defending an obvious injustice — and from applauding the existence of political prisoners?
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
