When commenting on my articles, users often urge me to repent, to feel remorse for having contributed to Nikol Pashinyan’s rise to power. Generally speaking, I do, of course, have many things to repent for—both in my public and private life. But this one…
To be honest, I do not think I actively contributed to the change of power in 2018: I did not block streets, nor did I write fiery texts. In the years preceding those events, however, I did support Pashinyan personally—as a journalist and editor—when he was in trouble, when he was being persecuted. And I do not regret that. It is my principle to stand by those who are being unjustly targeted.
If the question is whether I wanted a change of power in 2018, then yes, I did. I hoped that as a result we would have a stronger army, an independent judiciary, a genuinely liberal economy; that there would no longer be political prisoners, no brazen and arrogant officials, no pro-government oligarchs who had lost all sense of reality amid their wealth. I was wrong in those expectations—no positive change occurred. Only now do I understand that the system that existed in 2018 was perfectly convenient for Pashinyan and his associates, and that their aspiration was simply to enjoy its “benefits.” I do not know whether I should repent for my naïveté at the time.
Did I foresee in 2018 that, as a result of Pashinyan’s actions, we would lose Artsakh, or that the government would launch a brutal attack on the Armenian Apostolic Church? No—such thoughts never even crossed my mind. Whether one should repent for lacking the talent of a prophet is something I still cannot say.
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But in general, I believe that we are all obliged to acknowledge our mistakes. This obligation, however, is especially important for those who make decisions that are fateful for the state.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
