Armenian commentators quite rightly point out that there is no civil society in Azerbaijan. Indeed, voluntary associations of citizens—those that establish horizontal ties among people, operate within the framework of their own statutes, and are neither subordinate nor accountable to the authorities—simply do not exist there. The same can be said of Russia, Belarus, and many other countries.
But do such structures exist in Armenia? To avoid overly sweeping judgments, it should be noted that before 2018, their embryonic forms could be observed in various fields. Both organizations inherited from the Soviet period and newly established NGOs demonstrated a degree of relative independence.
After the change of power, it gradually became clear that the donors of the “new NGOs” are ardent supporters of Pashinyan, that these donors coordinate their decisions with the Armenian government in one way or another, and thus the independence—and consequently the mission—of these NGOs has been called into question, as they are indirectly controlled by the authorities.
Much has been written about this, but, believe it or not, this is not the greatest tragedy. Pashinyan’s obsession, as a petty autocrat, is to control everything—starting with the Armenian Apostolic Church. In particular, he seeks to remove the Catholicos of All Armenians, decide who should head a diocese, and determine who should be defrocked and who should not. By the way, how do the aforementioned donors—who claim to engage in “value-based” cooperation with the Armenian government—view this from the standpoint of their own values?
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Now the turn has come to the Olympic Committee, simply because its president is the leader of an opposition party competing with Civil Contract in elections. Let me remind you that Prosperous Armenia had displayed opposition tendencies even before 2018. Yet no one had the idea of “taking over” the Olympic Committee. Regardless of Gagik Tsarukyan’s political activity, I believe no one would deny that he has devoted decades to serving Armenian sports.
Naturally, Pashinyan will not stop at the takeover of the National Olympic Committee. I believe the Writers’ Union is next in line. As is well known, there are poets who serve Pashinyan.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
