Armine Ishkanian
In 1978. Vaclav Havel wrote The Power of the Powerless, in
which he argued against the communist regime, maintaining that it
forced people to “live in a lie”. For Havel, the resistance against the
lie was to begin living in the truth and to challenge one’s own
powerlessness through recognising one’s agency. Fast forward 40 years,
and we are now witnessing a new velvet revolution in post-socialist
Armenia, a country which proclaimed its independence from Soviet rule in
1991, but which has long struggled to create a democracy. More than
anything else, this is a revolution about values. It is about the values
of Armenian society and its domestic, socio-economic and political
realities. The revolution is not about geopolitics or foreign relations.
Since mid-April Armenian citizens, led and inspired by MP Nikol Pashinyan from the Yelk (Way
Out) Alliance, have begun to live in the truth as they acknowledge
their agency, voice, and power. What began with Pashinyan’s “Take A
Step” action, has transformed into a national, some might say even
international, movement where Armenian citizens and Armenians living in
the diaspora have come together to challenge and reject Serzh Sargsyan
(former President from 2008-2018, and former Prime Minister in 2018) and
his Republican Party of Armenia (RPA). Taking to the streets and
squares in Yerevan, Gyumri, Vanadzor, and smaller towns and villages
throughout the country as well as in Los Angeles, Brussels, and London,
they have gathered to express their anger and discontent with the
morally bankrupt and kleptocratic, oligarchic RPA regime which has ruled
the country for two decades.
Through these actions Armenia’s
citizens, who some had described as apathetic, fatalistic, and
demoralised, began to challenge the regime’s hold on power and its
legitimacy to govern. Today, per official statistics, over one third of Armenians live in poverty and the country’s population has declined below three million due
to both emigration and a declining birth rate. On the one hand, there
is a desire to be rid of the oligarchic system of governance and to
implement a more democratic and just system of governance which
recognises and respects the rule of law and the human rights of
Armenia’s citizens. On the other hand, there is a desire to live in a
fairer society, where citizens live with dignity and where nepotism and
corruption do not lead to extremes of social and income inequality and
poverty.
The protesters are rejecting the RPA and its discredited
practices and values, which include greed, corruption, nepotism,
subservience, violence, and intolerance, and in their place they are
advocating new values such as freedom, dignity, tolerance, love,
courage, and justice. These lofty ideals have emerged in the
revolutionary euphoria which has seized the country, but the
revolutionary period is transitory. It remains to be seen how things
will develop afterwards, but for now, these ideals and values inform,
inspire, and motivate people to take action.
Love and tolerance
As
many have already noted, these protests draw from all segments of
Armenian society. People from all classes, walks of life, and political
and ideological persuasions have united in their rejection of the
regime. People hold banners proclaiming the revolution as one of “love
and tolerance”, rather than of hate and revenge. People in the streets
and squares have begun to treat each other with more kindness,
tolerance, and courtesy.
More and more women, young people, and
disabled people, are involved in these protests. Alongside Pashinyan,
Zaruhi Batoyan, a disabled activist and Yelk Alliance member of the Yerevan Council of Elders, has spoken eloquently from the dais rallying people to take action. Batoyan was also instrumental in organising the ‘pots and pans’ action that
has now become an almost nightly event as people bang pots and pans
together from 23:00-23:15 as a form of protest. The action is meant to
allow those, who for whatever reason cannot leave their homes to attend
the protests in the square, to express their discontent in this way.
Inclusion
and tolerance are new values to Armenian society, where not only
disabled people, but also people who identify as LGBT have faced
discrimination, marginalisation, and even violence. Indeed, the RPA
old-guard has used the presence of feminists and LGBT activists involved
in the movement to attack Pashinyan as promoting "western values". And
to be sure, the old divisions may return after the revolutionary
euphoria passes, but for now, suited doctors and lawyers are rallying
and marching alongside young tattooed hipsters, grizzly-bearded old men,
and vocal young feminists, in an atmosphere characterised by peace,
joy, and tolerance.
Responsibility
One of the key slogans of this revolution, alongside “Reject Serzh” and “With courage” (dukhov),
is “We are the owners of our country”. Unlike the previous two, the
latter slogan has been around for nearly a decade and was adopted by
different movements ranging from the youth-led Occupy Mashtots Park movement in 2012 to the Sasna Dzrer group
led by armed veterans of the Karabakh conflict which captured and held a
police station in Yerevan in 2016. In this context, being the owner of
one’s country means that people become active subjects rather than
passive and silent bystanders in society.
Instead of privately
complaining about the status quo, they begin to take public action to
change their lives and their society. In the midst of this velvet
revolution, people are recognising their power and agency. This can be
observed not only through the acts of civil disobedience of strikes and
blocking roads, but smaller actions such as people taking to the streets
after the demonstrations with brooms and bin bags to clean the streets of
the debris from the previous night’s demonstration. This responsibility
is not only about one’s own actions, but also a sense of responsibility
towards others in society and for the country’s future.
Courage, freedom and justice
“With courage” (dukhov)
has become a rallying cry as protesters have rejected the regime’s
attempt to rule by intimidation and fear-mongering, as well as the
corruption and nepotistic politics which had become endemic in the few
years where particular individuals and their clans seized political
power and amassed huge fortunes that were hidden away in offshore
accounts. They want to live free from fear, intimidation, and in a
country where rule of law and justice are respected.
Over the past
two decades, the oligarchic regime, by seizing both the political and
economic sectors, used brute force and economic repression to extend and
consolidate its hold on power. Oligarch politicians, such as MP Samvel
Aleksanyan (Lfik Samo) and former Prime Minister Hovik (the Mouse)
Abrahamyan, are much-reviled figures in Armenian society. As part of the
RPA-led government, they have operated with impunity, intimidation, and
violence, propagating a politics of fear.
There are too many cases of oligarchs and RPA politicians acting with violence and impunity, but one very recent incident stands
out as a shining example of their disregard for the hardships faced by
the population. In December 2017, in the lead-up to the holiday season,
food prices sharply increased. In response to growing public
dissatisfaction with the unreasonable price hikes, RPA MP and Chairman
of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Healthcare and Social
Welfare, Hakob Hakobyan told journalists: “Price hikes won’t impact the
poor, because they don’t have money and essentially they aren’t able to
buy anything. They don’t buy expensive products such as butter or meat,
because they don’t have [money].”
In support of his RPA colleague,
MP and the Chair of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the
Economy, Khosrov Harutyunyan, added: “Poor people don’t have money,
hence they don’t buy anything. What difference does it make if meat is
expensive or cheap,” adding that “potato eaters don’t eat meat.” This
incident illustrates RPA politicians’ disconnect from society and shows
their cynicism and lack of responsibility as public servants for
improving the livelihoods and well-being of those they were elected to
serve.
Where things stand at present
Events
are rapidly developing and predicting where they will lead is a fool’s
errand. While Sargsyan resigned as Prime Minister on 23 April, it has
now become clear that he is operating from the shadows and neither he
nor his party are ready to let go of the reins of power. Many in Armenia
argue that whoever comes to power must have Moscow’s tacit approval.
For this reason, Pashinyan, while advocating for regime change,
continues to publicly proclaim that he will not shift the country’s
foreign policy stance, especially with regards to its relationship to
its powerful neighbour to the north.
After Parliament failed to
elect Pashinyan to the post of Prime Minister on 1 May, it was announced
on 2 May that a new vote will take place in Parliament on 8 May. The
candidate that receives one-thirds of the vote will become the new Prime
Minister. While the RPA has said it will not nominate a candidate, many
mistrust the party and fear it will once again implement its traditional tactics of intimidation to shape
the electoral outcome in their favour. But can such tactics succeed
given that hundreds of thousands of Armenians have now found their
voice, their power, and now see themselves as history makers and the
owners of their country? Can violence and bloodshed be avoided in a
context where passions and emotions are running high? As the revolution
continues to be livestreamed, we shall have to wait and see.
"Open Democracy" (www.opendemocracy.net), May 3, 2018
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