A real revolution? Protest leader Armen Grigoryan on what’s happening in Armenia

Karena Avedissian

 

In the past two weeks, Armenia’s protest movement has achieved remarkable successes. From forcing the resignation of the country’s leader for the last ten years, to escalating demands to remove the ruling Republican Party from Parliament, this mobilisation has been able to be as ambitious as it has been because of the broad support it has across the country’s regions and classes.

Armen Grigoryan, who currently works at Transparency International Armenia, has participated in various political movements in Armenia over the past five years. He was campaign manager for Andrias Ghukasyan’s 2013 presidential campaign. In 2015, Grigoryan ran the No Pasaran campaign against the proposed constitutional reforms that would eventually turn Armenia into a parliamentary republic.

This is a two part interview. The first part was taken on 21 April, two days before Serzh Sargsyan’s resignation. At the end of the interview, Armen was arrested on criminal charges of “inciting mass unrest”. He was released after Sargsyan’s resignation.

Armenia’s “permanent revolution”: why do the protests continue in Yerevan?

Mikayel Zolyan

 

On the evening of 23 April, Armenia celebrated the resignation of Serzh Sargsyan, the man who had ruled Armenia for ten years as president — and for a week as prime-minister. Strangers hugged and congratulated one another, cars honked their horns, and shops ran out of champagne. Everybody celebrated in their own way: some put tables in the streets and marked the occasion traditionally, with vodka and a barbecue, while others danced to Berlin-style techno music in bars. Still, the happiness seemed universal.

Today, on 25 April, the protesters are back on the streets. As one of the protesters said to Radio Liberty correspondent on the station’s live feed: “We have overthrown the tsar, now we need to overthrow tsarism.” Formally, the protests have a new target — acting prime-minister Karen Karapetyan, who represents the (still) ruling Republican Party, which at least at the time of writing, possessed the majority in Armenia’s parliament.

Sometimes Armenian Protests Are Just Armenian Protests

Thomas de Waal

 

When a leader is deposed by street protests in any Russia-allied post-Soviet country, analysts from Washington to Moscow jump to geopolitical conclusions faster than you can say “George Soros.” But sometimes, as in Armenia these past several days, government-toppling protests are just government-toppling protests.

On April 23, Serzh Sargsyan resigned as Armenia’s prime minister under pressure from mass civil unrest, led mainly by young people, in the capital, Yerevan. The streets of the city turned into an exhilarating carnival of people power that surprised most Armenians.

The Real Tragedy is What Hasn’t Happened After the Earthquake

 Ara Khatchatourian

Once again we are commemorating the anniversary of the tragic earthquake that hit Armenia on December 7, 1988. As we honor the victims of that tragedy, we must tell ourselves that we, as a nation, have failed to rebuild the earthquake zone, which almost 30 years later is still labeled the “disaster zone.”

Some 550 families are still homeless victims of the earthquake, living in makeshift metal containers scattered around Gyumri, Spitak, Akhourian and other rural areas that were devastated by the earthquake. Yet some 47 miles from Spitak, the epicenter of the earthquake, cranes dot the skyline of Yerevan, with new residential and commercial building mushrooming in a city that has become a virtual construction zone.

Armenia’s choice: Trump-style populist or power-hungry president?

Mikayel Zolyan

 

On April 2 Armenians will vote in a parliamentary election, a major step in the country’s transition from a presidential to a parliamentary system.

The process, which began with a constitutional referendum in December 2015, will be complete in April 2018 when the incumbent president, Serzh Sargsyan, leaves office and executive power is transferred to the prime minister, who will be appointed by parliament.

The upcoming election will turn Armenia’s parliament into its most powerful legislative force, making the country something of an outlier among post-Soviet countries, most of which have strong presidential systems.