Protests Against PM Pashinyan In Yerevan: Stays Or Goes?

(MENAFN- AzerNews)

Elnur Enveroglu Read more

All these questions are concentrated on one point: whichdirection has Armenia been moving for three decades?

The defeat of Armenia actually started in the 1990s. ForArmenia, which went down in history as an invader, this was a movetowards defeat rather than victory. Levon Hakobi Ter-Petrosyan cameto power in Armenia for the first time in 1991 after the breakup ofthe Soviet Union. His coming to power did not give Armenia anythingother than what it gained by occupying Garabagh. During the rule ofLTP, Armenia cut off diplomatic relations with Turkiye and bothsides closed the borders and further to this, Yerevan got itselfinto hug of Moscow.

Armenia, which declared itself an independent state on September21, 1991, until 2018, was governed by political figures who wereclosely connected to the official Kremlin and took instructionsfrom it and settled with their theses. Owning Garabagh began topush Armenia further away from its political orientation. In 1998,the country passed into the hands of Robert Kocharyan, who was amember of the former 'Karabakh clan' and was the prime minister andpresident of the so-called NK, who was later accused of corruption Kocharyan is pro-Russian, his association with corruptiongave Western forces a chance to step forward. However, as Yerevanwas still under the influence of Moscow, it could not takeadvantage of this opportunity. It was Serzh Sargsyan's turn, theKocharyan's prototype who filled the gap in power following hisresignation. There was no difference between Sargsyan andKocharyan. Both of them are known as the father of corruption inArmenia. The two political players who took control of everythingfrom customs to the banking system gradually weakened the backboneof the country.

In 2018, through the velvet revolution, real conditions werecreated for the West to penetrate Armenia and put its own figure atthe head of power. The Karabakh clan had become the mostdisreputable and worthless political group in the nation. Evenbefore Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan came to power, a somewhatvisionary section of the people knew that Garabagh would one dayreturn to Azerbaijan. Articles about this were published in bothRussian and Western publications. Armenia's potential opportunitiesto acquire territories that did not belong to it were non-existent the opportunity and conditions for Pashinyan to come topower was an opportunity for the Kocharyan and Sagsyan couple toavoid public outrages. The return of Garabagh to Azerbaijan bytheir hands was equivalent to taking the corrupt couple themselvesto the gallows.

Pashinyan took on this difficult mission after coming to powerfollowing the Velvet Revolution. Although his views reflected thethoughts of ex-Armenian leaders before him, the realities in theregion in favour of Azerbaijan did not allow him to pursue hispolicy. Pashinyan had to change the contours of both his domesticand foreign policy. For this, he had to sacrifice one of theparties - either Russia or the West.

Following the humiliating defeat in 2020, the Armenianauthorities took a step that they had never ever durst to do in thehistory of Armenia. The deterioration of relations with Russia madePashinyan somewhat lean towards the West. Because Pashinyan was thesecond person after LTP to start the Garabagh War with Azerbaijan,which caused him to learn a harder lesson.

Despite all this, the defeated, beaten, and humiliated primeminister did not lose his rating. The people re-elected him andsupported his political stance.

Nevertheless, today the situation has completely changed. Theongoing protests in Yerevan insist that Pashinyan step down frompower. However, it poses a question: why would Armenia want toresign the Prime Minister it elected three years ago?

In 2020, Nikol Pashinyan surrendered Garabagh to Azerbaijanthrough war. Four years later, he returned 4 villages belonging toAzerbaijan based on negotiations. The difference was simply anevent that had never happened in the history of Armenia - thatArmenia returned the occupied lands to Azerbaijan without arms,without war, and simply through negotiations. Everyone in Armeniaknows very well that it is pointless to wage war with Azerbaijan,and they have a clearer idea of what the result will be even reminded the Armenians about this in his address inTavush, where he said,“Otherwise, more difficult days may awaitArmenia”.

Pashinyan's enmity with clerics

It was Pashinyan's conversation with the Tavush community andhis position that made him a common target in front of theopposition and religious figures. Because the Armenian religioussection is the only organisation that promotes war, which calls thepeople to arms, knowing what the fate will be.

In addition, Pashinyan is a pro-Western figure who is ruthlessagainst corruption and the forces that obstruct power in thecountry. Many call him the first democratic prime minister ofArmenia. Starting in 2019, the conflict between N. Pashinyan andthe Armenian Catholicos II Karegin caused a rift between the clergyand the authorities. One of the behind-the-scenes points was thatthe Church was closer to the Garabagh clan and wanted to havehidden wealth to keep the Yerevan government under its influence did not like the separatist leaders of the so-called NK,who are currently in prison in Baku, and he also hated churchrepresentatives. Although this was previously hidden, it began tobe revealed later. Today, the voices coming from the streets ofYerevan and the crowd demanding Pashinyan's resignation are notthose who once voted for him, but are just a game made by Kocharyanand Sargsyan, who are hiding behind the walls of the church.

The continuation of tensions and processes in the country infavour of Azerbaijan gives the opposition and religious figuresreasons to provoke the people. But those who cannot think of theother side of this are unable to answer one question: what wouldKocharyan do if he were in Pashinyan's place?

Today in Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan's public sympathy is sincere,but there is zero hope for the former opposition leaders, who havegained a bad and disrespectful image. That is why the couple ofKocharyan and Sargsyan, who could not find the courage to come outto the people, hid behind an apolitical religious figure likeBagrat Galstanyan and raised the people against the government than the waves of protest against Pashinyan, this disgracereflects their weakness and powerlessness in the foreground.

On the other hand, Baku is still observing the processes - untilArmenia reaches the right conclusion and signs a peace agreementthat promises stability and security to the region.

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