Dark clouds are gathering over Armenia; Putin’s “warnings” must be taken seriously — Arbak Khachatryan

‘Abandoning the agreements reached on Karabakh would be tantamount to suicide for Armenia,’ Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Rossiya 24 on November

17. Political analyst Arbak Khachatryan believes this ‘warning’ by the Russian president must be taken more than seriously. ‘When the president of Armenia’s age-old friend and strategic partner makes such a statement, we must understand that dark clouds have gathered over Armenia and serious dangers are hanging over it, that undesirable domestic political developments in Armenia could seriously threaten and call into question the country’s future. We must take this seriously and understand that Putin is presenting his beloved ally with his final condition in this way.

Following the latest developments, we have found ourselves in a situation where, before taking any step, we must fully recognize that the days of PR are over and that only precisely calculated and carefully considered steps should be taken to bring the country out of crisis,’ our interviewee says. He adds that, unlike many residents of Armenia, the Russian president still tolerates the current leader at Armenia’s helm for just one reason: dominant representation in the region, even in the form of peacekeepers, is as essential as air and water to Russia at this moment.

Our interviewee has his own proposal for a way out of the situation. In his view, bringing together the mental and intellectual potential of Armenians worldwide, directing that combined energy toward the interests of Armenian statehood and putting it at its service could provide a guarantee against undesirable upheavals and turmoil in the country. Arbak Khachatryan is convinced that the demand being advanced these days by the political opposition and part of society to create an interim government, followed by a new government through early parliamentary elections, leads to a dead end.

Analyzing the last 30 years of the Republic of Armenia’s history, Khachatryan has concluded that parliament is an entirely unnecessary body in Armenia’s life, because it has played no positive role in governing the country: the parliamentary majority has always followed only the wishes of one person, the country’s leader, and served his interests. In the analyst’s opinion, the 300-year-old model of parliamentary government has exhausted itself in general, while in tiny countries such as Armenia it has achieved no other tangible results beyond resolving the personal concerns of those holding parliamentary status and satisfying the insatiable appetite of the ‘people’s chosen representatives.’ Arbak Khachatryan sees justice at the core of state governance and remains of the view that it is in this context and on this basis that the country’s fundamental law, the Constitution, and its other laws must be changed.

‘Justice must have cornerstone importance for the state, while management and the security institutions must operate separately. This is an extremely important condition for the country’s normal development. Of course, in Armenia’s extremely difficult situation, it will be indescribably hard to convey all this to the people and the intelligentsia in clear and understandable language. For that very reason, perhaps it would be more appropriate to establish a transitional council of seven to nine representatives during the transition preceding the transformation of institutions.

That council should consist of Armenians who, through circumstances, have settled in different countries and possess tangible standing and weight in the world. Otherwise it is as though we remember our compatriots living in the diaspora only when asking for money, while, for some reason, the same diaspora remains voiceless in matters of governance. This too is an important condition, because the Armenian people have lost faith in the existence of a fair, impartial leader and, most importantly, one who works for Armenians and puts Armenians at the center.

In my opinion, two people in particular contributed greatly to this loss of faith: the Republic of Armenia’s first and current leaders. Under these conditions, only uniting Armenian intellectual potential worldwide can help restore the people’s lost faith. After the Great Genocide, our uprooted compatriots settled in different countries around the world and established Armenian communities there. Many of our compatriots who found refuge in different corners of the world have achieved notable success in various fields.

It is precisely this potential that must be directed toward establishing a strong and just Armenia. It is also important to me that the council I mentioned should have no traders, because the temptation to make money and the expectation of profit prevent them from thinking about the state’s well-being. This seemingly insignificant requirement is, in my view, firmly grounded. After all, we witnessed how Donald Trump, a trader in his essence and way of thinking, ruined the United States,’ he said.

Incidentally, in publications in the Russian media, even before Trump’s election, Arbak Khachatryan had predicted that Trump, with his trader’s mindset, would be the last president of a United States possessing great weight and powerful influence in the world.

‘The council should include intellectuals, each with an equal vote,’ our interviewee explains. Those interested can learn more about the council’s composition and activities from the Russian press.

Discussing the parade of dismissals that has begun in the government, Arbak Khachatryan notes that these changes will lead nowhere in the current moral and psychological situation. The only real force capable of acting with dignity, protecting Armenian interests and making reasonable demands of the great powers is the intellectual elite of Armenians worldwide: ‘Changing individuals, whether some figure with pro-Russian leanings or, say, someone who has undergone a sex change, cannot bring Armenia any benefit. We have already passed through that stage. Institutions must be put into operation in Armenia, led by leading, knowledgeable specialists, and spiritual and cultural connections between countries must be preserved. Armenia’s principal capital must be the educated, intellectual person.’

The analyst’s observations about the 44-day war and the capitulation agreement signed under the proclaimed slogan ‘We will win’ are also noteworthy. According to Arbak Khachatryan, the roots of all this go much deeper. ‘It all began when, in the 1990s, the “political figures” and “all-powerful” officials of that time began taking the laurels of victory for themselves and proclaiming themselves heroes in place of the real heroes. Alongside this, an “odyssey” began to be woven, a myth that our brave soldiers, without any political or technical support, would reach Baku, enjoy coffee there and then travel by boat to Istanbul. Just like that, easily and calmly, without any complications… In reality, however, the names of many who secured the victorious conclusion of the war were never published or made known to the public. It was dangerous.

Yes, the Armenian people did not doubt their victory in the slightest at that time. To secure that victory, however, the army had to be supplied with weapons and ammunition.’

Our interviewee says that no one can now tell how the weapons reached Armenia or how and through whose ‘light hand’ the production line for Kalashnikov rifle ammunition was privatized. How, in the 1990s, the then defense minister and deputy minister asked him for help to take Gandzak, how they received that assistance, and yet nothing ever followed… Today, all the national wealth has been privatized, and in these confused postwar days there are people trying to fish in troubled waters and plunder funds intended for the army, showing contempt for anything sacred.

Continuing the topic, our interviewee recalls what he was offered at the time — ownership, property… — which he categorically refused, considering it immoral. Now he is asking no rhetorical question at all; he wants an answer: how was the entire center of Yerevan privatized, and where did those people get so much money? These are the reasons why we cannot preserve our independence. Arbak Khachatryan notes that the Armenian people abruptly changed their attitude toward Russia. He is certain that if a missile were to hit any Armenian city today, soon afterward the overwhelming majority of Armenia’s residents would express a desire to join Russia.

Today, everyone has become a political scientist and speaks from lofty podiums, but brings no benefit. He foresees a great danger hanging over Armenia like a sword in the near future and says we urgently need to come to our senses and unite. He also gives the example of the 1990s: ‘Alongside acquiring weapons and ammunition and achieving military successes, the diplomatic corps also had to be wise enough to make powerful countries take us into account and support Armenia. People began working precisely in those directions, but their names remained in the shadows while the authorities of the day were proclaimed heroes.

Later, the picture was completed by the Republic of Armenia’s first leader, the “special one,” who imagined himself unique and irreplaceable. Having come to power shouting “Karabakh,” he began to speak about returning the liberated lands to the adversary. Met with unequivocal rejection by his compatriots, he did not abandon his position but began looking for “worthy successors” to implement that plan. And after a long time he found one… It was he who, through the humiliating agreement signed between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia, “brought Armenia to its knees.”’

Arbak Khachatryan says he does not believe Nikol Pashinyan sold lands; rather, he was simply prepared for that moment so they could vindicate themselves, deliberately proceeding toward thousands of deaths and ruined lives: ‘Why is it never discussed that, for the first time in the world, territories are being returned under compulsion? Why should we so easily return what we took with our weapons? Where is our diplomatic corps? In the 1990s, meanwhile, we were a victorious country and could have achieved the maximum result, if, of course, we had stayed free of external influences.

We had an entirely different status; a railway and a gas pipeline ran through our territory, and we could certainly have spoken from a different position, as the party making demands. Something which, for some reason, did not happen and was not done… Now we have what we have. I think our proposal for a way out of this situation could be effective.’

Incidentally, Arbak Khachatryan is one of those who helped secure victory in the 1990s whose name, too, was ‘carefully’ kept from the public for years. In fairness, however, this also happened because Arbak Khachatryan himself had no wish to ‘come into view.’ Only in recent years did former senior officials, including Vahan Shirkhanyan, Sahak Salnazaryan and others, begin speaking publicly about the undeniable support Arbak Khachatryan had provided at the time. When we asked what had changed to make him agree to publicize this now, our interviewee replied: ‘I firmly believe that one person cannot do very much or achieve much alone.

It was to bring everyone’s efforts together and put intellectual potential at the service of strengthening the country that the association of intellectuals was established at our initiative. Armenia and the Armenian people have suffered an immeasurable blow. In conversations with friends and acquaintances, many speak about revenge and the need to rearm, which I believe is extremely belated. Instead, we will try to briefly describe how Armenia should become stronger. Russia has entered the region with its peacekeepers and powerful weapons, and beside us is Iran with its enormous military arsenal.

Our other neighbor is Turkey, which has stockpiled NATO weapons for 50 years. There is no doubt that, under a certain course of events, the United States will also appear in the region, specifically in Georgia, with an ultramodern arsenal. Can you now say what Armenia, continually and mercilessly torn apart by its own people for 30 years, should do in such a situation? Today some say we must guard the border. I already described our geopolitical position above, so the question arises: against whom should we guard the border, against whom should we arm ourselves?’

Asked why the extensive work Arbak Khachatryan had once done to free captives was not publicized, our interviewee said that freeing captives should not be publicized: there is no need to mention who does it or by what means. Now you can free one or two captives for PR and sacrifice the rest.

‘I remain convinced that only human capital can save Armenia: our compatriots who possess levers of influence in the world’s “think tanks,”’ he emphasized.

Asked why Armenia had ended up in this situation and where its cause-and-effect relationship should be sought, Arbak Khachatryan replied: ‘You are asking me the right question. It interests us immensely too. Precisely for that reason, we intend, on behalf of the association, to put a question to everyone — spiritual centers and Armenians worldwide — to understand what happened and the problem: why, for two thousand years, we Armenians have been unable to establish an independent state and normal relations with our neighbors; what causes the endless domestic political squabbles that ultimately lead to the loss of statehood.

We have no enemies; we create them ourselves. We expect that, taking the substance of the answers as our basis, we will be able to unravel this tangle and find the answer to the puzzle posed to all of us. Our goal is to bring together all the capital that is not for sale, which will serve as a lifeline…’

Arbak Khachatryan notes that, in a changing world, the financial and banking system that suffocates humanity and holds it in a vice is also collapsing, something he has been sounding the alarm about for a long time. The analyst proposes beginning a new stage in building a dignified country by uniting Armenian intellectual potential worldwide.