Will the authorities have the courage?

Moscow-based human rights defender Arbak Khachatryan does not understand the Armenian authorities’ dissatisfaction over Russia’s sale of weapons to Azerbaijan.

“Those statements were neither unexpected nor surprising to me. But the question now is not what or how some Nazi, who has nothing beyond that idea, has said. There is no need to feel bad or offended by it,” Moscow-based human rights defender Arbak Khachatryan told Aravot, addressing the Russian prime minister’s and deputy prime minister’s statements after the four-day war on the Karabakh–Azerbaijan border that Russia would continue selling weapons to Azerbaijan.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, to recall, spoke quite harshly: “Terrible demagoguery has begun there. I do not want to point fingers, but some citizens did not behave well. War requires composure, not some smeared-out propaganda snot.” Arbak Khachatryan recalls that as early as 2008, when the Russian–Azerbaijani military cooperation agreement was signed, Russia’s geopolitical ambitions were already obvious; they could not fail to affect Armenia’s interests and leave a negative mark.

He does not understand the dissatisfaction that arose in Armenia’s governing circles over this: “You should have taken a position that would have prevented those weapons from being sold to Azerbaijan. You should have approached the UN in time, saying that there was a state of war and no right to sell weapons. Has any diplomatic institution taken any action against Russia’s steps? They lacked the courage. Now I do not know whether they have the courage.

We shall see.” According to him, the question now is how this situation can be corrected: who was responsible for all this, and why were they deceiving the people? “This war showed how dangerous those ‘political figures’ who said every day that there was no problem are to statehood and the people. Personal relations must never be mixed up with state relations. People were pleased that Putin had received Serzh well, and so on, but life showed that there are geopolitical and strategic issues. The entire world called on the sides to remain calm, but everyone knew very well who had started it,” our interviewee said.

He added that various economic agreements signed with Azerbaijan ten years earlier had elevated Azerbaijan’s role in the world. When warnings were raised over this, Armenia’s ruling elite gave no response; moreover, no state, political or diplomatic institution worked during that time. Arbak Khachatryan also warns that danger still hangs over us: developments in the Middle East could be given a religious dimension, and if money stolen from the state by individuals, kept in foreign banks or invested in various transactions in different countries, begins to be used against the Armenian state, an even more difficult situation will arise.

“Mistakes, including diplomatic mistakes, happen, but stepping back in time is still good. At least now we must work in such a way that the world does not remember 3 September—joining the EAEU,” our interviewee says.

He considers the aid the state has decided to give the families of those killed and wounded in the four-day war laughably insignificant, since the present rulers have used state instruments themselves to take $200–300 million out of the country. He also does not understand the appeal to Armenians worldwide to collect money for weapons: “You gather for a commercial deal that benefits you and sign contracts worth tens of millions; you could have gathered in the same way and taken that step. Instead of telling Armenians all over the world to collect money, only to receive a backlash.

The issue is not the backlash but the effectiveness of that step. In other words, they create grounds for protest.” Arbak Khachatryan believes Armenia should now follow Russia’s example and bring back money that belongs to the state: “If Putin had told Prokhorov or the others to bring five percent back, they would not have done it, so to save Russia he is bringing all of it back: forgiving fifty percent of mortgages and freezing loans by closing banks, understanding that this is crushing Russia’s people.

If the money taken out of Armenia over 15–25 years were brought back, it would provide the country’s budget for 20–25 years and allow weapons to be fielded against the four billion worth of weapons Azerbaijan bought from Russia. Those who created the conditions that made young people leave Armenia and seek work elsewhere must also be held criminally accountable.”

In response to Aravot’s observation that the Armenian community in Russia had stood out during this period for its passivity and absence of a civic position, Arbak Khachatryan remarked that it could not have been active, because over these twenty years the community had been formed around one principle: “So-and-so is close to Putin, another is a fixer, and a third handles kickbacks.” In his view, the absence of unity and a common interest for the nation and state also forced knowledgeable young people down the path of “hucksters.”

Now, however, according to our interviewee, certain meetings and discussions are taking place as lessons are drawn from the four-day war: “Young people are beginning to understand that money earned within a corrupt system cannot simply be digested. You cannot fight for your rights and interests if the foundation is not clean. Why did nobody bring legal proceedings over the demolished kiosks near Moscow’s metro stations? Armenians were among the owners too, incidentally. Because everyone admitted that the documents had been arranged with money.

Money earned in violation of the law is at risk wherever it is. And if that money was stolen from the state, it can be used at any moment against that individual and the state.”

According to Arbak Khachatryan, the principal lesson of the four-day war and the only way to emerge from the situation with honour should be this: “The people must believe that those responsible will answer for it. The people should not be forced: unite, collect money. The Armenian people are already united in difficult moments.” Asked what steps should quickly correct the situation—whether Armenia’s ruling elite should act or voluntarily leave—our interviewee answered figuratively: “They should not just be allowed to leave; they should be put in a washing machine and washed. I am not saying that everyone is bad, but there are many who must answer for it.” NELLI GRIGORYAN

Aravot daily newspaper, 20.04.2016