If anything, Raffi Hovanissian should be commended for re-entering the political wars . Unfortunately, little has changed during the intervening months since the presidential elections in February 2013. The opposition political parties are still committed to a let’s-wait-and-see-what-happens attitude. Raffi’s announced plan to travel the length and breadth of Armenia to engage the electorate to tap into the palpable discontent that has been festering for years is a gambit he used previously. As head of the Zharangutyun (Heritage) Party, Raffi seeks to position himself as the leader of the opposition. Nothing wrong with that considering the fact that no one has come forward to fill the leadership vacuum to challenge the administration. Raffi has decided to accept this role. Although the leaders of the other opposition parties are adverse to openly and actively taking on President Sarkisian, it is equally obvious that they will not buy into a situation that anoints Raffi as leader. Secondly, Raffi has yet to define what he is offering the Armenian people when he refers to the need for change, and describe how this change will occur. He has already said that a new situation would exist in Armenia by Sept. 23 (2013). It would be better if he refrained from such declarations that only lessen confidence in his ability to lead when they remain unfulfilled. The Armenian electorate is not only skeptical but cynical when it comes to placing their trust in whoever seeks to lead them. It is a tough barrier that has been created over time by the failure of opposition leaders to deliver. It is a barrier that has to be penetrated before any leader can claim support from a politically meaningful cross-section of the electorate.
Changing the existing form of government is no easy task. It requires more than cosmetic “nips and tucks”–a fundamental restructuring of how government serves the people. It demands the destruction of the oligarchic system, the antithesis of a democracy, that has stifled individual opportunity and initiative and prevents Armenia from achieving its full potential as a free and independent country. Now, sad to say, these 21st-century Armenian oligarchs have replaced the Turkish officials and the rural overlords that plagued our people at will over a century earlier in the historic provinces of Western Armenia.
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Here is a thought, and I don’t know if it’s true or not: Maybe the rank and file citizens of Armenia have basically the same mindset and values – learned from Soviet days – as the Armenian government and oligarchs, and that may be why it is particularly difficult for Armenia to change. There are surely many good people, but perhaps not enough of them.
Mr Mensoian’s articles are always stimulating. But I think he is being a bit too harsh on President Sargsyan, who inherited a difficult situation that has, in many respects, only gotten more difficult. Knowing personally both Raffi and Serzh, I believe each of them has Armenia’s best interests at heart, but they come at the challenges from very different experiences and perspectives. Minas’s comment has a lot of validity, and I would just add that all of the post-Soviet states suffer from some mixture of the same problems as Armenia, only Armenia has some additional ones. I don’t think anyone should be comparing the current regime to that of the Ottoman Turks. That’s a low blow.
Very well stated Mr. Mensoian. I strongly disagree with Mr. Evans opinion that you were too harsh on Serzh. Serzh inherited the difficult situation which he himself participated in creating, this not an inheritance, but rather a continuation of an unfinished work. I also disagree that Serzh has Armenians best interest in mind. With all due respect Mr. Evans, but apparently the Serzh you know is not that which other people who have access to sit down with him and discuss issues know. The Serzh even more influential people who meet with him one on one know is that of someone who is not patriotic, does not care what people say about him (the media, protesters, individuals), admits to being involved in criminal activity and does not hesitate to use illegal force to eliminate opposition that might in fact be a real challenge. One thing I do agree with is that no one should be comparing the current regime to that of the Ottoman Turks. That truly is a low blow to them as the Ottoman Turks could never have been so ruthless. As my grandfather, Shahan Natalie was so famously known for saying, “An Armenian who harms another Armenian is worse than a Turk…” Mr. Evans, if you ever find yourself in Los Angeles, please look me up as we really should talk and exchange notes.