Not a day passes without a new blunder from Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
This is what happens when a yellow journalist becomes the head of government. Most Armenians, blinded by their utter dislike of the former leaders, initially welcomed him with open arms.
Pashinyan’s popularity in Armenia has plummeted from 80-percent five years ago to 13-percent last month. Over the years, various Armenian polls have indicated a steady decline in his ratings. Nevertheless, he remains in power and refuses to resign, including after his calamitous mismanagement of the 2020 war, resulting in the loss of most of the Republic of Artsakh and the deaths and injuries of thousands of Armenian soldiers.
It is difficult to list all of Pashinyan’s many mistakes. His biggest blunder was recognizing the Republic of Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan, thus dishonoring the sacrifices of thousands of dead and wounded Armenian soldiers. He had no right to “gift” Artsakh to Azerbaijan, since the territory of the Republic of Artsakh does not fall under the jurisdiction of Armenia.
Pashinyan also erred during the 2021 electoral campaign, when he swung a hammer in the air and threatened to bash the heads of his political rivals and lay them on the asphalt. He then disparaged Armenians’ long-held devotion to Mt. Ararat and two of Armenia’s most cherished state symbols, the coat of arms and national anthem.
More recently, Pashinyan criticized the 1990 Declaration of Armenia’s Independence, the initial document that paved the way for the establishment of the Republic of Armenia after seven decades of Communist rule. He wrongly stated that the Declaration of Independence fomented conflicts with Azerbaijan and Turkey, which is at odds with his “peace agenda.”
The Declaration of Independence mentions the 1989 unification act adopted by Soviet Armenia and the autonomous region of Nagorno-Karabakh. It also declares that the Republic of Armenia supports the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey and Western Armenia. Armenia’s constitution also refers to the Declaration of Independence.
On August 23, 2023, on the occasion of the 33rd anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Pashinyan said in an official statement: “A critical analysis of the text of the Declaration shows that we eventually chose a narrative and content based on the formula that made us part of the Soviet Union; namely, a confrontational narrative with the regional environment that was to keep us in constant conflicts with our neighbors.”
Pashinyan misinterpreted the Declaration of Independence from the Soviet Union as being “based on the formula that made us part of the Soviet Union.” His faulty explanation is the exact opposite of what the text actually stated.
The statement continues to push forward Pashinyan’s unrealistic and defeatist “peace agenda” to normalize Armenia’s relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey. The PM does not seem to understand that begging for peace does not lead to peace. This is simply a formula for more humiliation and war. He simultaneously contradicted himself by stating that Azerbaijan is committing genocide against Artsakh’s Armenians. How can genocide and peace coexist?
How can genocide and peace coexist?
Pashinyan clearly opposes all symbols and values of the independent Republic of Armenia. His eventual goal is to appease Azerbaijan and Turkey by eliminating all references to Artsakh and giving up the pursuit of Genocide recognition from Turkey.
In the meantime, Pashinyan has completely forgotten the Armenian prisoners of war who have been detained and tortured in Baku since the 2020 war. Not only has he taken no action to liberate them, but he does not even mention them in his public statements and speeches. He failed to reach an agreement to simultaneously exchange all Armenian and Azerbaijani POWs, as stated in the 2020 ceasefire agreement. Instead, right after the war, Pashinyan released all Azerbaijani prisoners in return for a small number of Armenian prisoners.
Furthermore, after occupying most of Artsakh, Azerbaijan has taken over parts of the territory of the Republic of Armenia. Pashinyan has made no effort to dislodge the enemy. Protecting Armenia’s borders is one of the key responsibilities of the Prime Minister.
Pashinyan’s security agents silence all those who disagree with his defeatist “peace plan,” whether they live in Armenia or the Diaspora. Patriotic Armenians and non-Armenians who support the Armenian Cause are banned from visiting Armenia, while the inhabitants of Armenia are harassed and arrested if they dare to protest or criticize Pashinyan. In the meantime, Turkish denialists and extremist members of the Grey Wolves are free to roam Armenia and insult the memory of Armenian Genocide victims at the genocide memorial in Yerevan.
This is the exact opposite of what a democratic country should be, where freedom of expression is the basic right of the people. Regrettably, a man who came to power claiming to establish democratic freedoms has done the exact opposite. All powers and decision-making authority are concentrated in the hands of one man who consults and listens to no one. The ministers, parliament, president and courts have no say in Pashinyan’s autocratic decisions.
Harut Sassounian
All you do is incessantly whine about Pashinyan from your comfortable abode in California. What are you going to do about it? Perhaps that $917M you’ve historically raised should have been used instead to generate the basis of a viable defense industry, without which not a single one of your complaints can or will be remedied. You live in a world divorced from all reality, yelling at clouds and constellations, and offer no practical or meaningful suggestions, pretending regime change will magically restore military equilibrium or curry meaningful geopolitical favor.
I partly agree with Andre from the point of view that us diaspora Armenians do not live in Armenia and do not have to face the reality of having enemies all around us. We’d have to live and breathe being careful of anything we do everything we say during a time when we could be attacked at a drop of a dime. Our big brother the Russians are busy fighting a fascist. Our Iranian friends have their hands tied but they too have to balance the fact that there are a high concentration of Azeris in that live in northern Iran, below our southern border. I too am concerned that the trouble we stir up will impact the safety of our people in Armenia and Artsakh.
This is why I’ve always called on the Armenian billionaires and multi multi-millionaires to work deep in the background together.
Part of being on the same page means both recognizing the problem and standing together on an action plan. We are simply a divided people and that’s our biggest problem.
You who ever you are, need to study some Armenian history and read Garegin Nzhdeh statements or writings on what an Armenian person is or should be. Yes some of us live in CALIFORNIA, but not by choice we ended up here, it was jus like Artsakh people who are being butchered by your beloved idiot, Russian puppet – trader Pashinoghloua, TURKS and (Bolshevik) Potin forcing and displacing them from their historical Armenian homeland – Artsakh , the same bloodthirsty TURKS and bolshevik russians with their business deals did the same to our grandfathers and grate grandfathers.