Armenia’s accession to Customs Union: political shock, annexation, eroded statehood

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s decision on September 3 proved to be a political shock, with aftershocks to be felt in domestic and foreign political arenas for a long period, Ruben Mehrabyan, an expert for the Armenian Center for Political and International Studies, stated at the seminar entitled ‘The Customs Union. Armenia’s security challenges’ on Tuesday.
 
According to him, Armenia’s decision in favor of the Customs Union is a threat to Armenia’s national security.

“Before September 3 we used to speak of abnormal Armenian-Russian relations, but after September 3 Armenia has been acquiring features of occupation. Armenian statehood is eroding, and all the powers are being delegated to Russia. A memorandum was recently signed in Yerevan, which prohibits Armenia from making statements that would run counter to the Customs Union’s interests,” the expert said.

Early this year Russia sold arms to Azerbaijan. And to restore the military balance now, it is arming itself in Armenia’s territory rather than Armenia proper.

“We have the unsettled Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and a border problem with Georgia. Armenia’s accession to the Customs Union poses a serious threat to Armenian-Georgian relations. Our common border will be turned into a Russian-Georgian border,” Mr Mehrabyan said.

No official explanations for Armenia’s option have been offered to the public since the Armenian president made his statement.

Chairman of the Accord center David Shahnazaryan said that the three Customs Union member-states are not based on any set of values.

“Russia is carrying out a large-scale campaign not only against the European Union, but also against panhuman values,” he said.

“Russia is now capturing Armenia. Armenia’s authorities gave a government mandate to Russia. The Russian Empire is annexing [Armenia]. I say the ‘empire’ because it is a definition by Vladimir Putin. I think graver consequences for Armenia should be expected than the August aftermath in Georgia, unless this process stops,” Mr Shahnazaryan said.

With respect to Armenia’s national security, the country not joining the Customs Union poses a threat to it.

The human rights activist Artur Sakunts addressed the issue of human rights protection and fundamental freedoms in the Customs Union member-states – Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia.

Specifically, а derogatory remark about the president is a penal act in Belarus.

“This is a violation of the right to freedom of speech. Six political prisoners have remained jailed since the latest presidential election in Belarus. Death penalty is still in effect there. In Russia, after Vladimir Putin was elected president, organizations receiving grants from foreign funds are considered ‘foreign agents, that is, spies,” Mr Sakunts said.

“Human rights are not protected in Armenia. But we can at least voice our opinion of the president. Serzh Sargsyan has opted for the security system that will secure his own power. We can state that our security system is entering the area of total limitations of fundamental freedoms,” he said.