Mikayel Minasyan: New authorities had exceptional chance to avoid being 'captives of the past', but they opted for reckoning and vengeance

Mikayel Minasyan, Armenia’s former ambassador to the Holy See, Portugal and the Republic of Malta, has shared his thoughts on Facebook about the 2018 "revolution" in Armenia, elaborating on the events of last April-May and questioning their reasons:

Below is the text of his public post:

"After my latest post about heroes, friends started accusing me of avoiding any reference to the important event – the revolution that took place in April-May 2018 – to say why it happened and how to treat it or what evaluation to give to all that.

"My short answer is that the moment was objectively ripe. But instead of a revolution, we eye-witnessed a power transition process, and what may start now is the moment heralding the highest risk, i.e. – a deep public disillusionment with very sad outcomes. We can avoid this only by embarking on a real revolution; this much in a nutshell. A more detailed discourse, however, would reveal that a revolution in Armenia was inevitable, with all the causes being in place. The revolution was the direct consequence of the public ailment that had captured us since the 1990s. For only under conditions of unhealthy relations in the public is it possible to have social polarization to such a degree that would turn mutual intolerance and hostility into a kind of chronical disease. Only under conditions of unhealthy relations in the public can one boast about the talent of a ‘hayastanci’ (an Armenian from Armenia) without ever finding the model of social solidarity and distribution of capital and revenues that would pave the way to a public solidarity, ruling out envy and any manifestation of hatred against the background of social injustice. Only under conditions of profoundly unhealthy relations in the public can one win a war but perceive the victory as a burden, take pride in national values but always keep the Armenian identity at the target.

"This is not a consequence stemming from the activities of a single man and a single government. This is a much more profound, universal, lasting and systemic symptom. For that very reason, the revolution was treated as the only and last lifebuoy ring, the last chance of destiny under conditions of the conflicting stereotypes, human qualities and social strata. And a revolution did take place in Armenia, the change itself being remarkable enough to cause one to consign its content to oblivion.

"After April 23, the new government had a real chance to unite, to create and innovate, to use the unprecedented support to the benefit of the statehood and people, as well as future progress.  It had an exceptional way to avoid being the captive of the past, to get rid of unwritten obligations and be open to engaging its best potential in the creation of the dream team to achieve unimaginable results.  The runway for Armenia was open after April 23, and the weather was absolutely fine.

"Regrettably, they opted for a different path - and a different style of action - leading inevitably to a political reckoning and vengeance. What came next was the vicious circle. No serious professional will evidently join, or attach his life to, these authorities, realizing the well-known truth that vengeance begets vengeance. Whereas a government facing a pressing shortage of professionals has no other choice but exert repression to maintain its grip on power. And we entered into this morbid cycle with open eyes. What we got instead of the much desired revolution was a power transition devoid of any sense.

"As a result, there is no presentable success story – in either the internal or external segment - in the past 1.5 years, And there could not possibly be any. Those who are knee-deep in the swamp of the past will never be able to fly. And repressions cannot last endlessly; moreover, if they last a little bit more, the majority will develop a deeply indifferent attitude to them. For the moment to make tangible statements arrives sooner or later to cause one to speak about a substantial outcome - instead of boasting about the number of arrested former presidents or other officials.

"Instead of real changes, though, this government opted for an unceasing presence in the social media - Facebook Armenia vs. ‟New Armenia″. They preferred an aggressive rhetoric full of emotions to keynote speeches; instead of consolidating the society, they chose to breed antagonism among people. And that poses extreme hazards to the country, the statehood. It isn't possible to keep the society long under the influence of a negative energy, nervous processes and angry expectations. It isn't possible to fabricate a semi-open criminal case against a more or less prominent public figure and demand a development discourse. “Killing‟ and disrespecting more or less high-profile public figures in an attempt to achieve self-assertion is not a conduct characterizing a strong person. Those are proverbial truths. The greatest theoretician in the history of revolutions used to say: ″People who feel proud that they staged a revolution wake up to the reality the very next day that they did not know what they participated in, and that the revolution staged does not look like what they themselves wanted. In just a couple of months, the society will record that the 'revolution' never became a lifebuoy ring for solving problems and living a real good life. It has already failed to live up to that expectation. And the society's ultimate disappointment may become an even bigger snare to get one in a universal disappointment and all the dreams once and for all. There may be no new opportunities any more. That poses the biggest hazard.

″We still have the chance to demonstrate will and resoluteness to exit the snare of the past and have substantial, i.e. – revolutionary, objectives. People must believe that that they didn't err in their demand for changes, and they are not to blame that they did not – and never will – become the beneficiaries of the revolution unless the aim of that revolution has taken its final shape. People must believe that they have the right to keep on dreaming. They must by all means have that belief.″

"A revolution in Armenia is still inevitable ."

P.S. Vahan Hovhannisyan, my senior friend, would turn 63 today. A remark, which he made on one occasion saying, ‟Revenge is by no means a way to build a state″, is more than ever actual today. I bow to his bright memory.