Stepan Grigoryan: Today’s Situation In Armenia Is Very Similar To Belarusian One

Nationwide protests are happening in Armenia.

Physicist, one of the leaders of the democratic movement in Armenia in the 1990s, former deputy of the Supreme Council of the Republic and former Armenian Ambassador to Russia Stepan Grigoryan has told Charter97.org about that, commenting on the mass protests in Armenia:

– The rallies in Armenia have been going on for several days, and now they have acquired a huge scale. Fortunately, there are no immediate reports of casualties, but there have already been clashes between the sides. It seems to me that it is the Belarusians who can feel the atmosphere of what is happening in our country very well.

There has always been a high level of freedom in Armenia, even in the face of human rights problems. Over the last two years, we have seen a tendency from the part of the authorities and the ruling party, which is very similar to the one taking place in Belarus. That is, the authorities want to take everything in their own hands. In recent years, the tendency of a one-party system has increased very much, when one party dictates everything.

I want to note that the struggle that is currently underway is not only directed against making Serzh Sargsyan the head of the state for the third time. After all, he has already been president twice, and now our authorities have changed the political system from presidential to parliamentary and he wants to become a prime minister. Although Sargsyan officially announced several years ago that he was not reforming in order to become the president or a prime minister for the third time.

We are also fighting against the sharp deterioration in observing the human rights in the country. The current situation is serious in Armenia: there are a lot of political prisoners, corruption, the oligarchy runs rampant. Just imagine the danger that will be posed to the country if Sargsyan becomes its head for the third time! I want to emphasize that people are totally against that Serzh Sargsyan and his party continue to rule.

The situation in our country now is very similar to the Belarusian one. Armenia is rapidly moving towards a heavy-handed authoritarianism. I would say that we had a soft authoritarianism, and now it's getting more severe. And all the protests now are a fight against this phenomenon.

– What do you think should be done now?

– It is very important that people believed in the opposition and took part in the protests. One thing is a rally of 2-3 thousand people, but another thing when tens of thousands take to the streets.

Now the entire Yerevan is paralyzed, people block the roads in different parts of the city. In general, the protests are of a nation-wide nature. Things have become really serious. I emphasize, not only the supporters of the opposition protest, the protest is nation-wide.

I believe that in this situation the authorities must yield, otherwise blood will flow. The authorities can do this. As for the protesters, the rally is absolutely peaceful. People block the parliament and other official institutions, but everything is done peacefully. It is very important that the authorities now think whether it is worth escalating the conflict and using force, because such things do not end just like that.

I want to note that I addressed the new president of Armenia. He has few functions in the parliamentary system, but he can be an intermediary in such a situation. I think that he should stand up for the protesters.

With all this, the inaction of European institutions and the USA strikes me. There are a lot of embassies here, but all of them are silent!

It seems that Europe and America are not presented here and this makes me feel great concern. I think that the distinguished media should disseminate information and say their word now. It is very strange that the State Department and the European Commission did not make any statements. A very serious process is underway in Armenia today. There have already happened several clashes, but opposition leaders do not allow people to respond to the provocations of the authorities.

Where are European diplomats, international organizations? After all, they signed agreements on cooperation with the Armenian authorities, including the agreement between the EU and Armenia, where our country's authorities bound themselves not to use force against the protesters. Then they shouldn't sign such agreements! Similarly, the US is involved in different projects. That is, it is their direct obligation: not to interfere in the political process, but to make their statements.

I would like to note that your website will help us in disseminating information, because the international community must know what is happening in Armenia now.