We Want to Stop This Great Storm and Bring Solidarity to Our State, Arthur Vanetsyan

The newspaper "Aravot" has published a statement from former NSS director and leader of the "Homeland" party, Arthur Vanetsyan.

“The period of Nikol Pashinyan's rule will remain in the history of Armenia as a time of uncertainty, chaotic collapse, and misfortune. In conditions of prevailing disempowerment, disgraceful failures continue to be recorded in almost all sectors. However, there is a much more important issue than the failures and downfalls of the current government. It is possible to restore the shattered economy, and to recreate the deteriorating educational and social systems smoothly. It is even feasible to rebuild relations with allied and friendly states that have been overshadowed and spoiled due to the government’s persistent incompetence. In other words, any sector destroyed by Pashinyan can be restored, provided there is will, managerial ability, and the presence of the right people.

But what I want to talk about is not only extremely difficult to restore but also its decay can lead to irreversible consequences. I am talking about public solidarity. If it were strong, the remaining issues (economic, social, defensive, etc.) would be predictable and solvable; but the problem is that, through Nikol Pashinyan's light hand, public solidarity has been condemned to gradual decay and disintegration.

For the past two years, there has been a conscious effort by the Armenian authorities to unleash deep internal conflict in the public environment. This is an invisible challenge, as a result of which the social fabric is being smoothly eroded and exhausted. In my forecast, the ultimate outcome of this process will be the enmity among public groups and the stratification of people. That is, various environments that are battling against each other are forming, and someday they will clash in the physical realm as well. In other words, "everyone is fighting against everyone," and this unending "war" is the source of the Pashinyan government's "legitimacy." This is an invisible challenge and far more dangerous than our hostile neighboring countries.

We know that Azerbaijan is a hostile state, and from this knowledge, the predictability of the challenge and our sequence of actions are formed. However, we do not clearly know the extent of the internal conflict within our society and what manifestations it may have. Historical experience suggests that internal conflicts explode especially at the most unexpected moments, when no one expects them.

Public solidarity is not some lofty and beautiful thing; it is a primary indicator of our state’s resilience and vitality. If there is no solidarity, the Republic of Armenia is doomed. Perhaps this is our primary message that I want to convey to everyone – to citizens, friends, opponents, and my persistent critics.

We want to stop this great storm and bring solidarity to our state. Peace must follow the storm, order must follow chaos, and reason must follow madness.