Society is Learning that it Can Be Without a State: Karen Bekaryan, "Hraparak"

According to the "Hraparak" newspaper, "What is happening in Armenia could be considered absurd until November 10, but now no one in Armenia is surprised by anything. They are not surprised when Nikol Pashinyan, who signed the November 10 document, says that there were verbal agreements and then, three months later, it becomes known from Hrant Bagratyan's post, and the Deputy Prime Minister is forced to admit during a Q&A session at the National Assembly that 'there is another agreement with Azerbaijan regarding the Davit Bek-Goris section.' Thus, the authorities lied about the existence of other written agreements apart from the declarations of November 10 and January 11. It turns out that society and political forces have adapted well to the regime's lies, as Avinyan's declaration yesterday did not even cause an earthquake. Previously, protests were staged for the loss of 800 hectares, but now there is no serious reaction, and people are merely surprised that they are surprised. For the sake of truth, we should note that a few vulgar posts were made, and that was it; the authors do not rule out that there are more agreements, as no one knows what they are negotiating in Moscow or Baku.

We talked with former MP and former member of the National Assembly's Foreign Relations Committee, Karen Bekaryan: 'We are dealing with a unique disgrace, which is not the first case, nor the second, nor the third. This is an exceptional disgrace from all perspectives—political, legal, moral. In every sense, this is a unique disgrace and, of course, on the other hand, it is a self-incriminating statement for the future in terms of legal processes.' Regarding political forces, Bekaryan notes, 'If the political forces—one quickly, another slowly, another hastily, another thoroughly—are acting on behalf of at least some figures and representatives. As for society, I sadly note that society is learning that it can live without state power and without a state.' He says, 'I mention this with sorrow, but I simply cannot name it otherwise.'

Well, let's assume there will be legal processes in the future, but aren’t the borders of Armenia today shrinking like shagreen leather? And in these circumstances, who should hold accountable those who make verbal or written agreements? Karen Bekaryan stated, 'If we lived in a legal state, there should be legal mechanisms to suspend these processes. But you well understand that today we cannot name it in any way, thus the issue of public response arises, as to how real it is, how comprehensive it is, and how consolidated it is, which I have already addressed.' More details can be found in today’s newspaper edition.