Population in Regions Largely Under Government Information Terror: Armen Gevorgyan

The country is divided into two parts. The regions bordering Azerbaijan assess the risks and their potential new consequences more soberly. This was noted by former Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Armen Gevorgyan on his Telegram channel.

“I spent a few days in the regions, meeting with voters. I haven’t had the opportunity to directly communicate with our compatriots in the regions for understandable reasons for three years. Here are some observations:

1. The quality of life in the regions is deteriorating every day. Everything is going unregulated. The presence of the state is only felt in the work of law enforcement agencies.
2. Villages are emptying every day. In some regions, there was a mass exodus of the population on February 1 this year after the opening of Russia’s borders. Many leave with their families.
3. For the most part, the population in the regions is under the informational terror of the authorities. Instead of discussing urgent issues for the country’s development, the reasons for mass migration, the status of prisoners, and the situation at the border, the majority discuss past topics spread by the authorities to divert attention.
4. Emotions prevail over reason and logic. The population is rapidly becoming impoverished, while the past governments are to blame for everything.
5. The country is divided into two: the regions bordering Azerbaijan assess the risks and their potential new consequences more soberly. In other regions and in Yerevan, the sense of anxiety about the future is still superficial.
6. The fear of openly expressing opinions about the Armenian authorities dominates everywhere. Many avoid cooperating with the opposition for fear of retaliation.
7. The authorities openly blackmail community leaders and business representatives. New criminal cases are initiated. Everyone is required to submit to the will of the authorities. This is called real democracy in action...
8. However, there is a very interesting trend, mainly expressed among the youth. They are beginning to discover new truths about their country’s recent past and start asking questions that have been dormant for 14 years. For example, how was the city of Spitak rebuilt after the earthquake, or how were the other settlements in the disaster zone restored, how was the Dilijan tunnel built, how was TUMO created, how was the new airport constructed, and how were numerous new roads and junctions built? The younger generation is just now starting to ask these questions and perhaps for the first time hearing that they were built during Kocharian’s presidency. And they begin to compare, for example, that Nikol has accumulated three billion dollars in state debt over three years, which translates into zero in their lives. A rhetorical question: where is the three billion dollars borrowed by Nikol?
9. We must understand that we are facing not so much early elections as extraordinary ones, and we are confronted with the necessity of choosing extraordinary leadership that can restore order in the country, engage in dignified dialogue with neighbors, and ensure long-term peace.
10. I want to assure that under the new authorities, the restoration and development of the country will be more intense, as the state will be in the hands of competent, wise, and patriotic people. Forward, towards a strong Armenia!”