‘Do not tie the donkey you kissed at our door’ - Serzh Sargsyan

In a speech at the anniversary session dedicated to the 35th anniversary of the Republican Party of Armenia, its president Serzh Sargsyan addressed current criticisms of his party.

Today, we are unrelentingly criticized, and more often defamed, by those who once took great pleasure in joining the festivity of ‘coffins’ and ‘black ribbons’ against us. They demand our removal and ostentatiously welcome the actions of the state repressive machine that continues to perpetrate illegalities against us. Again and again, they deliberately throw out the thesis ‘you brought Nikol in,’ in order to cleanse their not-so-distant past.

This past might have been an honest delusion for some, expecting wonders in their lives through a change of power, but for others, it was a premeditated act aimed at seizing power with false promises. It does not matter how those lost in the not-so-distant 2018 assisted each other in carrying out a dirty campaign against me and the Republican Party, and many of our friends, using methods reminiscent of the 1937 purges.

The fact is, seven years after those infamous events, every second passerby in the street curses and insults these capitulator authorities, and every third one curses themselves for naively believing in them. The thesis ‘Let them work’ has been adopted by those who now, too late, consider it disastrous for the country; they are now arguing, ‘You should have left and let us protect ourselves from you,’ even if it meant staying in power while getting slaughtered in the public square.

Those who say such things are at least not being honest; both I and they, and certainly you who are here, are well aware of how the loss of even one person’s life due to the power of the state would have caused a wave of disobedience and chaos throughout the country. You understand perfectly what the external danger risks would have grown to, what condemnation would have been articulated today by the accusers, and how diligently the defenders of human rights, under the instruction of their masters, would have mobilized.

However, after 2018, they—Soros-aligned and other like-minded organizations—have gone blind and deaf, as if they have burrowed underground, since they have no instruction to act. Why don’t they have it? That’s another, broader topic.

To those who accuse us, I will only say this: to admit one’s own mistake, especially to rectify it, certainly requires great courage. You very well understand that participating zealously in the demand for resignation seven years ago, or complete indifference, makes you an accomplice to everything that has happened since then. Admitting one’s complicity, having the honesty to state that your participation in the public square allowed the power grab to use you for their distant goals is extremely hard, no doubt, whereas blaming someone else is the easiest thing to do. So why not take the easy path?

At our party’s last congress, I even formulated the thought that I did not force you to go kiss the forehead of the loudest ass among the herd. It seems that became a proverbial saying regarding them. Now, I want to continue my thought, taking into account recent developments: ‘Do not tie the donkey you kissed at our door.’ Everyone is responsible for the donkey whose forehead they have kissed.

Unfortunately, those who chose this path include even those who had no success in their steps to seize power, including former allies in our struggle, and it turns out that we are also to blame for their failures. It is clear to me why they act this way and why they eagerly conceal their actions that supported the power grabs of 2018; perhaps they aim to siphon off opposition voices before the upcoming elections.

When we stood alongside those who rejected us in public against the destructive government of Armenia, facing oppression and grappling against brute force in the streets, we had the high awareness that in this situation, malice and vengeance should not matter more than jointly bringing our ship—which is in danger of sinking—safely to shore. And this awareness has never left us.

Meanwhile, some of those I mentioned continue to ‘reject Serzh,’ throwing stones at the Republican Party. Agree that in this situation, this is no longer a political stance but rather a psychological ailment, a pathology, as Armen Ashotyan would say.

Some even now discuss what I said a few years ago about the power grabs of 2018: that I did not fail to them, but rather to much greater forces. They want to understand and seem to not comprehend what forces I defeated. I must sadly note that despite everything that has taken place before our eyes in our country and the calamity that befell Artsakh, their eyes and minds have not yet opened to realize that in that struggle, we did not just lose myself and our political team but ultimately, we lost as a nation.

We lost to those forces in our region that harbor plans and ambitions, striving to realize them at all costs—those for whom the red line that we had drawn from the perspective of our national interest was unacceptable, and whose visions of Armenia and Artsakh do not align with ours. They found in Armenia traitors willing to do anything for power and money, who have overshadowed many with their populism, and now they will stop at nothing until they fulfill all their masters’ demands.

It is undeniable that we are not the only country where internal traitors bring disaster upon their own state and people at the behest of their masters; nevertheless, this is not a consolation, let alone a salvation from the next impending disaster, if the disaster-bringing traitors are not removed from power.

What more do those who refuse to understand need to realize what has happened, for what reason, what is going on now, what purpose all this serves, and who the beneficiaries are? How are they still playing with the inner forces struck by the fever of power-lust? What interests are they pursuing not just in our country but throughout the entire region?

I want to ask everyone involved in the processes of the 2018 power shift from all sides, and to those who are re-energized again today: What did you achieve by rejecting us? What did you attain? What problems are you solving by launching a dirty campaign against me and our political team from various sides once again?

I am well aware of both my flaws and those of our team; there is no need to place the unjust calculations, vain hopes, political primitivism, and human delusions of others upon us. Those who know me understand that I have never responded to malice with malice, that I have always supported reconciling the different factions of our society, which are already limited and divided, infected with mutual intolerance, enmity, and hatred, around a common national goal. But I have also never allowed, nor will I allow, anyone to take advantage of that attitude, to use the opportunity and cross every limit, allowing encroachment on my or my party members’ dignity and our past journey.

Thus, as much as I understand the numerous caring individuals who justly criticize this ugly, unwarranted, and perilous process, I want to tell them that it is unfair to measure everyone with the same yardstick.

I and the political force I lead, the Republican Party of Armenia, have declared our unwavering decision to combat a single target that is leading our state to destruction. And this will remain in effect until we achieve that goal. We have repeatedly emphasized that we will support any initiative pursuing that same aim with all our capabilities, and we remain committed to that decision until this moment. This has been evident every day.

We have never supported actions that would provide pleasure to our external enemies through internal division or recklessness—an avoidance that continues to cause our most disgraceful defeats in our entire history. Not acknowledging this, failing to learn from this, stirring things up, and once again embarking on this disastrous path signifies being blind in mind. This is a path to national self-destruction.

And remember: whoever comes against us with lies, deception, malice, and vengeance will be disarmed with the truth. Those who mislead the main direction of the struggle likely have different aims. Our objective is clear and unchanging; the current priority is to free ourselves from the capitulator authorities. If the former fighters standing next to us have some different aim today, then our paths cannot merge.