It’s been ten days since the press conferences held in press clubs are proceeding in the absence of TV cameras. Yesterday former RA Ambassador to Syria expert of Eastern Studies Davit Hovhanisyan and famous sociologist Aharon Adibekyan discussed the moods of the Armenian society before the presidential election at the Hayeli Club, again in the absence of TV cameras.
The discussion has started with yesterday’s incident, during which the police has interfered the peaceful walk-through of ANM members to inform the public about the rally to be held on October 26. “I do not think the arrest of the members of the Alternative Initiative in the evening of October 23 was an instruction of the government,” stated Aharon Adibekyan. “I don’t think so. There are middle-ranking officials everywhere, who desire to distinguish themselves,” Aharon Adibekyan says. According to him, it is like sabotage. Davit Hovhanisyan, shares this opinion. “You are right. It looks like sabotage. Because if we say one thousand people would go to the rally on the 26th, now ten thousand will go. It is much like sabotage, and for me it is a detector that there are groups inside the government which are involved in a tough struggle,” Davit Hovhanisyan says. By the way, Davit Hovhanisyan says interestingly the destruction of the roads, the soaring prices overlapped, which makes people indignant. However, Aharon Adibekyan thinks the streets, for instance, will be repaired at the same time, the public will get satisfied. According to Adibekyan, the society has a feeling of fear before the presidential election. “Some people fear that if Ter-Petrosyan returns, he will bring back the painful reality, the political course will change abruptly, there will be abrupt changes in the personnel, which is perceived acutely by the society,” Aharon Adibekyan says. Davit Hovhanisyan thinks the people who fear have something to lose, and they are quite few, so one cannot mean the society in speaking about them. According to Davit Hovhanisyan, the process of socialization is not complete in Armenia. And since this process is going on, it is impossible to return the situation of the pan-national movement. The discourse of returning to the pan-national movement to reach a change in the situation was brought up by the recent political activities of Levon Ter-Petrosyan. But is it possible with the ongoing socialization, which is not complete yet, mentioned by Davit Hovhanisyan? “Certainly, it is not possible, and it is not necessary. It is like a herd of sheep which move in the direction you drive them. Absolutely,” Davit Hovhanisyan says adding, however, that he has an observation. In particular, major geopolitical processes are going on around Armenia, which challenge Armenia and necessitate choosing our priorities. “We are speaking about the genocide, and we are somehow happy about the adoption of Resolution 106. Perhaps it is a reason to be happy about. It depends on your starting point. If the adoption of Resolution 106 helps the Armenian Diaspora to preserve their identity, and the mythologeme underlying the Armenian identity outside Armenia, and if it is a priority, it should be welcomed. If strengthening Armenia and improving its relations with neighbors is a priority, the priority changes. There are many more priorities. Our choice will be connected with these priorities, with setting the priorities,” Davit Hovhanisyan says. Aharon Adibekyan seems to have made his choice. He says he personally wants continuity of power, he wants the next president to hold all the government levers and be good at military affairs. The reporters noted that he perhaps hints at Serzh Sargsyan. Aharon Adibekyan did not deny. His arguments are Serzh Sargsyan’s connections in Russia which help Armenia acquire cheap weapons and ammunition to sustain its army’s effectiveness. The reporters asked Adibekyan if Levon Ter-Petrosyan has no connections during whose office the Great Armenian-Russian agreement was signed. It turns out that he does not. Aharon Adibekyan says when Armenia bought weapon for a box of brandy, it was not Ter-Petrosyan’s merit but someone else’s. The sociologist thinks when Ter-Petrosyan was president, he did not negotiate buying weapon from Russia. This statement, which aroused laughter in reporters, surprised Davit Hovhanisyan as well, who used to be a high-ranking diplomat when Ter-Petrosyan was president. “At least don’t tell that in my presence,” Davit Hovhanisyan says.