On the eve of the election process, the “Civil Agreement” party “with great solemnity” adopted a “code of ethics”, which spoke about tolerance, respect for political opponents, restraint and rejection of hate speech.
However, immediately after these “value system” statements, Nikol Pashinyan announced in a public speech today: “I’m going to choke you, Tsarukyan Gagik, is your tongue long? I’m going to bring a puppy from Belarus, I’m going to make you responsible, no one will save you.”
This is an open threat voiced by the head of state power, which literally pulverizes the “ethical norms” adopted by his own party and exposes the real political culture of the government.
Immediately after Pashinyan’s statement, it became known that the prosecutor’s office sent a request to Belarus to hand over Nver Tsarukyan to the law enforcement agencies of Armenia.
This sequence is politically extremely dangerous.
An image is being created where the Prime Minister’s public threats are followed almost instantly by law enforcement and prosecutorial punitive actions. In such conditions, this process begins to be perceived as the implementation of a political order.
This is not only a violation of political ethics, but a process of discrediting state institutions.
When the head of the country makes public threats, and immediately after that, the power structures are activated, it creates an extremely dangerous impression that the law enforcement system is turning into a tool of political reprisal. In democratic states, this is the red line, the crossing of which leads the state to an atmosphere of fear, pressure and selective justice.
What is even more shocking is that Pashinyan consciously moves the political struggle to the personal and family domain. In a civilized political culture, it is unacceptable to target the family members of a political opponent, especially at the level of the head of the country. This is an indicator of Pashinyan’s political and psychological nervous state.
Pashinyan’s vocabulary has long been beyond the boundaries of rhetoric befitting a statesman. It increasingly resembles the language of street reprisals, where the political opponent is considered a “target to be destroyed”.
This is an extremely dangerous trend, especially before the elections, when the government is obliged to guarantee equal competition, political tolerance and neutrality of law enforcement agencies. Instead, the public sees a dangerous combination of threats, aggressive rhetoric and politicization of power mechanisms.
Pashinyan’s hysterical and aggressive rhetoric is an expression of political insecurity, growing fears and sense of loss of control.
In this situation, it is more important that the opposition political forces do not give in to provocations and continue the struggle to make June 7 a day of real changes and change of power.
“Prosperous Armenia” has repeatedly stated that it is in favor of a competitive, civilized and substantive election campaign. However, it is also obvious that the current government is trying to move the political process into the field of oppression, fear and repressive methods.
The June 7 elections thus become not only an opportunity for a change of power, but also a referendum on the state and political future of Armenia: between democracy and law or a state of threat, fear and political reprisals?
Political scientist Suren Surenyants
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