ACNIS reView

Editorial

11  MAY 2018

“Velvet” revolution, or maybe
simply a change of power is compared with the nationwide movement of 1988. Both
were accompanied by mass demonstrations, both caused a wave of nationwide
awakening. This is where the similarities end. The essence of both movements is different,
and they have different cultural studies and worldviews.

Citizens of Soviet Armenia were brought up with the poetry of Shiraz and
Paruira Sevak. These were patriots who dreamed of the return of Ararat and
lost homeland. Soviet generations, brought up on the genocide syndrome,
dreamed of revenge, and this accumulated energy burst out in 1988. Many
Armenians perceived local Armenian massacres in Azerbaijan as
continuation of the 1915 genocide.

In 1988 there was a single consolidating goal:
“Karabakh is ours.” The slogans “Unification” and “Fight, fight to the end” did not contain
no ideological or state-forming problems. It was
solely a bid for historical revenge. For the sake of Artsakh, people were ready
endure hunger, corruption and illegal activities and finally die. Not
there were even demands for independence, and if this was discussed, it was only in
context of the unification of Armenia and Artsakh as a possible scenario for
achieving this goal. There was one super goal, and everything else was secondary.

The forces that came to power as a result of the movement
Speculated on this issue until 2018. It’s no coincidence that the Republican Party
Armenia and Serzh Sargsyan have constantly stated that they will remain in power until
until the Artsakh problem is resolved, and during public
uprisings they threatened tension on the border. The Artsakh issue held society
held hostage. The opposition, represented by the ANC and Levon Ter-Petrosyan, also speculated
this problem, that, supposedly, problems in security and economic issues can
be resolved only through concessions to Azerbaijan.

Despite the only “social application” of society in
In 1988, the Armenian leadership, secretly from society, recognized in 1991
Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan (in the CIS, and then during its accession to the OSCE), and
even in this matter the popular demand was not fulfilled, but speculation
continued. The society was misled; it was not informed that the authorities
Armenia, while keeping Artsakh under their control, transferred the rights to it to Azerbaijan.

Be that as it may, since 1988 the society has delegated one
demand to the government: to unite Artsakh with Armenia. No other
there was no “social bid” or “public contract”.

The movement of 2018 still needs to be comprehended. The slogan “Refuse
Serge”, in addition to the decisive principle, which is what kind of deception
society punishes, has other contents that should still be
formulated. Refusal to Serge means rejection of the system and relationships that
have been formed over the past 25 years. The deeper meaning of this relationship is still
remains to be defined and formulated. These are not only the rules of relationships that
turned Armenia into a swamp, but also those institutions that are based on these
relationships that need to be givenRESTART. One thing is clear: we need a new social
contract, and the Artsakh issue can only be resolved on the basis of new realities. no more
It will turn out to plunge society into psychological traps.

1988 was based on old myths and perceptions, 2018
the year destroys the old to build new relationships.