News.am, Armenia
Sept 14 2019
Armenia ex-Ambassador: It’s time for the fresh start Armenia ex-Ambassador: It’s time for the fresh start
18:10, 13.09.2019
Armenian ex-Ambassador to the Vatican, Portugal and the Sovereign Order of Malta, Mikael Minasyan made a new post on his Facebook.
The full text is presented below:
“As far as I understand, everyone agrees with the opinion voiced in my last interview that there can be no return to the past. Another thing is that, judging by the reaction, that no one relates to the past. I’ll elaborate on what I mean to avoid misunderstanding.
According to my observations, today Armenia is at the crossroads of a great choice, as it has the opportunity to start a new chapter in its history, where the society must decide whether it is returning to the past, whether it continues the old page or starts with a new one – with new characters and in a new presentation style. And our community – inside the country and beyond – must make a decision for this.
Society must decide: if there cannot be a return to the past, then one cannot but reconcile with one’s past, one cannot dig into it, edit and redirect or re-write it.
There can be no return to the past, and so that the past does not return, you must put the past behind you, not hold grudges against it, not overly exaggerate or change. One must reconcile with the past, but not fight against it. It is necessary to analyze it, to understand the errors – to avoid repetition in the future.
There cannot be a return to the past, because otherwise, the unit of progress will be between yesterday and today. Since in this case, the bar is not a dream, but fragmentary, short-term “satisfaction”.
There can be no return to the past, but the former leaders are returning, and they are doing this forcibly, as necessary, since, unfortunately, over the past 100 years we have not even learned how to accompany our leaders with honor, expressing gratitude, to talk about them without insults, noting omissions and emphasizing achievements.
Let’s consider our history over the past century: in one way or another, in one segment or another, for one purpose or another, we hung labels, forgot, and sometimes just tried to erase the deeds of all our leaders – starting from Kajaznuni, Aram Manukyan and Simon Vratsyan and ending with Khanjyan, Karen Demirchyan and Serzh Sargsyan.
Leaders of the past return because they see how casually they sometimes treat their legacy and their names. We first fell in love with Karen Demirchyan, then ignored him, then yearned for him, then returned, and lost at the end. The affairs of other Soviet leaders – Zurabyan, Kochinyan, and Suren Harutyunyan – we either forgot or left unnoticed, without mentioning their merits.
Perhaps, for this reason, as well, Levon Ter-Petrosyan returned to politics in 2008. That is why Robert Kocharyan is now returning to politics, and Serzh Sargsyan is not leaving the political arena. After all, such an attitude is akin to a nightmare for any political leader who has decided to devote his life and destiny to his homeland.
The state should develop along a logical life chain and regular political cycles. Soviet Era leaders, leaders of the independence movement, military commanders, crisis managers – each of them made his contribution in a certain period and did their job. Nothing justifiably prevents us from seeing all this: we only need to recognize and acknowledge their merits aloud.
There can be no return to the past, but so that the new does not become the long-forgotten old, it must be built on knowledge and experience. And the principles here are extremely clear.
– Do not be proud of personnel who do not have a biography and abilities, do not know anyone and do not have the path behind him. This is the 21st century. You can’t have only young people in a personnel bank. Thus, we do not have a fresh start, but repeat the old and very old mistakes in a new way.
– In matters of national importance, do not ignore former leaders with vast experience – first of all, refusing to consult with them because of your pride, and committing all possible criminal stupidities before having reached the edge of the abyss, when you understand that you, like a fool, have burned all the bridges. This is the 21st century.
There can be no return to the past if new ideas are included in the discourse. If you are at war with the past, then you are still in the past. You are not even in the present. There can be no return to the old, but on one condition – if we speak and act with a vision of the future.
For the future to come, one does not have to cling to the past, to live in the past. And in order not to become a hostage to the past, it is necessary to understand, appreciate, forgive and say goodbye to people who are not your companions on the road leading to the future. And take a course leading to the future. Then there will be no return to the past, the past will not return, it will remain in history. Good or bad, wrong or right, black or white, sometimes a little black and a little white, a little good and a little bad, but the old will remain in the past. It will turn into a useful experience, knowledge, abilities and will clear the way for new ones – to a new reality and a truly new Armenia.
There cannot be a return to the past when there is the solidarity of generations, public consensus does not look back, desire and ability to have a future of a new type and a country of new quality. And this is possible, I think.
I infinitely admire the courage of the leaders of the First Republic, the wisdom of the leaders of Soviet Armenia and their ability to build a country barely from scratch.
I am extremely grateful to all the leaders of the Republic of Armenia.
Levon Ter-Petrosyan – for leading the independence movement, breathing flesh, blood, and soul into our independent country, for making independence irreversible.
Robert Kocharyan – for the preservation and formation of Artsakh and Armenia in the most important period, for instilling self-confidence in our country, and for society – belief in own forces.
Serzh Sargsyan – for the fact that he emphasized consent, breadth of thinking and humanity during leadership, firmly fixed the path of a modern and mature state, for remaining, among other things, a human being. It was a great honor for me to represent the government headed by him in the status of ambassador, I am proud of the indisputable achievements of this authority, which in the future will still be truly realized, and I consider myself also responsible for the mistakes made during that period. Errors that we still fix.
One day a leader will come who knows what is fate and future, and he will visit all of these leaders, bowing to them and handing them the highest state awards. Do not doubt it!
In the meantime, modern Armenia, turning its back on the future, is selflessly rummaging in the past, as a result of which their heritage – the Motherland, is on the way to collapse, then each of these leaders has a duty and the right to return. And if this is done not to return power, but in the name of saving the country from the impending catastrophe, I will join the ranks of the followers of any of them.
I am also grateful to the current government and its leader for stimulating – voluntarily or involuntarily – the process of a new restart of the country and a serious increase in the level of public enthusiasm. This energy of expectation of the new is worth more than any natural or technological wealth: it can move mountains. And although the government, with its provincial worldview, daily sprays this wealth, even its remnants are of great value and will still be very useful to our country.
We had and still have selflessly devoted leaders to the country, with their mission, their mistakes and undeniable merits that cannot be erased. Today it’s time to start from a new page. With a new philosophy of governing the country. In an accessible language to the world. With capable people. With new energy. And this is possible.