For months on end, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation has raised its concerns that political intolerance in the country will inevitably lead to divisions and hatred among the people. Unfortunately, this has now become a reality. By causing strains among the population, by characterizing the people as either “black” or “white,” the government’s policy of distinguishing their peers and enemies has already manifested itself.
The long-time chairman of the ARF Bureau, an organizer of the Artsakh Liberation War, Hrant Markarian was attacked by an unruly mob while walking in Liberty Square with his grandchildren.
The authorities’ irresponsible and aggressive calls of intolerance and spreading hate have become part of norm of public behavior. The street mob has already adopted the authorities’ slogans as a rule of conduct.
The oppressor, that does not possess any national or individual values has reared its head and is trying to impose its will on the people. For months, the press and social media platforms have been organized, directed and sponsored antagonistic propaganda against the ARF and its members, giving rise to hostility and hatred.
We assess the threats and aggression aimed at Hrant Markarian and the ARF as a clear, directed action and insidious act against the pan-Armenian family of the ARF. In many instances in the past, we have kept silent in the name of maintaining civic harmony. Perhaps our silence and lack of adequate response have created the false atmosphere of impunity. We will not tolerate this anymore because the aggressive, mob does not representative our society.
We demand that the authorities and law enforcement agencies evaluate the incident in the shortest possible time period, punish the guilty parties to the full extent of the law and put an end to this kind of behavior forever.
ARF Bureau
May 19, 2019
Editor’s Note: The various organizational regions of the ARF, among them the party’s Western U.S. Central Committee, issued announcements solidarity to the above.
Finally some reaction. And what do you think, our enimies sleeping?
kocharyan is not sleeping
Violence and intolerance of any regime is deplorable, but so is the support that the ARF has shown toward Robert Kocharian. As a voice of justice, the ARF should have sided with Pashinyan and dropped its support of Kocharian and the Republicans long ago.
Armen, did you see anywhere in the ARF Bureau Announcement any word of support to Kocharian or to the Republican Party? Why do you (or people with similar intentions) drive the issues out of context? The Announcement is very clearly about the atmosphere created by Pashinyan and his followers to instigate such attacks against the ARF.
In addition and for your info, the ARF sided with the Popular Movement led by Pashinyan, the ARF was in his first government cabinet by his request, but then, from the first meeting of the cabinet, he started attacking the ARF minister (for an issue that he used to support before becoming Prime Minister) and the basic national beliefs of our homeland, even going out of line and stepping on the Constitution and breaching it in Oct. 2018.
Not necessarily. Violence and intolerance is sometimes the only way to keep a corrupt and self-serving regime in check. When a regime is corrupt its leadership needs to understand that there will be accountability and consequences for its actions. Also, I don’t believe the ARF was there in support of the republican party of the former president Sargsyan at all. I think the ARF was there to keep the republicans in check, about the Artsakh conflict resolution in particular, for without the ARF the republican party would not have had any balancing opposition and would have governed the country as they wished.
Furthermore, I don’t think ARF has ever sided with or shown support for Kocharyan other than the fact that he was the one who reinstated the ARF legitimacy in Armenia after Ter-Petrosyan’s ban of the ARF some years ago when he was president. Unlike the former presidents who got into power with false votes, Pashinyan is people’s choice without a doubt but if ARF should have acted as you claim, shouldn’t Pashinyan then have demanded that the former president Sargsayn be looked into for his part, or lack of action, for the April 2016 events? In fact, the first thing Pashinyan should have done as soon as he came to office was to dissolve the republican party and declared it as illegitimate because they represented Sargsyan’s republican party in the parliament. He did not do that which made no sense. He deposed Sargsyan, the head of the republican party, from office but left the republican party loyal to Sargsyan intact! Because of that alone, what took place in Armenia last year can not be called a revolution in the true sense of the word but only a regime change!