Armenian political analysts point to opposition's errors

Dissatisfaction with authorities has matured in the society, but due to the opposition's inefficient tactics, it failed to make use of this resource, the political analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" believe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that since April 25, in Armenia, the opposition has been holding protests demanding the resignation of the country's Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, after he agreed to "lower the bar" on the Karabakh issue. On May 24, activists blocked the government building, where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Armenia is located. Protest leaders urged city residents to join the protests.

The parliamentary opposition has enough supporters for efficient actions, but protest organizers prefer drawing more attention to the movement than to blocking the government building and the work of the Cabinet of Ministers, Andrias Gukasyan, a political analyst, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The opposition's tactics looks more like a "campaign to discredit Nikol Pashinyan" than a protest movement, which, through disobedience actions, could achieve the adoption by authorities of their own ultimatums, Mr Gukasyan believes. "Addressing the society is inefficient, since all those who have expressed their solidarity in one form or another – by taking part in demonstrations, rallies or directly in disobedience actions – have already joined the movement. For further actions, they need a specific programme aimed at paralyzing the work of the Cabinet of Ministers. The opposition has none – it has only a spectacular campaign to reduce confidence in Pashinyan and his government," the political analyst has concluded.

The need for changing the power is present, but the opposition can't use this resource due to inefficient tactics, Armen Badalyan, a political strategist, believes. "There's a critical mass in the society; and with the proper use of this resource, they can create a situation that will lead to a change of power. But the opposition fails to consolidate large social groups that are dissatisfied with the authorities. To attract masses, the protest movement should become institutionalized. And for this, in particular, it is necessary to form a press centre that would collect, process and disseminate information, as well as to create a group that would collect facts of law enforcers' violence and record their illegal actions," Mr Badalyan has stressed.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 25, 2022 at 04:18 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.