Friday, 29 March 2024

E Editorial

Identity crisis

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Even in case of the brightest imagination, it is hard to envisage that the political force, whose foreign policy pursuit had led to the country’s failure, and appalling incompetence to a shocking defeat, could have won the majority of seats in the parliament and could have been reelected for the next term. Nonetheless it is a fact today, and we should understand why these occurrences happened. Why did the citizens of Armenia, who participated in the elections, vote for defeat with its devastating consequences? Does this mean that the Armenian society has decided to surrender to the enemy and not to fight, to gain an opportunity to live in peace even at the cost of continuous capitulation, which, as we see, does not work?

Isn't that weird? What is happening in the thoughts of the citizens of Armenia, what feelings and instincts are prevailing in their minds?

In the Soviet era, the political ideas of Armenians were very primitive. First, there was dissatisfaction with poor living conditions and being deprived of liberties, then there was the state-sown claim, which was anchored on the complex of suffering Genocide.

The next stage was the Third Republic. During the period of independence, the foundations of Armenian citizens’ identity were independence, which we restored about 800 years later (if we start counting from the destruction of Cilicia); the struggle for Artsakh, which united all Armenians and our expansion after centuries of territorial losses and the victory of Artsakh -  triumphant army, winning people. These three were the pillars of the identity of the citizens of the Third Republic of Armenia.

As a consequence of the Second Artsakh War, all three pillars of our identity collapsed. We have losses in Artsakh, the army is no longer triumphant, and there are great doubts about independence, we do not even protect the security of our own borders, and social needs are built on foreign debts and foreign alms.

If the three pillars of our identity have failed, what will unite us? If there are no unifying ideas, then there can be no unity, no consolidation. What for?

Today our borders are restless again, we have victims and wounded, we have territorial losses, the end of which is not visible. But we have already changed, people's brains are covered with a veil, there is no former enthusiasm, former courage, and former concern. Armenia seems to have become a temporary asylum for us, and the current government is gaining time for us to find a way out of this temporary situation. Maybe that is why the majority of Armenian citizens elected this government.

The other way out is the search for a new identity, the discovery of its new pillars, which will be able to unite us and give us purpose and strength.

The Armenian Center for National and International Studies

Yerznkian 75, 0033
Yerevan, Armenia

Tel.:

+374 10 528780 / 274818

Website:

www.acnis.am

  

The views of the authors do not necessarily reflect those of the Center.

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