The new word "HayaQve" has been coined recently, which literally means the "Vote of Armenians." It, in fact, is a civil legislative initiative which submitted a draft law criminalizing the rejection of Artsakh's self-determination and belittling the Armenian Genocide. It is carried out through a petition signed by Armenian citizens, i.e. free expression of their will. This unprecedented legal regulation embodied by a purely civil initiative is being applied in our country for the first time. Perhaps, this can explain the inadequate attitude toward HayaQve both in the government and in certain public circles.
Thus, the authorities mostly face the issue with jealousy and cautious fear, whereas the public manifests more skepticism. Nonetheless, the process is well underway, and in the first few weeks after its launch, there was a significant positive transformation in public perception, strengthening confidence in the initiative. On the 21st day of the petition’s 60-day signature collection period, about 40,000 citizens had already joined HayaQve. Another 10,000 votes should be collected, and the number of signatures required in the first stage will be secured, which will allow it to be discussed by the National Assembly. In case of rejection by the parliament, which is the most likely option, the problem will be complicated: it will be necessary to collect 300,000 signatures.
Yet, hard work is needed, since the path to liberty is thorny all the way. More experienced public figures once remarkably defined: the democratic system is the worst form of government, but we don't have any better ones. The initiators of HayaQue have "embarked upon" a very difficult task, as the people would say. It is difficult, but very necessary, requiring the proper support of the Armenian people. The opposition of the authorities is great, they take every step to thwart the initiative. And it is understandable: according to the bill, a severe punishment of 10-15 years of imprisonment is planned for all those who recognize Artsakh as part of any other state.
As of today, at least two of the officials representing the highest power of Armenia, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, have publicly announced their readiness to recognize Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan. If the law in question had been adopted earlier, Pashinyan and Mirzoyan would have been the first to appear in the accused's chair. Before them, no high-ranking Armenian official had ever recognized Artsakh as a part of Azerbaijan. By the way, at the dawn of their "post-Velvet" activities, both Pashinyan and Mirzoyan were accused of being recruited by the special services of Azerbaijan and Turkey, respectively, which has not been denied to this day.
It is obvious that in order to establish "friendship" with two genocidal countries and spread the national interests of Armenia "at their feet,” the political-ideological guidelines for Civil Contract party’s folks were drawn long before 2018. When we say national interests, we mean, first of all, Artsakh, whose handover, apparently, was predetermined. And it was predestined not without the will of the great powers. Today, the humanitarian crisis in Artsakh has escalated to such an extent that it can get out of control at any moment and turn into a great tragedy. Against the backdrop of this situation, the main message and mission of HayaQve become very relevant.
People understand that the created situation is a consequence of many mistakes, failures and arbitrariness made by the current government, which require immediate economic, social and legal regulation. HayaQve opens a window of opportunities for a fair solution to these most important problems, a window for wide participation of citizens in the state administration process, a window of unprecedented manifestation of real democracy.