make preferableYEREVAN. – The developments in Ukraine gave several lessons to Armenia’s authorities and opposition, alike, Regional Studies Center Director, political analyst Richard Giragosian said at a press conference on Wednesday.
In his words, Ukraine differs very much from Armenia.
“Although there are some similarities—economic inequality and public discontent—, the closed system of governance in Armenia differs very much from Ukraine. The civil society in Armenia is less organized,” Giragosian noted.
According to him, the first lesson for the Armenian government is that Ukraine demonstrated how dangerous it is to underestimate the “force of the street” and to overestimate the use of force.
“The second lesson [is] how dangerous it is to disregard the society's expectations for reforms. The third lesson for Armenia’s authorities and oligarchs is what happened when [Ukraine’s ousted President Viktor] Yanukovych fled; the blow that Ukraine was dealt as a result of corruption,” the analyst said.
In Giragosian’s view, the first lesson for Armenia’s opposition deals with the moving force. According to him, Ukraine showed that, considering the public discontent, there are three demands: leadership, organization, and strategic vision or alternative.
“In my view, the old opposition of Armenia has failed in all of these mentioned categories. The second lesson for the opposition is the adoption of a new tactic. And the third, is the importance of geography; in other words, activeness and actions in the regions [of Armenia], not solely in [capital city] Yerevan,” Richard Giragosian concluded.
