BREAKING:
Armenian PM resigns amid MASSIVE opposition protests
Mass
protests against Armenian ex-President and newly appointed Prime
Minister Serzh Sargsyan have been ongoing in the country for the
second week straight, with soldiers taking to the streets earlier in
the day.
23 April, 2018
Tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in all major cities across Armenia as the outgoing president, Serzh Sargsyan, is elected Prime Minister by the Parliament. The move is largely perceived as a power grab, as Sargsyan will largely retain the same powers that he held during his two terms in the Presidential capacity. This move takes place just after Armenia’s April 9th transition from a presidential system to that of a prime ministerial one.
Western
backed Non governmental organizations (NGOs) have been heavily
involved in post Soviet Armenia’s education system, community and
charity works. These NGOs have been selling the public on the
perception that Armenia’s economic woes are directly the result of
their corrupt, Russia friendly government, as well as Russia itself.
Hence,
the concept that Sargsyan’s government has only made matters for
the population worse is the grievance upon which much of the unrest
hinges. With Sargsyan seen as being in bed with the Russians, and his
further development of Armenia’s ties with Russia, these protests
therefore possess a potentially disastrous outcome, both
domestically, for the Armenians, and also geopolitically, as it
threatens Russia’s position in the region.
The
situation, in effect, represents a powder keg scenario, with all the
elements in place to provoke the necessary popular discontent that
would play into an attempt at regime change. And, indeed, this
situation has all the markings of a color revolution, as the ring
leader for this movement, Nikol
Pashinyan, is already calling it a “velvet revolution”, an
allusion to the regime change that took place in Czechoslovakia in
1989.
Pashinyan
has called upon protesters to obstruct roadways and prevent the
opening of governmental offices, and has been so bold as to declare
that the Armenian government “no longer holds legitimacy”, and
that all government agencies and police personnel should only be
obedient to “committees” appointed by his revolution.
these
protests are exceedingly dangerous, not just for the region, but also
relevant to the geopolitical balance of power between the east and
west, due to the possibilities that could be unleashed if these
protests escalate out of control.
While
protests against Sargsyan’s government isn’t anything new,
considering the protests of recent years, the protests taking place
at the present time differ from its predecessors in the sense that
previous riots were confined only to Yerevan, whereas the current
uprising is national in its scale, and therefore presents a much
greater concern.
Meanwhile,
the well meaning populace of Armenia has no idea that their
grievances are being played upon by international interests like a
pawn on a global chess board.
Western-Backed
Regime Change Looms As Armenia PM Resigns Following Mass Protests
23 April, 2018
After 11 days of mass protests and violent clashes over the perceived power-grab following the outgoing Armenian President's election toPrime Minister, Serzh Sargsyan has resigned and police have released opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan.
“The people are against my rule,” Sargsyan, who took office as prime minister after serving as Armenia’s president for 10 years, said in a statement.
“I am leaving my post.”
As
Bloomberg reports, the announcement came as demonstrators flooded the
streets of the capital, Yerevan, for an 11th day on Monday demanding
Sargysan’s resignation, and hours
after police released opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan from
overnight detention.
Serzh
Sargsyan, left, and Nikol Pashinyan on April 22.
Pashinyan’s
arrest prompted the largest protest to date on Sunday,
while scores of troops joined the anti-government movement on Monday
for the first time.
Sargsyan's
election as Prime Minister was largely perceived as a power grab
because Sargsyan will largely retain the same powers that he held
during his two terms in the Presidential capacity, and took place
just after Armenia’s
April 9th transition from a presidential system to that of a prime
ministerial one.
But as
The Duran's Frank Sellers detailed previously, this
social unrest (and now resignation) has all the markings of a
Ukraine-esque Western-backed effort at regime change to once again
disrupt Russia.
Western
backed Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been heavily
involved in post Soviet Armenia’s education system, community and
charity works. These
NGOs have been selling the public on the perception that Armenia’s
economic woes are directly the result of their corrupt, Russia
friendly government, as well as Russia itself.
Hence,
the concept that Sargsyan’s government has only made matters for
the population worse is the grievance upon which much of the unrest
hinges. With
Sargsyan seen as being in bed with the Russians, and his further
development of Armenia’s ties with Russia, these protests therefore
possess a potentially disastrous outcome, both domestically, for the
Armenians, and also geopolitically, as it threatens Russia’s
position in the region.
However,
Armenia has been playing both sides of the fence in recent years, as
it has additionally been moving closer to the European Union, signing
itself to a Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement with the
European bloc, attempting to deepen diplomacy and economic ties with
the West, while simultaneously making commitments to Russia’s
economic initiatives in the region. Russia gets a villainous wrap
over the fact that Russia is playing both sides of the Nagorno
Karabakh-Azerb conflict, as Russia is the benefactor of both players,
the common perception, derived from the propaganda of these NGOs, is
that Russia benefits by stoking the conflict.
The
situation, in effect, represents a powder keg scenario, with all the
elements in place to provoke the necessary popular discontent that
would play into an attempt at regime change.
And,
indeed, this situation has all the markings of a color revolution, as
the ring leader for this movement, Nikol Pashinyan, is already
calling it a “velvet revolution”, an allusion to the regime
change that took place in Czechoslovakia in 1989.
Pashinyan
has called upon protesters to obstruct roadways and prevent the
opening of governmental offices, and has been so bold as to declare
that the Armenian government “no longer holds legitimacy”, and
that all government agencies and police personnel should only be
obedient to “committees” appointed by his revolution.
Keep
in mind, however, that Sargsyan hasn’t, thus far, broken any law,
nor violated the Armenian constitution, so,
Pashinyan’s claim against Sargsyan’s legitimacy can only be
viewed as a baseless instigation for further violence and an
obstinate unwillingness to look for a middle ground scenario, or
peaceful resolution to the situation at hand. An
unwillingness to compromise satisfies one of the key factors that is
commonly seen in many color revolutions.
The
typical manner in which Western backed color revolutions unfold is
when a peaceful protest about legitimate grievances are hijacked
tobecome
the catalyst for a violent revolution. If
we consider the EuroMaidan revolution that took place in 2014, a
peaceful protest turned violent after the slaughter of the “heavenly
hundred” by mystery snipers, killing police and protesters both, in
order to help the conflict along to a point of no return to peace.
To
date, the situation on the streets of Yerevan seems to be going in a
similar direction, as the protests have already turned semi violent,
with police officers sustaining knife wounds. Note
that this sort of behaviour is foreign to the Armenian psyche.
Western provocateurs are often present to stir up mayhem when these
tragedies occur. Pictured here are some of the assailants,
observe also that the fellow on the left is not an Armenian.
Sadly,
as Sellers concludes, many
Armenians are of the persuasion that by changing their government and
rejecting Russia as Armenia’s strategic partner, in favour of
hopeful Western integration, Armenia will realize greater economic
opportunity, and a vastly improved standard of living for the average
Armenian.
However,
what does history show us about just what Western-backed regime
changes bring to their victim nation? Let’s observe the
economic situation in the Ukraine before and after the coup
d’état, as
reported by Vesti:
If we evaluate the results of the new government, they’re simply disastrous for the country. In the year before the coup, the GDP was estimated at $180 billion, in 2017 it’s expected to be half as much, $90 billion.
The average salary in the country was more than halved, from $408 per month to $196 last year. The exchange rate of the hryvna fell three and a half times, from 8 to 27 per dollar. As the main high-tech enterprises are destroyed, the economy acquired a colonial structure.
More and more raw materials are exported, being nearly 80% of exports. Half of this is agrarian. Total export volume fell by 57%. Foreign direct investment fell by at least four times, from 6 billion a year to one and a half. That’s practically nothing. And out of this nothing, however, most of the investment still comes from Russia.
The national debt has been increasing all the time and has now become difficult to be paid back. It was 64 billion dollars which then became 80 billion. Many millions of its citizens have left the country in search of a better life. Some of them went to the West, some to Russia. The health system and the education system have deteriorated.
The system of legal proceedings as well. Corporate raiding became the norm. Corruption increased. The country broke into pieces.
Poroshenko and his team deceived everyone: the West, and Russia, and their people in terms of the country’s prospects, the practices of the new government, and the Minsk Agreements.
An
about-face with regards to Russia, and an adherence to the West,
however, not only fails to present the economic outcome that many
Armenians might hope for, but it presents a very real danger in the
form of a greater escalation of conflict with its neighbor
Azerbaijan,
with regards to Nagorno Karabakh, the last such major conflict costed
the lives of some 6,000 Armenians, and approximately 30,000 Azeris.
Additionally,
if these protests continue to move in a violent direction,
and categorically
seek regime change,
if the government does not step down in favor of the opposition, but
instead opts to call in the military to defend itself, then the
situation could lead to a destabilization of the country.
During such a period of chaos, it is not unthinkable that the Azerbs
could seize the opportunity to launch a fresh campaign to take
Nagorno Karabakh while Armenia’s government and forces are
concerned with preserving order elsewhere.
Such
a renewed conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan produces results
that are simply unpredictable, concerning the geopolitical
implications regarding the involvement of Russia and NATO, seeing
as Armenia hosts Russian military bases, while Azerbaijan is host to
a NATO base, but
if the Armenians have broken off its relations with the Russians in
the favor of the West, Russian involvement is left in a state of
bewilderment, while the conflict devastates Russia’s economic and
military perspective in the region. This, therefore, holds the
possibility of being the next proxy war between Russia and the West.
Therefore,
these protests are exceedingly dangerous, not just for the region,
but also relevant to the geopolitical balance of power between the
east and west, due to the possibilities that could be unleashed if
these protests escalate out of control. While
protests against Sargsyan’s government isn’t anything new,
considering the protests of recent years, the protests taking place
at the present time differ from its predecessors in the sense that
previous riots were confined only to Yerevan, whereas the current
uprising is national in its scale, and therefore presents a much
greater concern.
Meanwhile,
the well meaning populace of Armenia has no idea that their
grievances are being played upon by international interests like a
pawn on a global chess board.
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