Armenian Crimea in Freedom Square

Today the Armenian National Congress is going to organize a demonstration in Freedom square of Yerevan. This is the first demonstration after a long-lasting break, which may be crowded due to the fact that several opposition powers want to unite and also there is some movement due to the government’s initiative for creation of a compulsory pension fund.

Even though the ANC targets more people at the demonstration, if they succeed in bringing a lot of people to the square, it may become a challenge for them. Since the recent incidents in Ukraine there are people in Armenia who are asking whether Maidan can emerge in Armenia. Almost all groups of the society are curious about something similar to the Maidan in Armenia.

This may be challenge threatening the government, and spreading fright in the society. However, the leader of the political power Levon Ter-Petrosyan has openly stated that he is against any prospect of bringing the Maidan into Armenia.

“The ideology of the Maidan is not included in the agenda of the Armenian National Congress. We cannot go to the Maidan and curse Russia and Putin,” said Levon Ter-Petrosyan back in December, when these processes had just started in Ukraine and people had started to go out to the Maidan to express their discontent with the policy of Yanukovich to give up on the Association Agreement negotiation with Europe. Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s attitude to this issue has not changed since then.

“Our leader’s policy is that there is no anti-Russian policy in Armenia, and it is impossible to have Maidan in Armenia,” said Gagik Jhangiryan in the parliament recently.

If a large crowd comes to the demonstration, Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s task will be also to speak in a way to make sure Maidan will not happen in Armenia. In this issue the attitudes of the government and this opposition power are the same. With a large demonstration in the square Levon Ter-Petrosyan could also send a message to Russia for the purpose of initiating a “bourgeois-democratic revolution.” Maybe Russia would be open to such messages if the recent movements had not happened in Ukraine. If Russia wants to change the government in Armenia (this is what Levon Ter-Petrosyan and Robert Kocharyan want), it will not be done through bringing people out to streets. After Ukraine another precedent would be too much for Russia. This means that today’s demonstration will be held in the framework of the same interests of the domestic players and Russia. Armenian Maidan is not in the interests of the incumbent president Serzh Sargsyan, Russia, which means also former presidents Robert Kocharyan and Levon Ter-Petrosyan as well. Levon Ter-Petrosyan may want to demonstrate that he wants to bring everything back to 2008. Even though there is a very small possibility for this, nothing is excluded in politics. This is exactly what Ter-Petrosyan said concerning possible cooperation with Robert Kocharyan six years ago, on March 1, 2008.