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MENSOIAN: LESSONS FROM THE MAY 2012 ARMENIAN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS
Michael Mensoian
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2012/07/23/mensoian-lessons-from-the-may-2012-armenian-parliamentary-elections/
July 23, 2012 in
Given its enviable political history and proven selfless service to the
Armenian people and the nation, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(ARF) still remains a marginal political party in Armenia.
In the May 2012 parliamentary elections, the ARF garnered less than 6
percent of the votes cast. From a cadre of 16 parliamentary members,
the party's representation was reduced to just 6 members. This poor
showing was due in part to a combination of fabricated obstacles and
questionable activities that gave the ruling party a distinct and
unfair advantage.
ARF logo 300x200 Mensoian: Lessons from the May 2012 Armenian
Parliamentary Elections
Our agenda is determined by the enduring value of our core beliefs.
However, that being said, whether the ARF is engaged in a parliamentary
or a presidential election, it never rises above its marginal
political status. This raises the question why. The obvious answer
may be that the party's message of hope and change does not resonate
with the voter. One of several reasons may be that the Armenian voter
has survived for some 20 years under a political system that easily
bred skepticism and cynicism. This, in turn, tends to induce a degree
of resignation and acceptance of conditions as they are.
The compendium of shortcomings that formed the election platform of
the ARF for the recent parliamentary elections essentially promised
to correct almost everything that was wrong with the present system.
The proverbial man-in-the-street who has suffered the consequences
of this debilitating system could have compiled this platform for the
ARF. The party must have realized that it could not deliver on such an
extensive range of issues even if it had doubled its representation
in parliament from 16 to 32 members. Obviously, the voters must have
understood as much.
I don't know at what point we will accept the fact that something
is seriously amiss. Each year that passes and each election where
we join the other five percent-ers (parties that just meet the five
percent vote threshold) diminishes our influence, our prestige,
and our credibility. It is an intolerable situation that must be
corrected if the ARF is to continue in a manner that does justice to
our political heritage.
The Dashnaktsutiun is unlike any of the political parties that
clutter the Armenian political landscape. Vahan Hovannessian put it
succinctly in a recent interview when he stated that the enduring
strength of the Dashnaktsutiun is based on a foundation of ideas,
ideology, and vision for the future.
Hovannessian added that the present political parties in Armenia have
formed around either a charismatic figure such as a military leader;
a center of power; or simply a source of wealth. Such political
parties have no ideological moorings and are free to pursue courses
of action that may or may not reflect the needs of the electorate or
the interests of the Armenian state.
Our agenda is determined by the enduring value of our core beliefs.
We are a revolutionary party, or at least that is the defining term
in our name. We cannot be the fedayees of 100 years ago, but that
does not prevent us from being the political fedayees of the here
and now. The role of the revolutionary in society is a difficult
one to fulfill as he constantly challenges the status quo to improve
the quality of life of the worker or to protect the interests of the
nation. It is a challenge that carries the serious risk of retribution
from an administration that may feel threatened, or from entrenched
interest groups such as the Armenian oligarchs who are concerned
that their power and wealth are at stake. No one can force a man to
be a revolutionary, but neither can a man be one simply by donning
the cloak of a revolutionary.
Maybe it is just me, but I see the Dashnaktsutiun as a crusade,
not as a mundane political party. It hurts when we take timid steps
instead of the bold, imaginative, and persistent action required to
address the vital issues that affect our brothers and sisters not
only in Armenia, but in Artsakh and Javakhk, as well. Sometimes it
seems that we are obsessed with recognizing the dead at the cost of
sacrificing the living.
The situation in Armenia cannot be allowed to deteriorate further.
Each year, contrary to the favorable but meaningless statistic trotted
out by the administration, the economy contracts, unemployment rises,
population decreases, emigration increases, and justice is blinded
by power and wealth. At what point in time will the ARF realize that
voter apathy and indifference cannot be overcome by election platforms
or anointing a candidate to run in presidential elections.
Let's give some thought to who we are and how that determines
what it is that we must do. Hai Tahd is strictly a Dashnaktsutiun
Manifesto. It was enunciated by the ARF, nurtured by the ARF, and
has been a compelling objective of its political agenda since the
takeover of the first free and independent Republic of Armenia by
the Russian Bolsheviks. Hai Tahd and the Dashnaktsutiun have become
inseparable in the minds of most if not all Armenians. However,
changes have occurred that have significantly affected the scope and
the priorities of Hai Tahd and the ARF.
One such change is Artsakh's de facto independence, which should
have automatically preempted Hai Tahd's historic agenda. The
importance of Artsakh cannot be overestimated. It is the first time
in modern Armenian history (1900 to the present) that our people have
liberated themselves and historic Armenian lands from their Turkic
adversaries. If the ARF fails to be perceived as a vital force in
Artsakh's development and its ultimate independence (either de jure
recognition or independence by default) then it is fair for Armenians
to question the ability of the Dashnaktsutiun to be the stewards of
Hai Tahd. Artsakh has become the building block upon which Hai Tahd
now rests. Our long-time emotional involvement with recognition,
or Wilsonian Armenia or Kars-Ardahan should not cloud our judgment
concerning priorities.
The second significant change that has affected the scope and
priorities of the Dashnaktsutiun agenda has been the founding of the
second free and independent Republic of Armenia. Consider that one of
the reasons for the founding of the ARF in 1890 was the determination
to alleviate the oppressive political and economic conditions under
which Armenians lived in the towns and villages of Anatolia. Today,
well over 100 years later, that compelling objective still exists.
Why? Simply because the debilitating conditions that are slowly
destroying our people and our country have been spawned by the
ineffectiveness of all three administrations that have governed
Armenia since its founding. They have allowed an oligarchic system
that places personal power and wealth before the legitimate needs
of their compatriots to become entrenched. If the nation's vitality
and future potential are to be realized, if the worker is to benefit
properly from his labor, then the ARF must strive to institute a system
of government based on the social democratic principles of freedom,
equality, opportunity, and justice.
Our course was set some 120 years ago. The future of Armenia and Hai
Tahd depends on the Dashnaktsutiun. That is a simple unembellished
statement of fact. If not us, who? Everything that has gone on before
has prepared the party for what must be accomplished today. Let us not
look back a decade or two from now and lament the fact that we failed
because we lacked the passion, or the dedication, or the selflessness
that was the hallmark of our predecessors.
Michael Mensoian
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2012/07/23/mensoian-lessons-from-the-may-2012-armenian-parliamentary-elections/
July 23, 2012 in
Given its enviable political history and proven selfless service to the
Armenian people and the nation, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(ARF) still remains a marginal political party in Armenia.
In the May 2012 parliamentary elections, the ARF garnered less than 6
percent of the votes cast. From a cadre of 16 parliamentary members,
the party's representation was reduced to just 6 members. This poor
showing was due in part to a combination of fabricated obstacles and
questionable activities that gave the ruling party a distinct and
unfair advantage.
ARF logo 300x200 Mensoian: Lessons from the May 2012 Armenian
Parliamentary Elections
Our agenda is determined by the enduring value of our core beliefs.
However, that being said, whether the ARF is engaged in a parliamentary
or a presidential election, it never rises above its marginal
political status. This raises the question why. The obvious answer
may be that the party's message of hope and change does not resonate
with the voter. One of several reasons may be that the Armenian voter
has survived for some 20 years under a political system that easily
bred skepticism and cynicism. This, in turn, tends to induce a degree
of resignation and acceptance of conditions as they are.
The compendium of shortcomings that formed the election platform of
the ARF for the recent parliamentary elections essentially promised
to correct almost everything that was wrong with the present system.
The proverbial man-in-the-street who has suffered the consequences
of this debilitating system could have compiled this platform for the
ARF. The party must have realized that it could not deliver on such an
extensive range of issues even if it had doubled its representation
in parliament from 16 to 32 members. Obviously, the voters must have
understood as much.
I don't know at what point we will accept the fact that something
is seriously amiss. Each year that passes and each election where
we join the other five percent-ers (parties that just meet the five
percent vote threshold) diminishes our influence, our prestige,
and our credibility. It is an intolerable situation that must be
corrected if the ARF is to continue in a manner that does justice to
our political heritage.
The Dashnaktsutiun is unlike any of the political parties that
clutter the Armenian political landscape. Vahan Hovannessian put it
succinctly in a recent interview when he stated that the enduring
strength of the Dashnaktsutiun is based on a foundation of ideas,
ideology, and vision for the future.
Hovannessian added that the present political parties in Armenia have
formed around either a charismatic figure such as a military leader;
a center of power; or simply a source of wealth. Such political
parties have no ideological moorings and are free to pursue courses
of action that may or may not reflect the needs of the electorate or
the interests of the Armenian state.
Our agenda is determined by the enduring value of our core beliefs.
We are a revolutionary party, or at least that is the defining term
in our name. We cannot be the fedayees of 100 years ago, but that
does not prevent us from being the political fedayees of the here
and now. The role of the revolutionary in society is a difficult
one to fulfill as he constantly challenges the status quo to improve
the quality of life of the worker or to protect the interests of the
nation. It is a challenge that carries the serious risk of retribution
from an administration that may feel threatened, or from entrenched
interest groups such as the Armenian oligarchs who are concerned
that their power and wealth are at stake. No one can force a man to
be a revolutionary, but neither can a man be one simply by donning
the cloak of a revolutionary.
Maybe it is just me, but I see the Dashnaktsutiun as a crusade,
not as a mundane political party. It hurts when we take timid steps
instead of the bold, imaginative, and persistent action required to
address the vital issues that affect our brothers and sisters not
only in Armenia, but in Artsakh and Javakhk, as well. Sometimes it
seems that we are obsessed with recognizing the dead at the cost of
sacrificing the living.
The situation in Armenia cannot be allowed to deteriorate further.
Each year, contrary to the favorable but meaningless statistic trotted
out by the administration, the economy contracts, unemployment rises,
population decreases, emigration increases, and justice is blinded
by power and wealth. At what point in time will the ARF realize that
voter apathy and indifference cannot be overcome by election platforms
or anointing a candidate to run in presidential elections.
Let's give some thought to who we are and how that determines
what it is that we must do. Hai Tahd is strictly a Dashnaktsutiun
Manifesto. It was enunciated by the ARF, nurtured by the ARF, and
has been a compelling objective of its political agenda since the
takeover of the first free and independent Republic of Armenia by
the Russian Bolsheviks. Hai Tahd and the Dashnaktsutiun have become
inseparable in the minds of most if not all Armenians. However,
changes have occurred that have significantly affected the scope and
the priorities of Hai Tahd and the ARF.
One such change is Artsakh's de facto independence, which should
have automatically preempted Hai Tahd's historic agenda. The
importance of Artsakh cannot be overestimated. It is the first time
in modern Armenian history (1900 to the present) that our people have
liberated themselves and historic Armenian lands from their Turkic
adversaries. If the ARF fails to be perceived as a vital force in
Artsakh's development and its ultimate independence (either de jure
recognition or independence by default) then it is fair for Armenians
to question the ability of the Dashnaktsutiun to be the stewards of
Hai Tahd. Artsakh has become the building block upon which Hai Tahd
now rests. Our long-time emotional involvement with recognition,
or Wilsonian Armenia or Kars-Ardahan should not cloud our judgment
concerning priorities.
The second significant change that has affected the scope and
priorities of the Dashnaktsutiun agenda has been the founding of the
second free and independent Republic of Armenia. Consider that one of
the reasons for the founding of the ARF in 1890 was the determination
to alleviate the oppressive political and economic conditions under
which Armenians lived in the towns and villages of Anatolia. Today,
well over 100 years later, that compelling objective still exists.
Why? Simply because the debilitating conditions that are slowly
destroying our people and our country have been spawned by the
ineffectiveness of all three administrations that have governed
Armenia since its founding. They have allowed an oligarchic system
that places personal power and wealth before the legitimate needs
of their compatriots to become entrenched. If the nation's vitality
and future potential are to be realized, if the worker is to benefit
properly from his labor, then the ARF must strive to institute a system
of government based on the social democratic principles of freedom,
equality, opportunity, and justice.
Our course was set some 120 years ago. The future of Armenia and Hai
Tahd depends on the Dashnaktsutiun. That is a simple unembellished
statement of fact. If not us, who? Everything that has gone on before
has prepared the party for what must be accomplished today. Let us not
look back a decade or two from now and lament the fact that we failed
because we lacked the passion, or the dedication, or the selflessness
that was the hallmark of our predecessors.