Nikol Pashinyan Shaking Fingers and ‘’Something Else’’

“A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave..”

Mahatma Gandhi

In the midst of, what most would call, the beginning of World War III, nothing much has changed in the Armenian parliament. Another bit of arguing with the Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan caused the opposition to storm out of the parliament session, which is slowly becoming a common occurrence.

The topic of the recent altercation was, as always, Pashinyan’s inability to take responsibility for his actions and inaction during the 2020 Artsakh war, which resulted in the complete capitulation of Armenia and the historical Armenian land in Artsakh.

Today, those regions and many more are, sadly, under Azerbaijan’s thumb to do as they please, all thanks to the cease-fire agreement the Prime Minister himself signed under cover of the night.

First, but sadly not the last, issue Armenia is facing today due to the war in Ukraine is the possible wheat shortage. The Armenian government is asked if they have a plan for more restrictions on Russia, exporting wheat to Armenia.

Unfortunately, the ruling regime, led by Nikol Pashinyan, opted for the game of accusation and threatened instead of using the Armenian parliament stand as an opportunity to find a solution for the ever-growing problem.

Who Sold Artsakh?

The problem began when the Hripsime Stambulyan, an opposition member of the Hayastan bloc, asked the prime minister his government’s plan now that the war in Ukraine could lead to restrictions on Russia’s wheat exports.

“Since you surrendered about 75 percent of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) to the enemy and left many wheat fields [cultivated by Karabakh Armenians] in the enemy’s hands, what steps are you taking?” he asked the Prime Minister who, instead of focusing on the problem at hand, decided to rage about a fact he understood as a provocation.

So Pashinyan’s rhetoric was familiar, blaming Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sarkisian, leaders of two main opposition blocs. He said they were also ready to make concessions regarding the Artsakh territory but failed to note that he was the only one who actually made any definitive concession, i.e. Capitulation. Besides the ever-changing rhetoric, Pashinyan also gesticulated to the opposition by waving a finger, to which Stambulyan warned him.

“I want to again warn you that every time you come here, you should keep in mind that you are an executive officer and have no right to answer our questions by waving your finger and yelling,” reminded Stambulyan.

And then all hell broke loose.

Pashinyan, without a smidge of tolerance, negotiating skills, or arguments started yelling and calling the opposition members traitors and thieves.

“To anyone who says I surrendered lands, I will talk with a finger,” said Pashinyan adding, “I’ll wave my finger. I’ll also do other things, if necessary.” The last comment enraged the opposition members simply because the translation of the statement didn’t paint the right picture.

Instead, Pashinyan’s comment sounded more like “I will shake other things if necessary,” showing again just how little respect Nikol Pashinyan has toward his position as the Prime Minister of Armenia, ready at will to make statements that will smear the position irreversibly.

Opposition Members Warned instead of Pashinyan.

Arshakyan, who chaired the session, decided on selective hearing impairment, supposedly not hearing Pashinyan’s insults and disgusting statements. Instead, he accused the opposing members of creating a tense atmosphere by accusing colleagues of surrendering lands.

Seeing as the corruption ran deep inside the parliament if everyone were ready to forget Pashinyan said anything derogatory and rude, many Hayastan and Patio Unem bloc members walked out in protest.

Why Was Artsakh Really Lost?

A history and war analysis expert, RageX, helped us get more insight into what caused Armenia to lose the war in 2020. RageX stated that losing Artsakh was clearly a setup and that the loss was planned a long time ago.

If it were a real war, there’s little chance Armenian troops would lose due to the geography of the Artsakh. Looking at the mountainous region, Armenian troops had better positions and opportunities than the Azerbaijan army.

The only problem was that the Armenian Army was not using the strategy fit for such terrain, and it was partly why they lost.

RageX also stated that there were a lot of issues within the Armenian Army and Government that led to the defeat.

While in part Army takes the blame for not using the right strategy, and tactic and having bad training programs, the government, then led by Pashinyan, is much more to blame.

For years the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan was almost imminent. However, the government wasn’t inclined toward setting the budget for military defense upgrades. Instead, what weapons Armenia had stayed in the warehouses during the war. On the other hand, Azerbaijan used every arsenal possible against an Armenian serviceman.

Another mistake that the current government regime made was oversharing, and Pashinyan could be said to be the worst in this regard. During the conflict, Pashinyan made speeches to raise the country’s morale and ensure the people his government was strong and winning.

And reassuring the public sometimes meant Pashinyan oversharing some military information that should have been kept secret. At that point, the Armenian Army already had spies, with mercenaries coming to the battlefield every day. When your own country’s prime minister decides to brag about what should have been kept secret in front of the millions, you can’t expect a good outcome.

And finally, the Armenian government made the mistake of trusting the wrong ally. At least Russia did seem to be friendly toward Armenia, trying to mediate the conflict. However, from the get-go, Putin and Aliyev looked a lot more competent and serious about the whole thing than Pashinyan.

On the other hand, Pashinyan, who was very good at rallying the Armenian people once upon a time, clearly lacked the skill, knowledge, and political character to negotiate a better deal with Putin and Aliyev, respectively.

So instead, Artsakh was arranged between the grownups, while the child “Pashinyan” just wanted to make sure his head stays on his shoulders, regardless of the land he signs off.