“The future of Armenia is also being decided” – Armenian political scientist on events in Georgia
Impact of Georgia on Armenia
“The future of not only Georgia but also Armenia is being decided on the streets of Tbilisi,” political scientist Areg Kochinyan said about the struggle of Georgian society against a proposed law “on foreign agents”. In his opinion, the democratic future of Armenia is impossible without a similar future for Georgia, since this country is “the main link with the West in geographic, economic, political and other dimensions.”
Thousands of people held protests in Tbilisi for several days in a row after the parliament passed the bill on agents of foreign influence in the first reading. According to the bill, all media and NGOs that receive more than 20% of their non-profit income from abroad were to be registered as agents of foreign influence. Under pressure from widespread protests, the ruling party on March 9 announced the withdrawal of the bill, and on March 10 the Georgian Parliament discussed and rejected it in the second reading.
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“A step back from democratic, liberal and legal Georgia”
According to political analyst Areg Kochinyan, until recently the Georgian elite, led by “shadow ruler” Bidzina Ivanishvili, have tried to satisfy the demands of the country’s pro-Western society and maintaining close relations with Russia. This was due not only to fears about the future of the country, but also to Ivanishvili’s “quite significant business interests.”
Kochinyan sees two root problems: “the attempts of the elite to please Russia, and the presence and influence of the elite itself on political processes.”
In his opinion, the adoption of the law “On Foreign Agents” would have been a significant step back both from the vision of “democratic, liberal and legal Georgia” and from Euro-Atlantic integration.
“Democratic regression is entering a decisive phase along with the process of passing this law. Now the future of democratic and pro-Western Georgia will depend entirely on the resilience of Georgian society,” he wrote recently.
Why the situation in Georgia is important for Armenia
According to Kochinyan, Georgians fought not just against the adoption of the bill, but for freedom. He notes that if Georgia does not have a democratic future, then it is impossible to imagine such a future for Armenia.
“The West cannot connect with Armenia from the moon, and Armenia cannot be a self-sufficient, modern democratic state in this sea of authoritarianism and anachronism,” he maintains.
Within the framework of the Eurasian, Russian integration processes, it is impossible to build and maintain a “stable and well-established democratic system”, referring to Armenia’s membership in the Eurasian Economic Union and the Collective Security Treaty Organization, economic and military blocs operating under the leadership of Russia.
Kochinyan says Armenia’s democratic future is directly linked to Western integration, which is why Georgia’s democracy and Western integration are “a necessary condition.”
“Necessary, but not sufficient. It is so necessary that without it it is simply meaningless to talk about a democratic future for Armenia,” hebelieves.
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Impact of Georgia on Armenia
