MASIS MAYILYAN’S TEAM SAVED THE IMAGE OF KARABAKH
Haik Aramyan

Lragir, Armenia
July 23 2007

The election of Karabakh is past. This event was evaluated differently
in the pre-election period, some people said it is crucial for Karabakh
and Armenia, others said all the decisions are made in Yerevan. The
value of the NKR presidential election will be revealed in the course
of time, when the logic of development of the country, the principles
of settlement of the Karabakh issue, as well as the home political
developments in Armenia in the nearest future become distinct. For
the time being, let us try to evaluate the NKR presidential election
on the basis of the existing developments.

For the first time, there was real alternative in the election.

Hence, for the first time a home political race was reported which
certainly produced a positive effect regarding the foreign image
of Karabakh. The international observers who observed the voting
(except for the observers from the post-Soviet space who are guided by
different standards) have already pointed to this fact as a positive
factor. On the other hand, however, the observers also understand
everything regarding the actions of the government, and they voiced
concern in private talks with reporters.

The election campaign also showed that the government of Karabakh and
the political forces were not ready for this situation, and their
actions revealed that they do not comply with the modern political
challenges Karabakh has appeared in. The "common candidate" operation
held in accordance with the best Soviet traditions stroke the image
of the country and threatens to throw Karabakh back to the status of
"uncontrollable area" with all the consequences that stem from it.

This threat persists today because there is no hope that the new
government may work out and conduct an effective internal and
external policy in the interests of the county. Evidence to this
is the statement of Bako Sahakyan in an interview on July 19 that
political culture requires appointment of the members of his team to
government posts. And in Karabakh Bako Sahakyan’s team is believed
to include social climbers who pursue their private interests which
have nothing to do with the problems of the country.

It is not Bako Sahakyan’s only problem. Another problem for him is
whether he will be perceived as a partner in Armenia and abroad,
as an independent political figure. The leaving president Arkady
Ghukasyan tries his best to remain a partner nevertheless. And he
does not hide it in public speeches. Besides, even if the observers
appreciate the voting, in Karabakh everyone knows the methods that
were used to reach the desirable result. And it cannot leave a trace
regarding public confidence and support that the new president needs
to conduct an independent and effective policy. In other words,
they will constantly remind him of the "favors" they did for him,
expecting "priority" in solving their own problems.

The other major complication regarding this is the notorious 85-86
percent mentioned beside Bako Sahakyan’s name, which had been announced
beforehand by Ghukasyan and others. In Armenia a political party also
got "absolute majority" but we can see step by step what happens to
this "majority". A majority that is not based on the real confidence
of people is not obliging on the one hand; on the other hand, it hits
like a boomerang to the one who holds it. It will become obvious in
Karabakh soon, in the time of appointing government.

Another peculiarity of the election campaign was that the political
forces and figures involved in the "common candidate" operation
accused the others of different sins, including assistance from the
"outside", "black PR", etc. However, thanks to the efforts of these
accused people the Karabakh presidential election got a positive
international evaluation and legitimacy. In reality, the authors and
apologists of the "common candidate" operation stroke the country’s
image and people, and launched a large-scale black PR. They were the
first to introduce both black PR and all the "black technologies"
of the recent Armenian parliamentary election to Karabakh.

Meanwhile, the activity of the people involved in Masis Mayilyan’s
team who worry about the future of the country and people saved the
international image of Karabakh, for the time being protecting the
country from possible shocks. It has always been so. Some people care
about the future of the country, others solve their private problems
through absurd slogans and accusations.

God save Karabakh

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress