WHY ARE THE GENERALS SILENT?

Haykakan Zhamanak
Nov 19 2008
Armenia

Although the whole world is discussing the issue of ceding the
territories adjacent to Nagornyy Karabakh to Azerbaijan, and the
status of Nagornyy Karabakh is under a big question, our own generals
do not utter a word during this period of time.

Of course, news was received last week from Karabakh that local
generals are very displeased with the Meindorf declaration [on Karabakh
settlement] signed by [Armenian President] Serzh Sargsyan. Moreover,
according to reliable information, the generals have had quite
a tough talk with the president of the Nagornyy Karabakh republic,
Bako Sahakyan, and Sargsyan made a quick visit to Karabakh immediately
after this.

According to informed sources, Sargsyan told the displeased generals
directly that if they wanted to preserve their property, they should
be calm and keep silent. And since the generals have quite a lot to
lose, they "shut up", and are keeping calm. In fact, these generals
who have always said "no piece of land to the enemy", viewed their
"minivans", wood and other businesses as an "interest prevailing over"
the Karabakh issue. Naturally, it would not be that difficult for
Sargsyan to organize a very quick bankruptcy for any of these generals.

[Passage omitted: description of businesses run by generals.]

During the entire period of time, Serzh Sargsyan and the existing
regime have carried out a targeted policy, which has managed to finally
demoralise the top brass, against whom he has a lot of discrediting
evidence. All these generals can at any moment be accused in public
of crimes they have committed and can be tried. Thus, it is not by
chance that [former Karabakh defence minister] Samvel Babayan and
others refuse to speak about the Karabakh issue at a moment when
the solution is so close and not in our favour at all. In any case,
all our efforts to receive their comments have failed.