Azerbaijani psychologist: There is insurmountable gap between Armenian authorities and society

Two years have elapsed since March 1-2, when Armenian authorities shot civilian population who were protesting outcomes of the presidential elections. What are, in your opinion, main psychological effects of this massacre?

Before those events took place the Armenian society was confident in its own right to defend own choices while the events of March 1-2, 2008 made it clear that they are banned to protest election results and ignoring this ban is fraught with savage force against the protesters as well as their execution.

It turns out that the current Armenian authorities demonstrated far more cruel attitude against their own people than the Soviet authorities at the time of which Armenians could demonstrate very easily demanding to annex Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region to Armenia.

The Armenian authorities showed blatant disregard of public opinion with subsequent use of violence which led to casualties both during the last presidential elections and in the course of the bloody events of March 1-2, 2008 leaving the most serious imprint on psychological state of ordinary Armenian citizens. Figuratively speaking, insurmountable gap appeared between the Armenian authorities and a large part of Armenian society after the bloody events. This is the main psychological outcome of the March 1-2 events in Armenia.  

We all remember the words of President Serzh Sargsyan who candidly admitted: "Before Khojaly the Azerbaijanis thought that the Armenians are not able to raise hand against civilian population. We were able to break that stereotype." Can we say that the Armenian authorities broke another stereotype and now it is clear for everyone in Armenia that this regime can resort to anything even shooting of civilians of their own country for the sake of power?

The stereotype of thinking and conviction of the Armenian population that the Armenian authorities will never shoot civilian population was broken after those bloody events. The Armenian citizens made sure that political regime in this country is ready to destroy not only civilian Azerbaijani population, but also civilian Armenian population.

According to Armenian economists, rise in gas prices in the country starting from April 1 will lead to further increase in transport and electricity rates on the backdrop of a very difficult economic situation in this country. Can already tough economic situation lead to social upheaval in this country after the planned rise in gas prices?

After the brutal crackdown on opposition rally in Yerevan on March 1-2, 2008, the Armenian society, seeing readiness of the country's ruling regime to commit a crime against its own people for the sake of power, lapsed into apathy. But at the same time, another part of the Armenian society, who lost loved ones during the shooting, on the contrary, began to live with a thought of revenge and a need for active military confrontation towards current Armenian authorities. It is possible that another price rise in Armenia can spark a new wave of protests on the backdrop of a very difficult economic situation in this country.  

Could the increasing economic problems in Armenia, deepened by understanding of the willingness of the authorities to shoot dissenting Armenian population, make the Armenian society understand a need for a speedy and just settlement to the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and normalization of relations with Azerbaijan?

In this case, we can talk not about social psychology, but ethno-psychology. It would be appropriate to recall that Armenians, in spite of all social problems, continue to believe that the mythical “Armenian genocide” did take place in Ottoman Turkey in 1915 and that Armenia would be able to achieve various concessions from the modern Turkey through it.

So, there is every reason to suppose that Armenian society will behave similarly in terms of settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Armenian society, despite all the challenges it faces, is not ready to understand inevitability of compromise in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

A. Hasanov