The French Ambassador Henri Renaud, in answer to the reporter’s question whether following the example of the “Arab spring” the “Armenian spring” may be predicted as well said that the “Armenian spring” came a long time ago and it already produces fruits.
Apparently, by saying fruits the Ambassador means the stem cells of the civil society being formed in Armenia represented by different civil initiatives and those represented in different political parties which have a deciding voice.
Ambassador Henri Renaud stated that the civil society has already been established in Armenia and it is impossible not to notice it.
The results are already there, the government is obliged to meet the society’s claims. There are many examples but there are many more other examples when the government ignores the society’s demands. And this is reason to doubt the arrival of the “Armenian spring”.
Many people imagine that “spring” needs to be mass protests, tension and resignation when Serzh Sargsyan will leave taking along all the RPA and a new political force will come and hold new elections.
In reality, this version of “spring”, even though it is desirable for Armenia, is still unrealistic because while citizens and oligarchs confront in one place, in another place the citizens identify themselves with the representatives of the same system.
In this situation, a small but powerful success harms the system more and is a better “Armenian spring”, since unlike many other phenomena and other examples showing the government’s contempt, cynicism and non-retreat, these successes are not “standard”, they are just a deviation from the “rule”. They are very few compared with the “traditional” examples but only because they are not “traditional” they are important and influential, and being non-systemic, they become even more systemic at least as a way-out or a precedent.
In this sense, the “Armenian spring” came a long time ago, and though the fields are not covered with flowers yet, spring starts with rare snowdrops.
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