Serzh Sargsyan acts like preschooler in London fog

People behave somewhat strangely in a foreign environment. Jeb Stuart Magruder, who held the second most important post in a committee to reelect Richard Nixon and a major figure in the famous "Watergate" scandal, recalled how the whole entourage of power had had a toxic impact on the junior staff of the presidential administration – black government limousines, VIP planes and infantrymen extending their hands to help a "very important person..."

It seems a cruel joke was played on Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan during his visit to the United Kingdom.

What really happened to Serzh Azatovich in the London fog is not known for certain. Maybe, after Azerbaijan was represented at Davos, and in Munich, while Armenia was not invited,  Sargsyan, being at the center of politicians' attention in London, clearly felt like a preschooler and climbed on a stool in the center of a crowded room.

Maybe, prior to the speech, he had drunk too much Armenian cognac or Scotch whisky, but during a speech at the Chatham House Serzh Azatovich got totally carried away.

So, he decided to read a lecture on history to London analysts and tell them how wrongly the borders were formed in the 1920s and attempted to prove that Nakhchivan ostensibly is also "the Armenian autonomy,” tearfully recounting how Azerbaijanis "tortured" and "oppressed" long-suffering Armenians and as a result "Karabakh Armenians" were forced to take up arms in order to stay Armenians...

The apotheosis, however, came when Sargsyan began to talk about the Armenian-Turkish talks. Promising as the leader of the parliamentary majority that there will be no problems with the ratification of the Zurich protocols, he expressed his surprise why Gul and Erdogan cannot push the ratification of the protocols in parliament! What to do if the idea of the legislature and its independence from Sargsyan is somewhat unusual.

They are based on the experience of March 1-2, 2008, when people protesting election fraud were shot in Yerevan and "hearings" in the Armenian parliament, where more than half of MPs have rogue nicknames such as "Leva with flour mills" or "Shmays." Deputies holding such names understand that quarrel with the government would mean an end of their "business" or a prison..

Addressing the audience from the podium at the Chatham House, the president pounced upon the principle of territorial integrity in the style of the first Karabakh rallies and exclaimed: Why could Karabakh not secede from Azerbaijan while Azerbaijan could secede from the Soviet Union? In short, he said not what those in London expected him to say. Of course, we can assume that Sargsyan simply chose not the right audience. In London he said what was intended for Yerevan and Gyumri, where zealous “Armenian patriots” accuse President of almost a "betrayal of national interests.” Probably, he had the Armenian audience in mind so that they will find proper degree "of loyalty to the Armenian cause" in his speech.

The president received an invitation to speak from Lord Robertson, one of the architects of the Kosovo process. This was enough for him to make parody in the worst traditions: if you repeat the statements that Hashim Thaci made aloud from the podium to defend Kosovo’s independence, the next morning London will prepare documents for recognition of Karabakh's independence, and even send troops to ensure security guarantees.

But the reality is simpler. Because Sargsyan’s speech in the worst traditions of the first Karabakh rallies once again showed that it is not always possible to "reformat" "warlords,” adept at ethnic cleansing and looting, to respectable politicians.

What a mockery of fate! Sargsyan, who once said in a conversation with British journalist Thomas de Waal that in Khojaly the Armenian army proved that Armenians can raise their hands on the civilian population without hesitation, wants to be a bona fide politician.

However, delivering his speech before the London audience, he acted not as President Sargsyan, but as "field commander" Serjik who arrived in London from Karabakh with pockets full of stolen earrings torn from ears. Intoxicated over being the focus of attention, he began saying how he was right and what preaching the historical reasons for shooting women and kids n Khojaly.

He did not care how refined the London audience would accept it: They helped us during the First World War, and they will help now, too!

But the London audience will unlikely accept the verbal escapades Sargsyan wants them to.

Nurani
Day.Az writer