Armine Koundakjian
This was a famous exchange during a hearing known as House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1950 between a special counsel for the U.S. Army and Senator Joseph McCarty. Based on unsubstantiated claims that communists had infiltrated the U.S. government that ruined careers and created a climate of fear through public accusations and intimidation. This era is known as THE RED
SCARE.
Now, let us ask the same question to PM Pashinyan who has no decency, when he claims that his regime has brought upon Armenia the best prosperity and standard of living ever seen.
Here, I will try to express my impressions of Armenia during my stay there in October 2025, after being absent for almost 2 years.
Of course fall is the best and the busiest month for being there. As usual, Yerevan was very crowded with tourists. On top of the terrible automobile traffic there was very crowded pedestrian traffic. Judging the economic and social conditions by tourism is misleading. During my day to day dealings with the common people, I did not witness the PROSPERITY that he is talking about.
The inflation is out of control. The taxes have been increased. His pro-Aliev policy has completely ignored the strategically and defensively important regions of Syunik that are wide open to future enemy attacks. This administration is ignorant (or pretends to be ignorant) of the fact that the Turkish/Azeri pact is interested in taking over of the entire Syunic region. This TRIPP ROUTE is a dastardly planned agenda to occupy and cut off the only outlet that Armenia has with her southernmost border with Iran, including
Meghri. Yes, Pashinian’s pro- Aliev policy is reviving the old dream of Turkey to create a PAN-TURAN
HIGHWAY with Central Asian “supposed” Turkic nations. Most of these “…STAN” nations don’t speak Turkish and do not wish to fall under Turkish control. The promised salary increases have not materialized with the exception of the large contingent of police force that are paid well for Pashinyan’s
security as trained professional BODY GUARDS. The poverty rate is around 30% according to the best analyses. Nubarashen’s trash dump is where the desperate are scavenging for scraps of food. The common people are absent from high rolling restaurant attending well-off spenders.
Of course, Pashinyan is boasting about the repairs and renovations of schools and kindergartens
(something that happens every time right before elections) but these are all being done by borrowing
huge amounts from International money lenders. The Federal debt has increased sevenfold compared to previous administrations. Some papers were reporting that several million is allocated to some school
renovations where the student population does not exceed a dozen students. Yes, the North-South highway connecting Yerevan to Gyumri is finally finished after years of corruption and mismanagement of funds.
Pashinyan declares that the “Economy is booming, there is no unemployment, everyone is living well and happy….” The truth is that the BOOMING ECONOMY is due to the fact that since Russia is under severe sanctions, all the transactions and commerce that enters the Armenian markets are transferred to Russia and has no bearing on the economy of Armenia itself.
Another outright lie about ARMENIA IS SAFE AND SECURE. THERE IS NO NEED FOR STRONG
ARMY. Meanwhile the Aliev regime is arming heavily and the hateful rhetoric is strong and well. Aliev
declares Armenia as an “ENEMY THAT MUST BE DESTROYED….” PM claims that ARMY IS IN TIP-TOP SHAPE AND SOLDIERS ARE BEING TAKEN CARE OF EXCELLENTLY. Well, a few answers from parents of the recruits, reveals a very dark picture.
Several times a day I heard from TV and radio stations, even the Government supported ones that
“Pashinyan HAS BROUGHT PEACE TO ARMENIA, BUT HAS EARNED THE ANIMOSITY OF THE
DIASPORA….” How could it be otherwise, when the Diaspora communities are witnessing that all national values are being erased from the textbooks, flags, emblems, CONSTITUTION, etc.?
Our strongest 1,700 year old Institution, the Church, is under attack with the most demonic means possible. The Azeri cleric, Hajizadeh declared the Armenian church as an International Terrorist Organization, and Pashinyan’s government did not counter. Well, this much blatant silence means complete agreement with the enemy’s distortion.
The combined Russian/Turkish/Azeri mass media is bombarding daily the electorate with
misinformation. The populace is confused and does not believe in any politically active group, be it pro or anti-government.
Pashinyan’s government makes no mention of the acres of Armenia’s sovereign land still occupied by Azeri forces. There is no mention of the POW’s in Baku’s prisons. No mention about the plight of thousands of Artsakh refugees expelled from their ancestral lands. No mention of reparations for their loss.
Military service has been shortened by 6 months because he tells the gullible public that “There has not been any shootings in the border areas, therefore our enemy is now A TRUSTWORTHY FRIEND….”
Yes, but is there a guarantee that it is going to stay that way? One must be blind or deaf not to see the daily threat against Armenia’s sovereignty calling it WESTERN AZERBAIJAN and Lake Sevan GANJA and mocking our sacred churches as illegally occupied Azeri mosques.
