Nicole's religious intolerance or…

When Napoleon Bonaparte came to power, he put the imperial crown on himself to break the pressure of religion on the state. However, according to the tradition up to that time, not only in France, but also in Western European countries, the Roman Pope performed the coronation. Of course, our goal is not to compare Napoleon with Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan. The aim here is Pashinyan's intention to suppress the Armenian Church and reduce its role in the life of the country.

It is clear that N. Pashinyan considers the pro-Russian Armenian Church a threat to his authority. It is also clear that Nikol will not try to change the religious structure in Armenia at the first opportunity. But he can't do it yet. Rather, he is not bothered by the problems in order to realize something in the current direction.

Let's take into account that the Armenian Apostolic Church, including Catholicos of All Armenia, Garegin II, is trying to position itself as an alternative to Nikol Pashinyan's rule with all his behavior. This trend infuriates the Prime Minister's supporters so much that they sometimes highlight the issues related to Garege II's sexual orientation and make him an object of insults on social networks. For example, one of the most widespread opinions in the current direction states that Garegin II is a child. Therefore, circles close to the representatives of the Armenian government, as well as journalists, do not hesitate to hit the Catholicos below the belt, as they say. In the example of him and this person, they take the path of discrediting the religion as a whole.

Algarez, Pashinyan's team is determined to destroy the catholicos of all Armenia. According to them, the religious system in the country is a remnant of old age and should be changed. At first glance, this movement can be seen as opposing religion. In any case, we see separate elements of the idiom. Let's also take into account that the US State Department prepared a report on freedom of religious belief in the world and described Azerbaijan as an intolerant country in this regard. I wonder if Azerbaijan, which is an example to the world with its multicultural values, is intolerant, or the Armenian authorities, which are busy mocking the main religious figure of the country? We will come back to the point at the end...

Of course, we are not going to go into the depth of the matter. We know the discriminatory tendencies of the world's approach to Azerbaijan and Armenia. So, the United States State Department is not innovating with its biased reporting. However, N. Pashinyan, in the true sense of the word, decided to innovate. Thus, he did not allow the New Year's greeting of Garegy II to be broadcast on the first channel of Armenia on December 31, 2023. In his address on the occasion of Christmas a few days ago, he behaved like a full-fledged cleric and recited selections from the Holy Bible. In a word, he wanted to show that he is the cleric and the leader in the country.

There are many protests in the Armenian society both in connection with this and the fact that Garegin II was not aired on "Public" television. The most noticeable of them is the joint statement issued by the journalistic organization of the country. The statement stated that the contradictions between the government and the Armenian Apostolic Church and the undesirable political undertones behind these contradictions cannot contribute to the health of public life. On the contrary, it negatively affects the flow of society by feeding the polarization formed between different circles.

As it is known, every New Year's greeting in Armenia was given first by the president of the country, and then by the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Although it is said that this has constitutional grounds, "Public" television is justifying the issue with the independence of its broadcasting policy. Of course, such reasoning is not valid for the representatives of journalistic organizations: "We, the undersigned journalistic organizations, believe that the traditions that have almost become state protocol should be changed only as a result of studying public opinion and analyzing possible consequences."

The conclusion reached from the statements of the leading journalists' associations of Armenia is that the broadcast of the message of the Catholicos on the "Shogakat" TV channel and the "Public" radio under the Public Broadcasting Council does not solve the problem, it causes further discussions and reasonable decisions should be made in the current matter. However, there is no decision, and there is only the situation that Pashinyan is straining in the political sense. Representatives of journalistic organizations also emphasize this and say that not giving Karegin II traditional air time has a negative effect on the government's rating. Because "Public" television has no right to break the tradition formed during the years of independence.

Yes, N. Pashinyan is far from being cautious about the traditions that are extremely sensitive for the society, and he is on the way to damage the reputation of the church with administrative methods. This will inevitably aggravate the religious situation in the country. Therefore, in the end, let's return to the well-known report of the US State Department. To that report where Azerbaijan was shown as a place of religious intolerance. Allegedly, persecution against religion is happening in our country. It would be good if the representatives of Washington should take a look at the processes taking place in Armenia, think and decide, what is the name of insulting the country's highest-ranking religious figure in an open form? Of course, far from the status of a cleric, Garegin II, who constantly calls for war and instills hatred for Turks, does not deserve respect. But in any case, the fact is obvious.

A. JAHANGIROGLU
XQ