Beniamin Matevosyan: campaign in favour of the “Aliyev constitution” has begun

(The opposition has a chance to recoup its losses of 2021 and 2026)

The active phase of the campaign around the adoption of a new, “Aliyev” constitution has effectively begun in Armenia, and the ruling team is seeking to speed up the process as much as possible and settle the issue as soon as it can. This is evidenced by the recent statements of Ruben Rubinyan, Speaker of the National Assembly, today’s aggressive attack by Srbuhi Galyan, Minister of Justice, and the harsh threats against the opposition from Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan himself.

The head of government openly states that if the parliamentary opposition obstructs the adoption of the “Aliyev constitution”, this will be regarded as opposing peace, and that the ruling majority is ready to lead public pressure against it. Such rhetoric shows that the authorities are moving to methods of forceful political coercion, trying to break the resistance of critics and impose on society an agenda convenient for external actors.

The first telling element of this campaign was a propaganda video by Ruben Rubinyan, which claims that in the new draft Constitution, the article establishing Armenian as the sole state language will become unamendable in order to protect national identity. However, this attractive packaging conceals an obvious fact: the main client and real beneficiary of the constitutional changes is Baku, and Ilham Aliyev personally.

Attempts to present the changes as a purely domestic matter look like a mockery, given that the authorities simultaneously intend to amend the preamble and remove references to the Declaration of Independence to satisfy the demands of the Azerbaijani leadership. If Baku gains leverage over the shaping of Armenia’s Basic Law, nothing will prevent it from dictating its terms and interfering in the country’s internal affairs in the future, turning national sovereignty into a fiction.

Against this backdrop, the stance of the Minister of Justice, who irritably dismisses any criticism of the draft and threatens the opposition with the inevitability of a referendum, shows the nervousness and haste of the executive branch. The authorities are trying to convince the public that the document is balanced, while accusing the opposition of being unconstructive in advance.

Pashinyan directly links the completion of his political mission to the adoption of a new Constitution and the signing of a peace treaty, declaring that rejecting these steps is tantamount to war. However, the logic of constant unilateral concessions leads not to lasting peace but to escalation and new Azerbaijani territorial appetites, since weakness only provokes the aggressor into further pressure.

In this critical situation, the Armenian opposition has a unique historic chance to recoup the heavy political losses of past years. If opposition forces manage to stand firm, resist street threats, blackmail and administrative and criminal pressure, and prevent a referendum from being called, this will be an entirely legitimate reason to demand the resignation of the leadership and snap elections.

Pashinyan’s own logic works against him: if his mission cannot be completed without a new Constitution, then the failure of this process means his team must inevitably leave the government of the country. A change in Armenia’s leadership would give the country a chance at a genuine restart of the negotiation process with Baku, this time with the involvement of reliable international mediators and on the basis of a fully restored regional balance of power.

Think about it…