The short meeting between now former Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan and Take A Step, Reject Serzh civil disobedience protest leader Nikol Pashinyan, which took place on April 22 and lasted a few minutes, was the last opportunity to see Serzh Sargsyan.

He rejected the format of the conversation in the presence of journalists, left the meeting place and, shortly after, resigned announcing, “I was wrong. Nikol Pashinyan was right.”

Avoiding the presence of journalists, that is to say, direct and complete public awareness, might have been considered natural (a bit adaptive and contemptuous) behavior a few weeks ago.

And today, it is viewed as strange, because life in Armenia is directly tied to the streets and the information from live broadcasts on the streets entering into every home. Questions arise every second and every second they should be interpreted.

And perhaps authorities are not ready to accept that new situation, which over time has blunted the instinct to react quickly, with the hopes that it could be controlled that way.

On April 24, Nikol Pashinyan invited a press conference for international media. That question and answer format lasted more than one hour, and was used by foreign journalists as an opportunity to comment on the complicated situation in Armenia.

The international media has been covering the already 12 day struggle, mostly broadcasting the street protests.

The government has not yet addressed the public, or has addressed them in parts, using chosen media outlets to convey the calls of the ruling party’s key figures, which are quoted by the media.

Acting Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, Karen Karapetyan on the morning of April 25, in an incomprehensible format (interview? press conference? briefing?) met with three media outlets saying that “you are the most active civil layer today.”

It was not clear whether this active layer was only the journalists, or everyone. And if everyone, then what was the reason for not responding to a broader media field?

Of course, Karen Karapetyan knew that there are a lot of journalists in Armenia now, and it would have been more valuable if the tourists who are here and are still arriving heard a more transparent, open and prepared conversation.

The government’s sluggishness is evident not only for Armenian, but also for international media.

Taking into consideration that especially during these days, many journalists are in Armenia and major international media have sent a large number of correspondents, the government’s dialogue with society is even more important. Moreover, not in the form of ultimatums and calls, but through questions and answers, through the media.

Furthermore, when the international media covering the Take A Step, Reject Serzh movement, the references to the Armenian Genocide also grew.

The purpose for their visit was the Velvet Revolution, but the topic of the Armenian Genocide was automatically brought up, which was widely covered in parallel on that day.

Unwittingly, the context of international news about Armenia was the Genocide, even if the current revolution and incidents of violence was being covered. And it did not matter if US President Trump would use the word “genocide” or not.

And that is a far more important fact, which explains the situation, than the idea that was repeated by Karen Karapetyan, sitting around his table, in a comfortable chair and addressing three journalists.

“I regularly keep my hand on my pulse and I see how much tourism is decreasing.” According to him, we have a problem, “tourist’s aren’t coming, investors are returning and there is a call for conscription.”

The real pulse is very fast. And the controlled, unclear and safe options for interacting with the public give their place to more risky formats. Something the government is not ready for.

Nune Hakhverdyan

The views expressed in the column are those of the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of Media.am.