Bagrat Galstanyan: In the modern world, the most heinous crimes are  committed under the banner of democracy

ArmInfo. One of the false and misleading narratives propagated by the Armenian authorities is that democracy serves as a guarantor of security and peace.  Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, who is currently under detention,  writes this in his latest article. 

"At a certain point, they even attempted to confront society with a  dilemma: what is more vital or preferable—democracy or security? Let  us set aside the fact that they are neither democratic nor capable of  ensuring the safety of our citizens and country, representing instead  a threat to both democracy and the security of citizens and the  state.

While democracy is often described as the best governance model  discovered to date, it must nevertheless be actively anchored in a  specific value system: justice, truth, law, responsibility, and human  honor and dignity. Otherwise, it degenerates into falsehood, malice,  self-sufficiency, and hubris—much like Pilate's 'democracy,' which  ultimately subjected the righteous to the unrighteous. Therefore,  democracy is merely a means, not an end in itself, and it certainly  cannot guarantee peace within internal public life or in the face of  external challenges. Moreover, in the modern world, the most  monstrous crimes are committed under the banner of democracy," the  Archbishop writes.

He questions how such a degraded and distorted form of democracy can  act as a guarantor of peace when democracy itself is in desperate  need of protection and safeguards. Consequently, he argues, such a  democracy poses an inherent threat to internal peace and social  harmony, while remaining completely incapable of protecting the  people and the nation from external threats.

"In conclusion, I would like to emphasize once again that democracy  cannot be complete without a moral foundation and a consciousness  directed toward establishing justice, fostering the common good, and  respecting human dignity. Without these elements, peace will remain a  mere illusion. Ultimately, it is evident that under the 'beautiful'  banner of democracy, global conflicts and wars are waged for economic  and material gain, turning people into mere economic units with  numerical values," the archbishop's article states.