As opposed to all those political and social figures who think that the tragic events that took place at Harsnakar Restaurant owned by Ruben Hayrapetyan and the developments concerning them are a challenge to the society, Stepan Grigoryan, the director of the Center on Globalization and Regional Cooperation, thinks that such an attitude of the Armenian oligarchs is a challenge to the government of the Republic of Armenia, represented by the president. He thinks it is naïve to consider it as a challenge only to the society.
More figuratively, our interlocutor notes that regardless of the given country’s system of government – authoritarian, democratic – the “monopoly” of punishing, imprisoning a person, using force and violence is in the hands of the government and only competent state institutions are entitled to punish a person within the limits of the law. “This is dangerous not only from the social security, but also state security perspective. It turns out that there is a rivalry inside the state between state and private organizations. Oligarchs who have declared themselves powers that be in certain districts, directly tell the government, represented by the president, that ‘we are the ones who decide and implement in this framework and you, the state, the president, have no powers here,’” Stepan Grigoryan Says. And the fact that another oligarch, Samvel Alexanyan, made statements defending Ruben Hayrapetyan is considered by our interlocutor as a double challenge to the state.
In this context, our interlocutor thinks the president’s move, after meeting with whom Ruben Hayrapetyan resigned the office of MP, is positive. It is positive, but not enough, “The president’s response was very important. However, it is only the first step. We cannot say for sure, guarantee that tomorrow another oligarch will not afford to make decisions and mete out punishment in another place. The problem is systemic and it requires a systemic solution. Ruben Hayrapetyan is not the only oligarch in the parliament and in general. The president should be consistent and try to offer systemic solutions to the issue, since it is first of all a challenge to the government and the president. We are the government in our domains, in our territories and the state has nothing to do here – this is the attitude of the Armenian oligarchy. The president should break this stereotype and resolve the issue of state, statehood and the president’s sovereignty. The president should show that the monopoly of ‘punishing’ rests with the institutions that ensure the state security within the limits of the law.”
Read also
Nelly GRIGORYAN
