Today is the International Day of Democracy. Psychologist Karine Nalchajyan and chairman of the Civil Society Institute council Artak Kirakosyan talked about the concept of democracy at the Henaran club today.
Kirakosyan said that Armenia also participated in the process of establishing democratic values, but the participation of the state is of special importance, “The return of A1+ to broadcasting was a rational manifestation of democracy. It means that the government wasn’t afraid of hearing alternative opinions on TV. A part of the society became more active in the case of the Vahe Avetyan movement, but the problem is that the same people become active when there are sensational problems. The same applies to the Mashtots Park case.
Kirakosyan added that Armenian National Congress activist Tigran Arakelyan’s imprisonment for six years, not giving compensation to the relatives of the March 1 victims and not holding a fair trial weren’t rational manifestations in terms of democracy, “Our legal system showed its emptiness by that.”
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According to Artak Kirakosyan, deeply rooted problems in business management impede the establishment of democracy in Armenia, “The corporate responsibility is weak, for example, in the case of mining companies. In European countries, power and money are not interwoven as it is in Armenia. And it causes bribes, which is shameful, in my opinion.”
Karine Nalchajyan is convinced that democratic models are not fully applicable to different countries, “In countries, where democracy is established in a rational manner, people feel well psychologically, are not constrained and are caring toward each other. Otherwise, people have problems with communication and trust seeking more power to defend themselves.”
According to the psychologist, the absolute model of democracy is not applicable to Armenia, “The leader of democratic system may seem weak to us; we need the leader of authoritarian regime whose ultimate goal will be the country’s development.”
Louise SUKIASYAN
