In ancient Rome, there was a statesman and writer, Marcus Porcius Cato, who was called Cato the Elder. So, when this worthy and wise man was asked at an advanced age why there wasn’t a statue of him in Rome, he replied that he’d rather have people ask why he had no statue than why he had one. So, one had better not have something, which he perhaps deserves, than have something, about which there are suspicions that one hasn’t earned that. To Have and Have Not; this is the title of the wonderful novel by Hemingway on the same subject.
I recalled all that naturally regarding Khachatur Kokobelyan. I don’t know what agreement he has with Raffi Hovhannisyan, although it seems to me that one should agree on such issues in writing. However, Mr. Kokobelyan has an opportunity to prove that Raffi is wrong. And there is only one way to do that – to renounce the office of an MP. All the other explanations, justifications, hints at “investments” (material?) will not help, regardless of how eloquently and logically Mr. Kokobelyan or representatives of the Free Democrats Party speak. All the same, there will always be a possibility to say that he has become an MP thanks to Raffi Hovhannisyan and the Heritage Party and now he is clinging to that office. If that claim is even one-percent correct – and I am convinced that the percent is higher – it is grounds to renounce the MP office. One could say that in accordance with the same logic the majority of the current MPs should resign from the office. Theoretically, yes. However, I wouldn’t advise the same thing to that “majority,” because I don’t have the expectations from them, which I have from the Armenian National Congress (ANC), the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) and the Heritage Party parliamentary groups – they should oppose the cynicism and arrogance raging in the “top brass” at least to a certain extent.
Levon Ter-Petrossian’s resignation is exemplary for me in that sense. No matter who says what, he proved in 1998 that the presidency was nothing for him and he was not going to struggle for it using immoral means.
Now Khachatur Kokobelyan has the same task at a lower level. He must either renounce the office, which will offer him an opportunity to continue being engaged in politics, or remain in the parliament, but he will not enjoy the society’s trust and popularity. The choice is his.
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ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
