Recently Paul Biya, the President of Cameroon, celebrated his 30 years in office. There are “older” tyrants in the world who hold on to their thrones – Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (President of Equatorial Guinea since August 1979), José Eduardo dos Santos (President of Angola since September 1979). Robert Mugabe (has been ruling Zimbabwe since 1987) is close to those record holders.
Now let us come back to the “Eurasian brotherhood,” in which potential “record breakers” live. Putin has been the President of Russia since December 31, 1999, when he was an acting head of state after Yeltsin’s resignation. There was a formal “pause” in those 13 years, when Medvedev was ostensibly the President, but it, in my opinion, “doesn’t count.” Lukashenka has been governing Belarus since 1994; Nazarbayev assumed the Kazakh throne in 1990. These are the very regimes, with which we are offered a new “Soviet Union.” By the way, none of the current main political forces objects to that – being in power or aspiring after power, they are compelled to curry favor with the Kremlin, which is obsessed with the “Eurasian” projects at the moment.
However, Armenia differs from all the above-mentioned states. Here, the first president resigned not wishing to confront his entourage, which could have led to a civil war. Here, the second president, being in power for two terms, didn’t modify the Constitution to prolong his rule. I am convinced the current president will not aspire after a third term either. It is conditional not so much on persons, but rather on our culture, which differs from the “Eurasian,” in reality, quite Asian traditions, whether we like it or not. It was the case also in the Soviet Armenia – let us remember, for example, what a restrained attitude Karen Demirchyan showed toward Brezhnev and what an Eastern sherbet flowed out of Heydar Aliyev’s mouth. That culture is strange for us and it prompts us in which direction we should look while constructing our future, regardless of very difficult problems.
Certainly, the proposal of a set of parties to give up on the presidential system is in the same spirit. It is at least worth discussing. However, in order to really discuss that issue in essence, it shouldn’t be mixed up with struggle for power. It seems to me that it is worth holding a referendum in 1-2 years on whether it should be a parliamentary or a presidential system. In order to hold that referendum fairly, no political force should relate it to remaining in power or coming to power. If our citizens prefer the parliamentary system, in five years another series of elections should be held under the new Constitution.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
