In my subjective opinion, the most important problem of today’s political agenda is neither political “consultations” between parties, nor 100-percent proportional representation, nor even the presidential election. Today it is more important for me, however strange it might
seem, that Tigran Arakelyan is released and the persecution of Vartan Oskanian is stopped. Tigran’s arguing and scuffling with a police officer, and fuming is surely not the deed, for which the youth must be sent to prison for 6 years. As for Oskanian’s “money laundering,” it is some kind of “black humor.” Solving those too issues will help thinking and non-politicized people be sure that the changes the government is making with slow and indecisive steps really continue, and there will be no political persecution of anyone.
Our society cannot focus on concrete problems and raises maximalist issues instigated by political forces. I remember that when in 2002, Kocharyan closed A1+, people, TV viewers, were very resentful and took to the streets. However, political forces that appeared on the stage in Freedom Square started to talk not about A1+, but “global” problems, as always – “getting rid of the regime,” “change of government as soon as possible” etc. – and naturally, they reached neither minor nor major goals.
Politicized people seek after words, thinking the more biting or humiliating they are and the louder they are uttered, the better for business. Let me give you the words “tyrant” and “democrat” as an example. If the incumbent president is a tyrant, the first president and, particularly, the second president were also tyrants – by the way, when they were in power, there was no Ethics Commission, which would reprimand arrogant oligarchs; as a result the latter were much more impudent than now. If Gagik Jhangiryan is a democrat, Aghvan Vardanyan is also a democrat – otherwise, how come that the Attorney General who is a “servant of the regime” has tolerated a deputy with such progressive views for so many years? Everything, as you can see, is quite relative, and if we start an argument about words – who is an oligarch, who is a feudal lord, who is a patriot and who is antinational – we will go too far, and neither the minimum wage will rise because of that, nor the youth condemned to imprisonment by the court’s decision will be released.
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If, nonetheless, one has to shout and chant, I am ready to do that – just let me know in advance what I should shout: “Levon for president,” “Gagik for president,” or “Vartan for president.”
ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
