One of my friends – who, by the way, is a member of a party – expressed a very good, in my opinion, doubtless idea recently. He said that in today’s Armenia, people are divided not by parties, but by systems of values, and a decent member of a rival party adhering to an absolutely different ideology is much more congenial to him than a rogue from his own party. I have never been and will never be a member of any party, but I feel the same thing –
just ideologically, the Pan-Armenian National Movement (PANM) is more congenial to me than, say, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) or the Republican Party. However, I like Hovhannes Igityan’s PANM, his healthy, non-fanatic mentality, his ability to listen to the opponent and his quality of expressing ideas in an unaggressive manner are more congenial to me. But I don’t like those members of the PANM who suffer from a complex of “unmistakenness” and expect to see traitors and enemies behind every bush.
Or we usually present Republicans as negative characters – Generals Manvel-Seyran, Navo, Schmeiss, Mher of Tokhmakh. But are Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) members like Tsaghik (flower) Rubo, Yuvetsi Karo, Grish of Bellagio better than them? They are all from the same “party,” if you ask me; they are a product of the same vicious system that was established 20 years ago. However, today there are people in these competing parties like Davit Harutyunyan and Vahe Hovhannisyan whom I consider to be outside the “party” of boorish and ignorant people. I think of Vartan Oskanian in the same way, although he sees another “dividing line” between our citizens – those who want everything to remain the same and those who want the country to develop. Theoretically, Mr. Oskanian is right, but this definition needs some correction. When we say “change,” we should answer also the question “for whom.” Yes, the majority wants everything to change to ITS advantage. So that those who are poor become rich, those who don’t have an office get one, those who don’t rule start to rule. Only the absolute minority honestly wishes (not just pays lip service) the system to change.
And it will happen only when the standards of living and mentality are dictated not by Schmeisses and Yuvetsies who are on the top of the political brass today, but, from my perspective, by people adherent to normal values. I cannot say when it will happen. As Mher of Tokhmakh would say, “I am not Vangan.”
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ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
