Bulat Okudzhava has a song about sailors. The meaning is the following; what a good thing it is to be a sailor – you party all day long on the shore, men envy you, women love you, and you proudly walk along the shore in your beautiful cap with ribbons. However, on the other hand, when the sailor sets sail, there are a lot of dangers; there may be storms on the sea, the boat may sink, and the sailors may drown. Can’t one serve on the shore, and walk in beautiful hats decorated with ribbons?
I recalled that song with regard to the attitude of our businessmen, politicians, and statesmen. On the one hand, there are pleasant things in their everyday lives – money, chauffeurs, private rooms, and secretaries, as well as the frightened eyes of dependent people. Probably, that is the very reason why they long for those businesses and offices, particularly given the fact that in countries like ours, one is connected with the other. However, on the other hand, there are certain inconveniences; in particular, journalists may ask unpleasant questions, may inquire about your wealth, may expose you as a liar. For example, about many 150-thousand-AMD vacancies. One should reconcile oneself to such inconveniences; there is no other way. The wisest attitude in this case is to listen to the unpleasant conversations and questions, then take your “chow,” go to the corner and chew it.
However, a man is a man; he both wants the “ribbons” and doesn’t want to set sail. That is the reason why once they are asked an unpleasant question, the first thing that comes to their not so brilliant minds is the following: “Who is the ill-wisher that reported on me, he is surely a member of my team, I surely say hello to him, smile at him and shake hands with him every day, and he…,” and similar paranoid ideas. The first question that they ask in response to the question is almost like this one, “Who told you that?” After that a clear conclusion is drawn, “I know who arranged that.”
The Europeans have given these people a wonderful present – they told us to decriminalize insults and libel. It really was a holiday for our oligarchs and officials; they got an instrument, using which they could “punish” the mass media. Afterwards, the same Europeans explained that it was a means to protect oneself from insults and libel, not an instrument to attack journalists. The Information Disputes Council has explained a dozen times what are the legal mechanisms and precedents adopted in this field in Europe. It seems “ribbon-wearers” started to realize that a short while after. However, “insults worth 3 million” have once again become fashionable in those circles recently. However, one will not manage to avoid “set sailing” anyway.
ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
