He urged residents of Yeghegnadzor not to be afraid, because one day they would see that “the king is naked.” “Don’t think that the problem of Serzh Sargsyan is insurmountable. I know that many people wander around these days and say that all the same, Serzh Sargsyan will be elected. I don’t think so. However, even if it is so, we will fight to the finish, and one day the rope will be cut. One day we will see that the king really is naked. The devil is not so black as he is painted. Don’t be afraid!” Hrant Bagratyan, the leader of the Freedom Party and a candidate for president, made such an appeal during a meeting with voters in Yeghegnadzor. According to him, “1kg of chicken should have cost 800 drams instead of 1700 today, 1 egg should have cost 35 drams, 1kg of sugar should have cost 250 drams, and 1l of vegetable oil should have cost 850 drams at most. These are the international prices. These are the prices in our neighboring countries. If we worked the way we do, our tariffs were not high, our taxes were not high, we would live a bit better, wouldn’t we, if there were the prices I am talking about? And we don’t have these prices today, because there is only one importer of vegetable oil, one importer of butter, one importer of tangerines etc.; one importer of oranges, one importer of bananas. They have gone too far already.” He reminded the residents of Yeghegnadzor about the promises made to them by Serzh Sargsyan 5 years before and how many of those had been kept. “Serzh Sargsyan stated 5 years ago that the production would increase twice, the wages would increase twice, not counting the price. In 5 years, the prices have increased by 35 percent on average. If we neutralize the price increase, the average wage in our country today should have been 238 000 drams. However, we have an average wage of 118 000 drams. The wage has increased by only 11% in 5 years. The production has increased by only 4% in 5 years. So 100 should have become 200, 100 should have become 204.” Hrant Bagratyan promised to increase the minimum wage to 118 000 drams, if he was the president. “If you want to drive a cab, if you want to practice law, if you want to engage in trade, construction, one doesn’t need to get permission for that; go and do it, you are free to do it.” According to Mr. Bagratyan, this government is horrified by this vision of his, “they say: ‘They should come and get permission from us; it can’t be otherwise. We ought to give licenses, so that we can choose afterwards whom we give and whom we don’t. And whom we don’t give in order to give afterwards.’ This is the issue. Bagratyan offers a whole new picture of the state. They not only try to organize shows with other candidates to distract your attention, but also show phenomena that are unacceptable and incomprehensible for us.”
Hripsime JEBEJYAN
