“There are already displays of social protest: yesterday I saw old people and young at the but stop who refuse to pay 150 drams. What scale the movement will take, it will be clear in the near future”,- so replied the former Chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia Bagrat Asatryan to the question of Aravot.am whether the widespread rise can lead to social explosion. Continuing, he said,- “We are not people protesting in public about our financial condition”, and detailed,- “The form of protest is not only coming out to the square, but the migration that we see. It is the most serious manifestation of social protest, people vote on foot for the situation and give assessments.” We were interested as to who benefits from this situation, Mr. Asatryan replied,- “This situation is beneficial to the owners of the routes and their owners. I am afraid that today’s authorities are not able to think very deeply. Probably they assume obligations. Owners of the routs have selected them. The political support of this power are not people who consider themselves to be a party, but the people that have executed the process of making this choice. And the government compensates them thinking that the people who have survived so many things, are likely to resist this, too.” Mr. Asatryan once said that “our country lives in the Middle Ages, every one is sitting on a route.” We inquired whether the Middle Ages that he described and “safe Armenia” that he has promised are equivalent, Mr. Asatryan replied,- “This is just the opposite, this is one of simple characteristics of needy Armenia, when one day the government wakes up and whatever comes at hand does something bad to people.”
Tatev HARUTYUNYAN
