“The balloons was inflated in the financial market, as a result of a strong currency policy, which deflated on March 3, 2009”,- so answered Andranik Tevanyan, Director of “Police economy” research Institute, to the question of Aravot.am as to which of the economic arguments voiced in Kocharyan-Sargsyan public debate is the most reasonable, and eventually, when the balloon was inflated and deflated. The economist added, “The balloon was inflated under today’s authorities that provide economic recession, emigration of thousands of people and increase of poverty.” According to Andranik Tevanyan, Robert Kocharyan’s arguments are evidence-based. “Tigran Sargsyan, as failed in all spheres, is trying to justify these failures by the bad inheritance, and Kocharyan’s reaction was normal.
However, I did not see the debate as such, as the Prime Minister has anything to present for his tenure as Prime Minister, whereas Robert Kocharyan has. Kocharyan’s assessments are evidence-based, and what Tigran Sargsyan presents as argument, they are real balloons.” According to the economist, Tigran Sargsyan is trying to “move the debate to the previous ruling period, because it is his only salvation.” Referring to the economic policies led in the past, Andranik Tevanyan said, “During the previous government, the major issue was the policy of the strong dram, when the exchange policy of dollar-dram made the dram twice stronger, the value of one dollar became 300 drams from 580 drams. This hits the production of local products and imports. Kocharyan’s mistake was that he did not influence on Central Bank’s policy, he suggested Tigran Sargsyan to be the President of the Central Bank for the second time.” As said by Andranik Tevanyan, “if the balloon is inflated, it was inflated due to strong dram policy.”
The economist emphasized, “The construction balloon concept does not exist. Balloons as a rule are financial in nature, which are called financial pyramids. Strong dram policy is a balloon, which deflated on March 3, 2009, when in one night, it was decided that the dram must be left to a floating rate, and before that reserved 700 million dram was spent.” To our specification that the economist is transferring Tigran Sargsyan’s balloon thrown to Robert Kocharyan’s field again to the Prime Minister’s field, Andranik Tevanyan responded as follows, “Tigran Sargsyan was not the guard of Khachik village club under the previous government, was he? He was the President of the Central Bank. We, the experts, were opposing his police in mid-2000s, but our estimates were denied, strong dram policy was made an idol. Therefore, it is not that everyone suddenly woke up and saw the construction balloon.” The economist Tatul Manaseryan believes that Kocharyan-Sargsyan debate contains personal nature. Hence, he did not want to comment economically. He just conveyed, “I do not care about persons rumors. I am sick and tired of the politics, especially of today’s politics. Nothing causes me to comment. One has said something, and the other has answered. I can not classify myself as the third party in this matter. I can comment on the situation.”
Tatev Harutyunyan
