When politicians or just citizens have oppositional views, and especially when they want a revolution, it is natural that their main task is to fight, as well as to discover the visible and invisible enemies, etc. When politicians are in power, their functions as well as the functions of citizens supporting them, I believe, must be slightly changed: fighting against somebody may no longer be a priority. Of course, if there are conspiracies, sabotage, and attempts to resist the authorities illegally, the law enforcement agencies should deal with that. However, I do not think that the whole government should focus only on those goals.
We all get happy when cases of appropriation, misuse, corruption are detected, and citizens who have previously been involved in those are called to account. The National Security Service, the Police and the State Revenue Committee should continue this work, because it is necessary, as the first president has said, to clean Augean stables. However, it is high time that the state departments switch to the “constructive regime”, implement reforms that the society is expecting. I am sure that the problems of education, culture, mining, and even the army are not only connected with corruption: eradication of corruption is a necessary but insufficient condition for development. Perhaps our most naive citizens consider that by taking and investing the money stolen by officials in the state budget it is possible to overcome poverty, raise salaries, secure investments, develop business, which is actually not. Deputy Prime Minister Ararat Mirzoyan has warned of such illusions in terms of repayment of external debt but it applies practically to all spheres.
The ministries should develop projects that will drastically change the current “setting” for corruption schemes. Propaganda, of course, is an important part of government activity, but not the most important one. The time for statements, calls, Facebook fights against “dissents” is running out. We look forward to a systematized and purposeful work from the government who enjoy the trust of the people.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
