All the events taking place in Armenia, including the tragedy that happened at the Surmalu Shopping Center, cannot be made the subject of “political” propaganda. In this case, I deliberately put politics in quotation marks because, in a broad sense, real politics has to do with the effectiveness of systems and decision-making mechanisms, and that topic should certainly be discussed in the context of the Surmalu explosions. But politics is understood by us in an extremely narrow sense, as a struggle for power. And in the case of any tragic accident, the opposition starts all its judgments with the mantra “until these authorities leave…” and the propagandists of the government allude to the participation of the former and the Russians.
I prefer to discuss radical solutions to the issue. Not to engage in blame-seeking.
For example, how to fight online games with prizes? The answer seems to be simple: they should be banned. That is, bank transfers to these accounts should be considered illegal. If the decision makers really wanted to end gambling, they would have done so instead of following the media. Let’s note that the part of gambling advertisements spread through media that operates within the limits of the law and pays taxes, makes up barely 10 percent of the circulation of such advertisements on the Internet.
How to make sure that other vehicles, in particular, taxis, do not park at public transport stops where there are no cameras? The solution is very clear: the police should carefully monitor and severely fine the drivers of cars parking in those places.
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What needs to be done to prevent Sunday’s tragedy from happening again? There is no secret here either: ban fireworks organized by private individuals and companies, which, apart from everything else, are an indicator of arrogant attitude towards the people living around. If there are no fireworks, there will be no need for explosives, they will neither be stored nor sold. And if the state wants to organize fireworks, let it take the explosives from special warehouses, where storage methods are strictly observed.
The whole problem is that our government is not ready for a serious, constructive discussion of any issue. Any criticism, even mild and friendly, is met with a harsh rebuttal with the simple logic of “what about you…”? When the government spends all its energy on “putting down” opponents in this style, the system of public administration is in an unmanageable state.
Aram Abrahamyan
