Last week, Anna Martikyan, the correspondent of the Shirak region of the Public Radio of Armenia and the author of the “Sea Armenians” program, was appointed the Vice- Governor of Shirak. It must be said that the “Sea Armenians” was a successful project, presenting pages of our history unknown to the general public. Naturally, I don’t see anything wrong with her being appointed Vice Governor. Many people were happy about the appointment of an educated person in any position and congratulated her. After being appointed, she wrote a text of repentance; perhaps she criticized the current government in the past and now was apologizing for it, which spoiled the impression a little. Afterward, she announces joining the ruling “Civil Contract” party.
Naturally, the problem is not Anna; I wish her success and fruitful work. The problem is the manners that I have been familiar with for the last, I will not hesitate to say, half a century, when to have a career, you had to atone for your previous sins and join the ranks of the ruling party. In particular, the communist who “stumbled” in the party meeting of the Bolsheviks, should have repented in front of his friends, “disarmed himself ideologically,” and his friends might have forgiven him.
And I remember how ANM members complained that a non-partisan, I would even say an anti-party person like me, was working as the President’s Press Secretary. But, of course, the ANM cannot be compared with the Communist Party, the Republican Party, and the “Civil Contract” party. In the first half of the 1990s, the political manners were comparatively more “vegetarian” compared to the previous and subsequent eras.
According to Article 6, Part 4 of the Law on Public Service, the Deputy Governor is an administrative position. It does not show allegiance or even loyalty to this or that party. It is only in political positions that people have the authority to make or influence political decisions; in that case, they must share the ideology of the ruling political team (let’s say, in the case of CC). That’s what the law says. Political practice, however, says the opposite precisely. We continue the tradition recorded by the former Prime Minister of Russia, Chernomyrdin: whatever party we create becomes the CPSU.
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Since almost all the officials of Armenia are younger than me, I will reveal a “secret” to them: neither the CC nor your position is forever. If anyone thinks he will always be an activist, official, or journalist, he is deeply mistaken. It is only possible to remain human forever. Although there are natural limitations here too.
ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
