“ACNIS ReView from Yerevan” . They are everywhere — at every level of human activity — whether in a small economic, production or educational-scientific unit, or within the highest international institutions. They manifest as forms of discrimination and injustice — social, political, or interpersonal — often based on a principle that is unfairly applied differently to different people or groups. In essence, double standards involve the inconsistent application of moral codes or rules according to an “us versus them” mentality, where one group is held to stricter or more favorable standards than another. The term “double standards” thus refers to the practice of giving two contrasting evaluations to similar actions or behaviors: positive when performed by one’s own group and negative when performed by others. In this “tolerate–punish” dilemma, we encounter a clear contradiction in both logic and morality.
Recently, our society has been continually confronted with this phenomenon of double standards, behind which one can almost always discern the “ears” of Nikol Pashinyan — the symbol of defeat. Perhaps, with only a minimal margin of error, it can be asserted that any official from the Civil Contract Party routinely follows this flawed behavioral pattern in his daily work: the insider is always right and justified, while the opponent is always wrong and guilty. This is no secret — the examples are countless — but to avoid speaking in generalities, let us briefly examine a few specific cases.
On October 20, when nearly an entire battalion of police was mobilized to arrest Gyumri Mayor Vardan Ghukasyan, members of the ruling political force did not hesitate to label him a “corrupt scoundrel” from the podium of the National Assembly — even though the Investigative Committee had not yet brought any such charges against him. The vice president of parliament from the Civil Contract Party claimed that Ghukasyan had taken bribes after just six months in office. A question arises for Ruben Rubinyan, vice president of the National Assembly: could you please tell us how many months the head of the Food Safety Inspection Body of Armenia, Civil Contract Party member Armen Danielyan, had served before finding himself involved in a corruption scandal?
Let us recall: only five months later, according to the ministry spokesperson, the former head of the Food Safety Inspection Body was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Committee on charges of abuse of authority and embezzlement of property in especially large amounts. Yet did Rubinyan or any other Civil Contract deputy ever call that person a “corrupt scoundrel” from the parliamentary podium? Of course not. Because, in their view, members of their own party have the right to the presumption of innocence. But does that same right not apply to their opponents as well? Evidently, it does not concern them. The existence of double standards is undeniable.
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Similarly, the wife of Alen Simonyan’s brother was never branded a “corrupt scoundrel” in connection with the high-profile corruption case at the Ministry of Economy, in which seven people were arrested. According to the indictment, they deliberately excluded the main competitor from a government tender and awarded a one-million-dollar contract to their preferred candidate. An even more recent example occurred just two weeks ago: the Pedagogical University was searched for hours, and its rector — appointed during the Civil Contract Party’s rule — was arrested. According to reports, she is a protégé of the minister of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports. She has been charged with serious crimes, including forming a criminal organization, embezzlement on a particularly large scale, fraud, and bribery.
By the way, in the Ministry of Economy case, a Civil Contract Party affiliated minister was dismissed, a deputy minister was arrested, and the criminal investigation is still ongoing. Yet throughout all this time, we have not heard Ruben Rubinyan, Alen Simonyan, or any other Civil Contract Party deputy call any of the seven defendants a “corrupt scoundrel.” The same double standard applies to the case of Diana Gasparyan, former Civil Contract mayor of Vagharshapat. She, along with her husband, mother-in-law, and father-in-law, is involved in a corruption case — facing charges of money laundering and other crimes. So, according to Rubinyan and other Civil Contract Party members, are they “corrupt scoundrels,” or not?
We await an answer from one of the prominent representatives of the Civil Contract Party.