GENERAL MANVEL'S TRAGEDY
HAKOB BADALYAN
http://www.lragir.am/engsrc/comments-lrahos23121.html
In a meeting with young scientists, Serzh Sargsyan was asked by
one of the young scientists "who should be embodiment of hero? Who
should be a model for Armenian young people? Manvels?" [General Manvel
Grigoryan]. He said:
"I am sorry but don't use wrong expressions. Do you know Manvel? Your
problem is that you are guided by yellow press. Manvel is the person
who helped us achieve a lot of things, and the tales that are told
are false. Today Manvel's son is the Mayor of Echmiadzin Town. We
regularly carry out surveys and very often we find out that he is one
of the mayors with the highest rating. I am not saying Manvel has no
faults but have you ever tried to compare his faults and advantages?
Where were those good guys you mean, those who are writing about
Manvel, when they were supposed to sacrifice their lives?"
I wonder if Serzh Sargsyan who is now defending the retired General
Manvel Grigoryan from young scientists tried to defend him as Prime
Minister and already president elect of Armenia in the aftermath
of the 2008 elections when Robert Kocharyan dismissed the General
because he supported the first president, Levon Ter-Petrosyan? Did
he refer Kocharyan to Manvel's merits?
Or, did he have to defend something more valuable then - government -
and Manvel was not helpful at all, even trying to hinder. Now that
this important mission has been completed or is being completed,
perhaps also with the help of Manvel, he is a hero.
Certainly, in 2008, the excuse for ridding of Manvel was defiance to
the order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. This is a weighty reason
to dismiss an officer. Moreover, such an officer must be punished. But
I wonder what was the order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief which
General Manvel disobeyed. The society never knew the real reason of
Mamvel Grigoryan's dismissal.
This is already past, and it is even good that Manvel Grigoryan,
for whatever reason, was dismissed from the Armenian army. To put it
mildly, war qualities are not always effective for army building,
especially if the army is upgraded to the 21st century, to be
competitive with Azerbaijan's army and exceed it with its values,
officer-soldier, officer-officer, officer-society relations.
Armenia is a small country, and if Serzh Sargsyan has studied and
found out that Manvel's son is one of the mayors with the highest
rating in Armenia, he should not find it difficult to study and find
out the opinion of the society based on concrete cases and examples
that in the greater part of the region of Armavir all the spheres
of life are controlled by General Manvel and his sons rather than
the Constitution of Armenia. This mere fact may force the residents
of Echmiadzin to express admiration of the policy of Manvel's son,
fearing "Manvel's justice".
Manvel may have been a devoted soldier and a hero, and he may have
contributed to victory in the Karabakh war. But war and peace differ
just like life in the army and civilian life do. Being a war hero
does not make his life a taboo.
It is a widely-known fact that Manvel is one of the richest people
of Armenia. Everyone wants to know how he gained his wealth, how a
hero general became a successful businessman. If it is the reward
for his wartime achievements, then who and how calculated his merit,
and why some veterans are extremely rich while others cannot afford
to buy food or medicine.
Maybe, more than their contribution to the victory, their devotion to
the political authorities is valued. In the case of the opposition too,
when Manvel was loyal to the opposition and was ready to support it,
he was the hero, as soon as he was "tempted", he became an indivisible
part of the bandit regime.
This is Armenia and maybe this is the objective reality and maybe for
this reason the situation in Armenia requires a revision of values,
concepts, thinking, because the existing values and thinking are so
crystallized and soaked in the vicious atmosphere that therapeutic
treatment will not help. Moreover, such a treatment could infect the
doctor too. There is no alternative to surgery and the question in
Armenia is who has the will and wish to carry out this surgery. It
is not important whether this person is in government or opposition.
HAKOB BADALYAN
http://www.lragir.am/engsrc/comments-lrahos23121.html
In a meeting with young scientists, Serzh Sargsyan was asked by
one of the young scientists "who should be embodiment of hero? Who
should be a model for Armenian young people? Manvels?" [General Manvel
Grigoryan]. He said:
"I am sorry but don't use wrong expressions. Do you know Manvel? Your
problem is that you are guided by yellow press. Manvel is the person
who helped us achieve a lot of things, and the tales that are told
are false. Today Manvel's son is the Mayor of Echmiadzin Town. We
regularly carry out surveys and very often we find out that he is one
of the mayors with the highest rating. I am not saying Manvel has no
faults but have you ever tried to compare his faults and advantages?
Where were those good guys you mean, those who are writing about
Manvel, when they were supposed to sacrifice their lives?"
I wonder if Serzh Sargsyan who is now defending the retired General
Manvel Grigoryan from young scientists tried to defend him as Prime
Minister and already president elect of Armenia in the aftermath
of the 2008 elections when Robert Kocharyan dismissed the General
because he supported the first president, Levon Ter-Petrosyan? Did
he refer Kocharyan to Manvel's merits?
Or, did he have to defend something more valuable then - government -
and Manvel was not helpful at all, even trying to hinder. Now that
this important mission has been completed or is being completed,
perhaps also with the help of Manvel, he is a hero.
Certainly, in 2008, the excuse for ridding of Manvel was defiance to
the order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. This is a weighty reason
to dismiss an officer. Moreover, such an officer must be punished. But
I wonder what was the order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief which
General Manvel disobeyed. The society never knew the real reason of
Mamvel Grigoryan's dismissal.
This is already past, and it is even good that Manvel Grigoryan,
for whatever reason, was dismissed from the Armenian army. To put it
mildly, war qualities are not always effective for army building,
especially if the army is upgraded to the 21st century, to be
competitive with Azerbaijan's army and exceed it with its values,
officer-soldier, officer-officer, officer-society relations.
Armenia is a small country, and if Serzh Sargsyan has studied and
found out that Manvel's son is one of the mayors with the highest
rating in Armenia, he should not find it difficult to study and find
out the opinion of the society based on concrete cases and examples
that in the greater part of the region of Armavir all the spheres
of life are controlled by General Manvel and his sons rather than
the Constitution of Armenia. This mere fact may force the residents
of Echmiadzin to express admiration of the policy of Manvel's son,
fearing "Manvel's justice".
Manvel may have been a devoted soldier and a hero, and he may have
contributed to victory in the Karabakh war. But war and peace differ
just like life in the army and civilian life do. Being a war hero
does not make his life a taboo.
It is a widely-known fact that Manvel is one of the richest people
of Armenia. Everyone wants to know how he gained his wealth, how a
hero general became a successful businessman. If it is the reward
for his wartime achievements, then who and how calculated his merit,
and why some veterans are extremely rich while others cannot afford
to buy food or medicine.
Maybe, more than their contribution to the victory, their devotion to
the political authorities is valued. In the case of the opposition too,
when Manvel was loyal to the opposition and was ready to support it,
he was the hero, as soon as he was "tempted", he became an indivisible
part of the bandit regime.
This is Armenia and maybe this is the objective reality and maybe for
this reason the situation in Armenia requires a revision of values,
concepts, thinking, because the existing values and thinking are so
crystallized and soaked in the vicious atmosphere that therapeutic
treatment will not help. Moreover, such a treatment could infect the
doctor too. There is no alternative to surgery and the question in
Armenia is who has the will and wish to carry out this surgery. It
is not important whether this person is in government or opposition.