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DREAM ETHNIC SPHERE OF THE PRIME MINISTER
Siranush Papyan
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/engsrc/interview24061.html
Published: 18:07:28 - 03/11/2011
Interview with the ethnographer Hranush Kharatyan on the bills on
amendments to the law on tax on property, the law on tax on land and
the land code
The parliament voted 74 to 5 for the bill on amendments to the law
on tax on property, the law on tax on land and the land code was
passed on first reading. Under this bill, 286 premises, hospitals,
detached houses, villas are exempt from tax. In your opinion, why is
this law needed when the church is already rather free of taxes.
I think this law will foster the ambitions of the church because there
were concerns that the property of the church would be expropriated
soon. In addition, the international organizations are pressing out
country for the insufficient level of tax collections. This law will
exempt from taxes a major proprietor which will cause a backlash.
Obviously, however, the law simply legitimized the practice in place.
Interestingly, when Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan presented the
bills, he said the government is trying to return what had been stolen
from the church. There is logic there but only in case of general
restructuring of property, and what has been stolen in Soviet times not
only from the church but also separate persons is returned. Otherwise,
it looks like that those who are on good terms with the government
can solve this issue. Although it became known that pretensions are
more than what is being discussed today.
In fact, I don~Rt mind encouragement of spiritual activities in
the country but I am against the violation of the principle of the
separation of the church and the state. So, out of good will, the
law is violated.
I think this bill should not be passed at least because it was
drafted with violations. The government is actually handling community
property which it is not eligible to do. We need to define clearly
that at what stage of church development, conflict development we are.
It is possible that the government thinks that the Armenian Apostolic
Church is concerned but we must announce about it and in that case we
will be able to state that the AAC has launched an offensive against
other churches.
Besides, we cannot assess realistically how intolerant our church is
towards the Armenian Muslims, for instance, and whether it considers
as Armenians only the followers of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Isn~Rt it a dividing line among ethnic communities? What are we headed
for, to an ethnic or confessional society?
Judging by the steps of the prime minister, the desired ethno
sphere formed by him is transforming into the AAC sphere, and the
identification of the Armenian ethnicity with the apostolic church
is underway. This issue has always been urgent in the history of the
Armenian people. We have always lost in ethnic terms, finding out
whether the Armenians are Chalcedonic, Evangelist or Muslims.
At some time, we came to the conclusion that ethnicism is more
important but now this conclusion is intensively torpedoed by the
government, unfortunately.
Will the church pursue modernization?
The church must have a clear social doctrine which is not in place yet,
and the activities of the church are highly personified. The church
owns a hospital which is not a charity hospital. Ok, let the church
get the profit. But in that case what is the reason for exempting
the church from taxes? What kind of activities of the church are we
trying to foster ~V religious or spiritual? Are the social activities
of the church adequate to the social policy of our government?
It is necessary to answer one question. What for is the government
rewarding the Armenian Apostolic Church? In order for it to continue
to divide Armenians into followers of the Armenian Apostolic Church
and others? Does the Armenian society share this approach? What does
the phrase ~Snational church~T mean in the Constitution? Is national
ethnic? But the National Assembly is an assembly of citizens, it is
a government body, it is not an ethnic one.
The church interprets the phrase ~Snational church~T in the
constitution as ~Sstate church~T. But if it is a state church, does
it belong to the citizens of the Republic of Armenia.
There is no answer to this question in the political space, in the
moral sense they are not intelligible, in the public life it has
specific expressions but it is not a concept.
Siranush Papyan
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/engsrc/interview24061.html
Published: 18:07:28 - 03/11/2011
Interview with the ethnographer Hranush Kharatyan on the bills on
amendments to the law on tax on property, the law on tax on land and
the land code
The parliament voted 74 to 5 for the bill on amendments to the law
on tax on property, the law on tax on land and the land code was
passed on first reading. Under this bill, 286 premises, hospitals,
detached houses, villas are exempt from tax. In your opinion, why is
this law needed when the church is already rather free of taxes.
I think this law will foster the ambitions of the church because there
were concerns that the property of the church would be expropriated
soon. In addition, the international organizations are pressing out
country for the insufficient level of tax collections. This law will
exempt from taxes a major proprietor which will cause a backlash.
Obviously, however, the law simply legitimized the practice in place.
Interestingly, when Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan presented the
bills, he said the government is trying to return what had been stolen
from the church. There is logic there but only in case of general
restructuring of property, and what has been stolen in Soviet times not
only from the church but also separate persons is returned. Otherwise,
it looks like that those who are on good terms with the government
can solve this issue. Although it became known that pretensions are
more than what is being discussed today.
In fact, I don~Rt mind encouragement of spiritual activities in
the country but I am against the violation of the principle of the
separation of the church and the state. So, out of good will, the
law is violated.
I think this bill should not be passed at least because it was
drafted with violations. The government is actually handling community
property which it is not eligible to do. We need to define clearly
that at what stage of church development, conflict development we are.
It is possible that the government thinks that the Armenian Apostolic
Church is concerned but we must announce about it and in that case we
will be able to state that the AAC has launched an offensive against
other churches.
Besides, we cannot assess realistically how intolerant our church is
towards the Armenian Muslims, for instance, and whether it considers
as Armenians only the followers of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Isn~Rt it a dividing line among ethnic communities? What are we headed
for, to an ethnic or confessional society?
Judging by the steps of the prime minister, the desired ethno
sphere formed by him is transforming into the AAC sphere, and the
identification of the Armenian ethnicity with the apostolic church
is underway. This issue has always been urgent in the history of the
Armenian people. We have always lost in ethnic terms, finding out
whether the Armenians are Chalcedonic, Evangelist or Muslims.
At some time, we came to the conclusion that ethnicism is more
important but now this conclusion is intensively torpedoed by the
government, unfortunately.
Will the church pursue modernization?
The church must have a clear social doctrine which is not in place yet,
and the activities of the church are highly personified. The church
owns a hospital which is not a charity hospital. Ok, let the church
get the profit. But in that case what is the reason for exempting
the church from taxes? What kind of activities of the church are we
trying to foster ~V religious or spiritual? Are the social activities
of the church adequate to the social policy of our government?
It is necessary to answer one question. What for is the government
rewarding the Armenian Apostolic Church? In order for it to continue
to divide Armenians into followers of the Armenian Apostolic Church
and others? Does the Armenian society share this approach? What does
the phrase ~Snational church~T mean in the Constitution? Is national
ethnic? But the National Assembly is an assembly of citizens, it is
a government body, it is not an ethnic one.
The church interprets the phrase ~Snational church~T in the
constitution as ~Sstate church~T. But if it is a state church, does
it belong to the citizens of the Republic of Armenia.
There is no answer to this question in the political space, in the
moral sense they are not intelligible, in the public life it has
specific expressions but it is not a concept.