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RESPONSE TO BENON SEVAN'S CALL TO SHUT UP
By Ara K. Manoogian
www.thetruthmustbetold.com
October 12th, 2011
Benon Sevan, former Head of the United Nations Oil-for-Food Program,
has provided well intended recommendations for Armenia's development,
with a side effect of prolonging and strengthening the tenure of
the incumbent corrupt Armenian government. His good intentions are
laid out in an article, "Excessive Negativism and Constant Attacks
Jeopardize Armenia's Development," published in the California Courier
on October 13, 2011:
Regardless of our impatience and desire to witness a truly democratic
state of Armenia, we have no alternative to being patient, because
it takes time to develop democracy, economic and social development,
and civil society, as well as true democratic reforms
Although he does not provide an exact duration of the proposed
patience, one thing is clear, he talks about centuries: "How long
did it take for some of Europe's democracies to give their women the
right to vote?" He then goes on speaking about the French guillotine,
slavery in the U.S., and so on. Sevan expects Armenia to relive the
past stages of world history to deserve a true democracy. In fact,
Armenia is reliving some historic moments to a certain extent. A
few months ago, I read about an Armenian slave camp run by Marat
Janvelyan, one of the untouchable oligarchs of Armenia. No prosecution
or investigation followed this hairsplitting "negative report" about
the sad reality in 21st century Armenia. (The full story can be read
at http://www.thetruthmustbetold.com/2011/05/12/armenian-slave-camp-1/)
I wonder if it was thanks to such patience that today Georgia,
Armenia's post-Soviet neighbor, can boast about the biggest leap
towards democracy in the same "rather dangerous neighborhood",
Sevan's moniker for the South Caucasus.
Sevan complains about the abundance of "negative reports" in media. He
urges all concerned citizens to stop criticizing the government for
corruption and cheer for its little successes:
Of all the hundreds of negative reports, is not there at least a
single positive development to report on? [...] We should all unite
and spare no effort in supporting and encouraging them to speed up
the development of democratic institutions, as well as strengthening
the economy and raising the living standards.
Cheering may work for a soccer team, but not for a corrupt government
that has no will to commit to democratic reforms. Such approach is
also reminiscent of the mode of civil behavior the totalitarian Soviet
leaders preached for their subjects. In many ways, a totalitarian
regime is democracy minus public criticism of itself. However, Sevan
has his own reasons why all the critical voices should be silenced:
One gets tired of reading what is being said by all these so-called
pundits, rabble-rousers, including self-serving former government
officials pursuing their own personal agenda to bring about a
regime change not through the ballot box but through encouraging a
mob culture.
Benon Sevan is tired. Actually, he is so tired that he forgets all
bread is not baked in one oven. He muddles Levon Ter-Petrosyan with
journalists and human rights activists who voice their concerns
about the problems in the country. I personally believe that all
the three presidents of independent Armenia need to be prosecuted
for their crimes against Armenia's statehood and citizens. For
a better understanding of the economic crimes of the Armenian
governments past and present, I recommend that one read, "To Donate
or Not to Donate", a white paper on "Hayastan" All-Armenian Fund at
www.TheTruthMustBeTold.com.
Benon Sevan's call for wielding a positive, "cheerleader" stance
toward Armenia's corrupt authorities is not alien to his nature. He
has showcased such leniency toward a despotic regime before. Back in
1996-2003, as UN Oil-for-Food chief, Benon was accused of accepting
bribes from the government of Saddam Hussein, while the latter was
terrorizing and murdering his own people en masse. Sevan avoided
prosecution and conviction by fleeing to Cyprus in 2005.
Patience is another word for indifference. For too long, Armenians in
the Diaspora have remained patient toward unrestrained abuses of the
monopolies, suffocation of small and medium private entrepreneurship,
as well as alarming frequency of forced suicides and murders in
the army, widespread poverty in Armenia's provincial regions, and
continuous mass emigration. I voice my concerns over injustice in
Armenia and fight for improvement, because I believe that Armenia
can do better, and will, as long as concerned citizens keep pushing.
Ara K. Manoogian is a human rights activist representing the Shahan
Natalie Family Foundation in Artsakh and Armenia; a Fellow
of the Washington-based Policy Forum Armenia (PFA); creator of
www.thetruthmustbetold.com and author of the white paper "To Donate
Or Not To Donation", an in depth study on the activities of the
"Hayastan" All-Armenia Fund.
By Ara K. Manoogian
www.thetruthmustbetold.com
October 12th, 2011
Benon Sevan, former Head of the United Nations Oil-for-Food Program,
has provided well intended recommendations for Armenia's development,
with a side effect of prolonging and strengthening the tenure of
the incumbent corrupt Armenian government. His good intentions are
laid out in an article, "Excessive Negativism and Constant Attacks
Jeopardize Armenia's Development," published in the California Courier
on October 13, 2011:
Regardless of our impatience and desire to witness a truly democratic
state of Armenia, we have no alternative to being patient, because
it takes time to develop democracy, economic and social development,
and civil society, as well as true democratic reforms
Although he does not provide an exact duration of the proposed
patience, one thing is clear, he talks about centuries: "How long
did it take for some of Europe's democracies to give their women the
right to vote?" He then goes on speaking about the French guillotine,
slavery in the U.S., and so on. Sevan expects Armenia to relive the
past stages of world history to deserve a true democracy. In fact,
Armenia is reliving some historic moments to a certain extent. A
few months ago, I read about an Armenian slave camp run by Marat
Janvelyan, one of the untouchable oligarchs of Armenia. No prosecution
or investigation followed this hairsplitting "negative report" about
the sad reality in 21st century Armenia. (The full story can be read
at http://www.thetruthmustbetold.com/2011/05/12/armenian-slave-camp-1/)
I wonder if it was thanks to such patience that today Georgia,
Armenia's post-Soviet neighbor, can boast about the biggest leap
towards democracy in the same "rather dangerous neighborhood",
Sevan's moniker for the South Caucasus.
Sevan complains about the abundance of "negative reports" in media. He
urges all concerned citizens to stop criticizing the government for
corruption and cheer for its little successes:
Of all the hundreds of negative reports, is not there at least a
single positive development to report on? [...] We should all unite
and spare no effort in supporting and encouraging them to speed up
the development of democratic institutions, as well as strengthening
the economy and raising the living standards.
Cheering may work for a soccer team, but not for a corrupt government
that has no will to commit to democratic reforms. Such approach is
also reminiscent of the mode of civil behavior the totalitarian Soviet
leaders preached for their subjects. In many ways, a totalitarian
regime is democracy minus public criticism of itself. However, Sevan
has his own reasons why all the critical voices should be silenced:
One gets tired of reading what is being said by all these so-called
pundits, rabble-rousers, including self-serving former government
officials pursuing their own personal agenda to bring about a
regime change not through the ballot box but through encouraging a
mob culture.
Benon Sevan is tired. Actually, he is so tired that he forgets all
bread is not baked in one oven. He muddles Levon Ter-Petrosyan with
journalists and human rights activists who voice their concerns
about the problems in the country. I personally believe that all
the three presidents of independent Armenia need to be prosecuted
for their crimes against Armenia's statehood and citizens. For
a better understanding of the economic crimes of the Armenian
governments past and present, I recommend that one read, "To Donate
or Not to Donate", a white paper on "Hayastan" All-Armenian Fund at
www.TheTruthMustBeTold.com.
Benon Sevan's call for wielding a positive, "cheerleader" stance
toward Armenia's corrupt authorities is not alien to his nature. He
has showcased such leniency toward a despotic regime before. Back in
1996-2003, as UN Oil-for-Food chief, Benon was accused of accepting
bribes from the government of Saddam Hussein, while the latter was
terrorizing and murdering his own people en masse. Sevan avoided
prosecution and conviction by fleeing to Cyprus in 2005.
Patience is another word for indifference. For too long, Armenians in
the Diaspora have remained patient toward unrestrained abuses of the
monopolies, suffocation of small and medium private entrepreneurship,
as well as alarming frequency of forced suicides and murders in
the army, widespread poverty in Armenia's provincial regions, and
continuous mass emigration. I voice my concerns over injustice in
Armenia and fight for improvement, because I believe that Armenia
can do better, and will, as long as concerned citizens keep pushing.
Ara K. Manoogian is a human rights activist representing the Shahan
Natalie Family Foundation in Artsakh and Armenia; a Fellow
of the Washington-based Policy Forum Armenia (PFA); creator of
www.thetruthmustbetold.com and author of the white paper "To Donate
Or Not To Donation", an in depth study on the activities of the
"Hayastan" All-Armenia Fund.