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IS TIGRAN SARGSYAN ASHAMED?
Naira Hayrumyan
Lragir.am
http://www.lragir.am/engsrc/country25165.html
Published: 12:49:25 - 17/02/2012
Prosecutors want Germany's president Christian Wolff's immunity lifted
in order to investigate the scandal relating to the loan he took.
Most probably, the German parliament will meet the request of the
prosecutors, following the resignation of the minister of defense who
"left" only because used the ideas of other authors in his thesis.
The Western scandals, no matter what they are related to, are based
on the simple human feeling of shame. Shame is the feeling that a
human being has after breaking a moral norm. And if the person is
incriminated of a crime, it should cause shame.
In Armenia, shame is not a political category, so scandals are
practically impossible here. The breaches of officials are bluntly
pointed out, they are accused of protectionism and theft but no
scandals follow because officials are not ashamed.
Yesterday, something sensational happened in Armenia. The minister of
energy stated that one of the major plants of Armenia, Nairit chemical
plant of Yerevan, became the property of a bank about which hardly
anyone had heard. Since last November, Harutiun Arakelyan, a citizen of
Armenia, has been publishing materials proving that the government and
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan sent Nairit into bankruptcy on purpose,
some people gained a fortune by way of machinations involving the
plant and the plant is mortgaged in the Interstate bank and Armenia
may lose it.
The prime minister who was accused of an economic crime did not
even sue him for slander. Apparently, he did not want to appear in
court. A safer method has been chosen. The prime minister appealed
to the Prosecutor General's office requesting to launch criminal
proceedings into the facts. The Prosecutor's office somehow handed the
materials to the police which does not have a department of economic
crimes but Arakelyan was never invited there for an interrogation.
In fact, what Harutiun Arakelyan had been stating for months on was
yesterday confirmed by the minister. The plant was really passed
to the CIS Interstate Bank. But the issue brought up by the citizen
needs to be addressed.
There is no clear line separating "economic mistakes" and economic
crimes in Armenia. The absence of such definitions enabled the
authorities to state that the decision on the privatization of Nairit
was part of the policy but who can be insured from mistakes. The fact
that thousands of people suffered in the result of this policy is
not taken into account. The government reserves the right to commit
mistakes, at the same time depriving the others of this right.
But along with the legal side of the issue, there is also another
on the simple human shame. Democracy is built on public control of
the government which should be based on the ability of the society to
make those in power feel ashamed. If the authorities are not ashamed,
there will be no public control. Although there may also be the reverse
of this. The feeling of shame will come as soon as the society poses
claims to the government openly.
Naira Hayrumyan
Lragir.am
http://www.lragir.am/engsrc/country25165.html
Published: 12:49:25 - 17/02/2012
Prosecutors want Germany's president Christian Wolff's immunity lifted
in order to investigate the scandal relating to the loan he took.
Most probably, the German parliament will meet the request of the
prosecutors, following the resignation of the minister of defense who
"left" only because used the ideas of other authors in his thesis.
The Western scandals, no matter what they are related to, are based
on the simple human feeling of shame. Shame is the feeling that a
human being has after breaking a moral norm. And if the person is
incriminated of a crime, it should cause shame.
In Armenia, shame is not a political category, so scandals are
practically impossible here. The breaches of officials are bluntly
pointed out, they are accused of protectionism and theft but no
scandals follow because officials are not ashamed.
Yesterday, something sensational happened in Armenia. The minister of
energy stated that one of the major plants of Armenia, Nairit chemical
plant of Yerevan, became the property of a bank about which hardly
anyone had heard. Since last November, Harutiun Arakelyan, a citizen of
Armenia, has been publishing materials proving that the government and
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan sent Nairit into bankruptcy on purpose,
some people gained a fortune by way of machinations involving the
plant and the plant is mortgaged in the Interstate bank and Armenia
may lose it.
The prime minister who was accused of an economic crime did not
even sue him for slander. Apparently, he did not want to appear in
court. A safer method has been chosen. The prime minister appealed
to the Prosecutor General's office requesting to launch criminal
proceedings into the facts. The Prosecutor's office somehow handed the
materials to the police which does not have a department of economic
crimes but Arakelyan was never invited there for an interrogation.
In fact, what Harutiun Arakelyan had been stating for months on was
yesterday confirmed by the minister. The plant was really passed
to the CIS Interstate Bank. But the issue brought up by the citizen
needs to be addressed.
There is no clear line separating "economic mistakes" and economic
crimes in Armenia. The absence of such definitions enabled the
authorities to state that the decision on the privatization of Nairit
was part of the policy but who can be insured from mistakes. The fact
that thousands of people suffered in the result of this policy is
not taken into account. The government reserves the right to commit
mistakes, at the same time depriving the others of this right.
But along with the legal side of the issue, there is also another
on the simple human shame. Democracy is built on public control of
the government which should be based on the ability of the society to
make those in power feel ashamed. If the authorities are not ashamed,
there will be no public control. Although there may also be the reverse
of this. The feeling of shame will come as soon as the society poses
claims to the government openly.