Oligarchy and `Trumps'
HAIK ARAMYAN
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/engsrc/comments25394.html
Published: 15:21:24 - 10/03/2012
Although one of the exotic oligarchs of Armenia, Samvel Alexanyan,
announced that he is a politician and had plastic surgery on his nose,
he obviously did not make an impression on the government. He was not
included in the Republican list, his hints for Raffi Hovannisian and
the Country of Law Party were not helpful either. Samvel Alexanyan can
run for parliament in his `traditional' precinct, Malatia Sebastia
community, but it will not help him into the character of a politician
with an operated nose. However, a party ticket is something else, and
appearing there makes everything look serious, perhaps.
The ruling coalition announces that the party list will be free from
major business and criminal world, presenting it as a step towards
separating business and government. However, the precincts were left
to them where they can become members of parliament with money and
intimidation, and all the dirt will be written off to them. There are
businessmen who understand this prospect and decided not to run in the
elections. However, some of them decided to appear with the image of a
politician, trying to be a member of parliament and step into the
field of politics.
In Armenia the mechanism of forming government required that
entrepreneurs do favors to the top government to get business quotas,
favors ranging from shadow taxes to grave crimes. Or these favors were
done and business quotas were granted as compensation. There was no
other way to stay afloat. This class is now presented with the image
of victims, as if they are not to blame for having to face such
choice. However, they made a choice and accepted the rules of the
system based on the quota- racket principle and intended to deprive
the society of their rights.
The rules of the same system require that the person who is used to
commit the crime is later used to eliminate the traces and rid of the
ballast. Now this process seems to have started. The government is
trying to appear new, and the Armenian oligarchy might become trumps,
just as Levon Ter-Petrosyan had warned. The representatives of this
class understand this and are making desperate efforts to survive.
They understand that nobody will give them guarantees, even if they
have a wish and a parliamentary mandate because the rules of the game
change, so do the rules of distribution of property and businesses,
and there is no demand for new favors. Meanwhile, no other mechanisms
are known to the Armenian oligarchy.
HAIK ARAMYAN
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/engsrc/comments25394.html
Published: 15:21:24 - 10/03/2012
Although one of the exotic oligarchs of Armenia, Samvel Alexanyan,
announced that he is a politician and had plastic surgery on his nose,
he obviously did not make an impression on the government. He was not
included in the Republican list, his hints for Raffi Hovannisian and
the Country of Law Party were not helpful either. Samvel Alexanyan can
run for parliament in his `traditional' precinct, Malatia Sebastia
community, but it will not help him into the character of a politician
with an operated nose. However, a party ticket is something else, and
appearing there makes everything look serious, perhaps.
The ruling coalition announces that the party list will be free from
major business and criminal world, presenting it as a step towards
separating business and government. However, the precincts were left
to them where they can become members of parliament with money and
intimidation, and all the dirt will be written off to them. There are
businessmen who understand this prospect and decided not to run in the
elections. However, some of them decided to appear with the image of a
politician, trying to be a member of parliament and step into the
field of politics.
In Armenia the mechanism of forming government required that
entrepreneurs do favors to the top government to get business quotas,
favors ranging from shadow taxes to grave crimes. Or these favors were
done and business quotas were granted as compensation. There was no
other way to stay afloat. This class is now presented with the image
of victims, as if they are not to blame for having to face such
choice. However, they made a choice and accepted the rules of the
system based on the quota- racket principle and intended to deprive
the society of their rights.
The rules of the same system require that the person who is used to
commit the crime is later used to eliminate the traces and rid of the
ballast. Now this process seems to have started. The government is
trying to appear new, and the Armenian oligarchy might become trumps,
just as Levon Ter-Petrosyan had warned. The representatives of this
class understand this and are making desperate efforts to survive.
They understand that nobody will give them guarantees, even if they
have a wish and a parliamentary mandate because the rules of the game
change, so do the rules of distribution of property and businesses,
and there is no demand for new favors. Meanwhile, no other mechanisms
are known to the Armenian oligarchy.