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ROBBERY BY LISKA IS BASIS FOR GOVERNMENT
Interview with ethnographer Hranush Kharatyan
Ms. Kharatyan, you are back from Syunik where the governor resigned
after the notorious incident. Is it possible to end impunity in Syunik?
I think the odious character of Suren Khachatryan as a governor
and a personality was not a surprise and is not limited to this
case. The media need not describe him again, he is well-known to
everyone, also with the help of the media. I often heard his name
in Syunik back in 1994. He was not a character here but he was
already a character there, we heard about his robbery, he stopped
a man driving four cows and took three. In those years we had great
expectations from the authorities, we believed that the authorities
were a key level of state building. But I should say that several
other such names obscured the progress of state building. I remember
in Verishen village near Goris they talked about Suren Khachatryan's
suspicious deals and the government's permissiveness relating to the
local cheese company. It was unbelievable that first, the local and
central authorities overlooked robbery, demoralizing the society,
and second, control of robbery was elaborated and regulated. Such
practice gradually became typical behavior of the government.
In those years, however, confidence in the government was so high
that we, and me personally, thought that was gossip and I did not
publish that information. It was unbelievable that there could be
marauders beside those ready for self-sacrifice in the battlefield.
It would be ingenuous to think that the recent developments will
put a full stop to the behavior of this family. In those years the
society was ruled by morality and purity, confidence in the government,
today the principle of beatifying and legalizing robbery of subsoil,
other resources, citizens using monopolized spheres of economy,
extremely high rates of interests in banks, decisions disguised as
eminent domain, unjustified inflation. No competition, only mutual
robbery of the so-called entrepreneurs. We have reached the point
when even Hovik Abrahamyan says if loans are issued for too short
terms and with too high interest rates, they hinder economic growth,
of course, modestly bypassing the well-known fact of legalized robbery
by banks which is accompanied with impoverishment of people. Meanwhile,
this issue was brought up in 1995-1996. This environment encourages
behavior a la Suren Khachatryan.
I have just returned from Syunik where I met with citizens of Kapan
and Goris, two of them would not dare speak openly in each other's
presence. They express their opinion only in private talks. They are
afraid that they will be overheard, and the staff of the governor's
office does not enjoy any confidence, like all the other governor's
offices. In addition, nobody extends hopes to any of the candidates
for governor. The official called governor is not perceived to be
independent and able to exercise the powers vested in him or her.
People believe that the governor is a regional coordinator of ambitions
of "businessmen" who are proteges of the government.
Elective officials of local self-government are so much dependent on
the government, let alone the appointive governors. At least, the
people of Syunik region think so who have no hope for fundamental
change, and their only expectation from the future governor is to
pursue less private interests and discourage fragmentation in Syunik.
Now General Vardan Avetisyan's nomination is rumored. He is agreeable,
appears to be an intellectual but I always think how long they will
try to establish law and order with the help of people with a military
or law-enforcement background. What is law and order established by
a military? Is it military obedience or does the government have a
different vision of law and order established by a soldier? Military
obedience is not advisable in civilian life. For me, appointment of
military officials to public administration positions is negative. I
am afraid that our government that has been reinforcing itself through
the so-called judicial system, courts and police now opts for military
law and order to subdue the society, without resolving the problems
facing the country.
Siranuysh Papyan 13:51 12/06/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/index/eng/0/interview/view/30133
Interview with ethnographer Hranush Kharatyan
Ms. Kharatyan, you are back from Syunik where the governor resigned
after the notorious incident. Is it possible to end impunity in Syunik?
I think the odious character of Suren Khachatryan as a governor
and a personality was not a surprise and is not limited to this
case. The media need not describe him again, he is well-known to
everyone, also with the help of the media. I often heard his name
in Syunik back in 1994. He was not a character here but he was
already a character there, we heard about his robbery, he stopped
a man driving four cows and took three. In those years we had great
expectations from the authorities, we believed that the authorities
were a key level of state building. But I should say that several
other such names obscured the progress of state building. I remember
in Verishen village near Goris they talked about Suren Khachatryan's
suspicious deals and the government's permissiveness relating to the
local cheese company. It was unbelievable that first, the local and
central authorities overlooked robbery, demoralizing the society,
and second, control of robbery was elaborated and regulated. Such
practice gradually became typical behavior of the government.
In those years, however, confidence in the government was so high
that we, and me personally, thought that was gossip and I did not
publish that information. It was unbelievable that there could be
marauders beside those ready for self-sacrifice in the battlefield.
It would be ingenuous to think that the recent developments will
put a full stop to the behavior of this family. In those years the
society was ruled by morality and purity, confidence in the government,
today the principle of beatifying and legalizing robbery of subsoil,
other resources, citizens using monopolized spheres of economy,
extremely high rates of interests in banks, decisions disguised as
eminent domain, unjustified inflation. No competition, only mutual
robbery of the so-called entrepreneurs. We have reached the point
when even Hovik Abrahamyan says if loans are issued for too short
terms and with too high interest rates, they hinder economic growth,
of course, modestly bypassing the well-known fact of legalized robbery
by banks which is accompanied with impoverishment of people. Meanwhile,
this issue was brought up in 1995-1996. This environment encourages
behavior a la Suren Khachatryan.
I have just returned from Syunik where I met with citizens of Kapan
and Goris, two of them would not dare speak openly in each other's
presence. They express their opinion only in private talks. They are
afraid that they will be overheard, and the staff of the governor's
office does not enjoy any confidence, like all the other governor's
offices. In addition, nobody extends hopes to any of the candidates
for governor. The official called governor is not perceived to be
independent and able to exercise the powers vested in him or her.
People believe that the governor is a regional coordinator of ambitions
of "businessmen" who are proteges of the government.
Elective officials of local self-government are so much dependent on
the government, let alone the appointive governors. At least, the
people of Syunik region think so who have no hope for fundamental
change, and their only expectation from the future governor is to
pursue less private interests and discourage fragmentation in Syunik.
Now General Vardan Avetisyan's nomination is rumored. He is agreeable,
appears to be an intellectual but I always think how long they will
try to establish law and order with the help of people with a military
or law-enforcement background. What is law and order established by
a military? Is it military obedience or does the government have a
different vision of law and order established by a soldier? Military
obedience is not advisable in civilian life. For me, appointment of
military officials to public administration positions is negative. I
am afraid that our government that has been reinforcing itself through
the so-called judicial system, courts and police now opts for military
law and order to subdue the society, without resolving the problems
facing the country.
Siranuysh Papyan 13:51 12/06/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/index/eng/0/interview/view/30133