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Riot Is A Matter of Time
Interview with Marineh Manucharyan, member of the managing board of
the Civil Contract.
Marine, the opposition is believed to be the main challenge to change
in Armenia. Do you agree?
There can be two ways of approaching this issue. Yes, in Armenia where
the government has a serious lack of legitimacy, responsibility
automatically falls on the opposition. However, every government is
accountable for the situation in the country and is responsible for
improvement. Unfortunately, in Armenia the regime hides its
incompetence and weakness behind allegations against political and
civil opposition groups. If the same energy and time were spent on
finding real solutions to real issues, the situation would be
different, I am sure.
Do you think the public could have prevented usurpation of power? If
yes, what mechanisms can you see?
Yes, I certainly do. I think we are living in a crucial period which
is also full of civil determination. I think it is just a matter of
time, I have no doubt. Today the opportunities for usurpation are
fewer and weaker because the regime is weak. It is criticized by a
number of wings, and importantly, the criticism is based on real
issues and real topics. I think the groups fighting against those
issues will come together, and there will be a breakthrough in the
modern history of Armenia.
So far such initiatives either lasted short or were not effective
enough. How are you going to ensure efficiency, how are you going to
win people over?
Let me disagree with you. All the initiatives of different periods are
important to me. Every initiative is very important at the right time
and in the right state of affairs. Such initiatives help awaken
different parts of the public and bring people together around
different ideas. As to the Civil Contract, it should be differentiated
from other initiatives because those initiatives address a specific
issue that occurs in one of the spheres of life, whereas the Civil
Contract intends to bring those people together for the text who will
aspire to forming an institutional opposition which is a vital
necessity to achieve breakthrough in the domestic life, as the history
of the past 20 years indicates.
Fights against mandatory funded pension, rise in fare, membership to
the Customs Union continue. In your opinion, will fragmental fights
eventually unite to achieve change of system?
I think, yes. Fragmental fight may not lead to change of system but it
is an excellent opportunity to bring together the human resource,
which is one of the key goals of the Civil Contract. It is also a very
good indicator that there is no way back. Every group at the stage of
fragmental fight has huge potential to unite with other groups, and at
this stage such public-political initiatives as the Civil Contract
must act as tools for unification.
Is it possible to achieve change faster, I mean without elections?
The situation in Armenia is flammable, and the regime with its
`unexpected' decisions, such as September 3 or the parliamentary
majority's group betrayal on December 23, tends to aggravate the
situation. Every such decision takes us away from the possibility of
achieving change through elections. During the modern history of
Armenia elections have never been linked to real change. This time,
however, real changes may take place without elections or may spur or
enable new and real elections.
Maybe women should deal with politics more?
I don't want there to be gender discrimination against politicians. I
believe that the problem is not the gender of politicians but the
closeness of the system. The system must open up and involve fresh
people and fresh ideas. I am sure that politics will not lack women
then.
243
22:46 11/01/2014
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/index/eng/0/interview/view/31706
Interview with Marineh Manucharyan, member of the managing board of
the Civil Contract.
Marine, the opposition is believed to be the main challenge to change
in Armenia. Do you agree?
There can be two ways of approaching this issue. Yes, in Armenia where
the government has a serious lack of legitimacy, responsibility
automatically falls on the opposition. However, every government is
accountable for the situation in the country and is responsible for
improvement. Unfortunately, in Armenia the regime hides its
incompetence and weakness behind allegations against political and
civil opposition groups. If the same energy and time were spent on
finding real solutions to real issues, the situation would be
different, I am sure.
Do you think the public could have prevented usurpation of power? If
yes, what mechanisms can you see?
Yes, I certainly do. I think we are living in a crucial period which
is also full of civil determination. I think it is just a matter of
time, I have no doubt. Today the opportunities for usurpation are
fewer and weaker because the regime is weak. It is criticized by a
number of wings, and importantly, the criticism is based on real
issues and real topics. I think the groups fighting against those
issues will come together, and there will be a breakthrough in the
modern history of Armenia.
So far such initiatives either lasted short or were not effective
enough. How are you going to ensure efficiency, how are you going to
win people over?
Let me disagree with you. All the initiatives of different periods are
important to me. Every initiative is very important at the right time
and in the right state of affairs. Such initiatives help awaken
different parts of the public and bring people together around
different ideas. As to the Civil Contract, it should be differentiated
from other initiatives because those initiatives address a specific
issue that occurs in one of the spheres of life, whereas the Civil
Contract intends to bring those people together for the text who will
aspire to forming an institutional opposition which is a vital
necessity to achieve breakthrough in the domestic life, as the history
of the past 20 years indicates.
Fights against mandatory funded pension, rise in fare, membership to
the Customs Union continue. In your opinion, will fragmental fights
eventually unite to achieve change of system?
I think, yes. Fragmental fight may not lead to change of system but it
is an excellent opportunity to bring together the human resource,
which is one of the key goals of the Civil Contract. It is also a very
good indicator that there is no way back. Every group at the stage of
fragmental fight has huge potential to unite with other groups, and at
this stage such public-political initiatives as the Civil Contract
must act as tools for unification.
Is it possible to achieve change faster, I mean without elections?
The situation in Armenia is flammable, and the regime with its
`unexpected' decisions, such as September 3 or the parliamentary
majority's group betrayal on December 23, tends to aggravate the
situation. Every such decision takes us away from the possibility of
achieving change through elections. During the modern history of
Armenia elections have never been linked to real change. This time,
however, real changes may take place without elections or may spur or
enable new and real elections.
Maybe women should deal with politics more?
I don't want there to be gender discrimination against politicians. I
believe that the problem is not the gender of politicians but the
closeness of the system. The system must open up and involve fresh
people and fresh ideas. I am sure that politics will not lack women
then.
243
22:46 11/01/2014
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/index/eng/0/interview/view/31706