President Robert Kocharyan seems to have taken Ex-President Levon Ter-Petrossian’s threats seriously. The incumbent president keeps speaking about his predecessor, and much like Ter-Petrossyan, who gave two long speeches already, but never said anything logical, sensible or at least original, Kocharyan also sounds like a tired, old gossip-monger.
“Our nation will never wish to return back to the 1995-96. I think many still retain bad memories of those years”, Kocharyan said in response to the questions of journalists on October 26, after taking part in the ceremony of opening the Iran-Armenia highway in Syunik (via Echannel). Now that’s a strange notion, isn’t it? Did LTP say he wants to take the nation back to 1995? I don’t think so, although that’s what all Hyelur Propaganda is about, and it seems, that this will soon become the motto of Republican campaign during the 2008 Presidential elections. Well, I guess they’ll have to think harder then that, if they plan to win this elections.
Of course there are some more logical points made the incumbent president, e.g. “There are at least 2-3 opposition politicians, who have higher authority”, or that “in 1999 they received only 1.1 percent of the vote, 2003 – 0.6, and 2008 – 1.3 percent[in the form of the Impeachment block]”. However, the President keeps stressing the bad memories of the mid-90’s, and notes “we will remind those who have forgotten”, adding “perhaps HHSh have seen, that the economy is now restored, and are thinking about the new opportunities to rob the country. I think that is the reason why they have entered this presidential bid”. While this might be partially true for most candidates running for president in Armenia, this “thought” also exposes the true motives of Robert Kocharyan for wanting to be president and thinking of retaining power after leaving his post. So that’s what its all about, Mr. Robert Kocharyan? Robbing the country? Is that what you were there for all these years? Are those the only terms under which you judge the motivation to presidency?
Well, I guess I should just discard most of the other “brilliant” thoughts expressed by President Kocharyan, because they simply make no sense, however, I can’t neglect this top-nonsense, expressed on another occasion (via Echannel):
“Of course after the collapse of the USSR there should be certain [economic] losses. I estimate those losses to be no more then 15-20% in the course of the first 2-3 years, after which new projects and new investment approaches should be put in place to compensate for the losses. This is how it happened in the Baltic Countries, Belarus, partly in Ukraine. In Armenia however, the economy was literally destroyed in several years.”
Right! So Mr. President thinks it logical to compare Baltic Countries with Armenia, a country at war and economic blockade and present this appalling half-truth as his best argument against Ter-Petrossian, proudly declaring, that “one should speak about economy only if one understands what it’s about”?
Why on earth don’t we set up some basic IQ tests before we let these guys run for presidency?
[…] Armenian Observer also covers Kocharian’s response to Ter Petrosian’s speech as well as reporting that the 2008 presidential election in Armenia will cost around 660 million […]
What “new” things do you want them to say? Declare War on Terror? Announce an Armenian Space Program?
I want them to talk about MY MONEY! If Serj’s government gives (now, in the comming two months) me more money (increased salary and wages, heavy taxes on big business, annihilation of monopolies, and introduction of prices conrtrols until the U.S. comes back from financial nirvana) I will elect Serj, if Levon proves (in some reasonable way, which I leave for him to think about) that he’s gonna give me even more money I will elect Levon. That’s it!
Armen – that is exactly the kind of stuff I’m talking about. I want these guys to talk about Import-Export, I want them to say what’s going to happen to Armenian monopolies – like that of the suger, oil, gas and petrol markets. I want them to tell me what are they going to do to make sure that the Central Bank of Armenia executes its functions and keeps the USD/AMD exchange at reasonable limits. I want them to tell me about their economic policy in simple terms, like you are saying: what’s in it for me, how much money will I earn, and what are they doing to do to make sure that I have opportunities to make a living in this country.
I want them to tell me what kind of education my son will have in 10 years time when he grows up, and what type of pension I will have in 30 years time, I want them to tell me what will they do to make health care match up to that name.
I want them to tell me what do they plan to do with all the people, that have to go to Russia, to earn a living. I want them to tell me that they will never surrender Kharabakh.
I guess this is a basic outline of all that I want them to tell me. And I definately don’t want to hear who is the greater robber and idiot of them all – I know the answer: power corrupts, and these guys have too much power, so it really doesn’t matter who is on top, as long as they’re ready to answer my questions and be accountable.
Yep… I agree. And all of these questions cannot be separated from the questions of Global Capital. That is the primary issue that needs to be addressed, while nobody knows how to address it, and while nobody even raises it as a very real issue that immediately affects all the other internal issues.
But generally I’m not too much against LTP — after all he is an academic. We kinda need the return of inteligentsia and at least some form of intellectual debate on the political scene.
😉
Levon promised to come to all these points later on. His 26 Oct speech was just the intro. It was his analyses of the current situation. One needs to analyse the current before planning for the future. We all need to be a little bit patient. I am sure in one months time his second major speech will follow.
The most important thing is that the ball started rolling.
Haik – the first president is an intellectual, I accept that, but he most definitely needs to have some PR and Public Speaking training. His speech was so boring I nearly fell asleep with the camera in my hands. When I look at the videos I’ve made of the October 26 rally, there is not a single thought that could be used as TV reporting material without severely cropping it. Each ‘message’ that he sends out is packed in a sentence, which lasts 3 minutes long! That’s no way of talking to people and to the press. His majesty needs to come down to the level of the people, who might or might not choose to vote for him, unless he has some other plans about coming to power (like an orange revolution, with a 100,000 airheads with western funding forcing the country neglect official voting results and enforce their candidate via endless demonstrations, beatings, etc. ).
Observer, I agree with many points you raised.
There is one thing I want to metion. My parents are both the LTP generation intelligentsia. They are both lecturers who have raised generations of Armenian mathematicians and English specialists and they were on there streets from day one of the Movement. I also remember a day of December 1, 1992. My father was sick in bed, and my mother was crying not being able to find a way to heat the house. I am sure this is a very common memory for many Armenians. 10 minutes later I was in my favourite Komitas street park cutting the trees, which saw me growing up.
Robert Kocharian is a villager. But I can’t acuse him of betrayal. He is a bloodsucker but I trust him. He has never betrayed his type. I hate LTP because he betrayed my type and let the villagers take over. I will never forgive him that.
Also, if he goes the way of the Orange Revolution bullshit or black PR I won’t ever vote for him. The only way I will vote for him is when he goes out and asks forgiveness humbly and then works like a slave … until I see his sweat.
Hailk & Observer, I guess if if you want to make a political analysis that is at least of any intelectual merit, I guess you will need to coat the argument in step-by-step build-up and multi-sentence coating. One last thing that I would want to see on Armenian polical scene is yet another stand-up-politician who would be talking in empty populist slogans.
That said I have to agree that LTP is yet to brush up on his public speech skills. When I was a kid I remember his speeches were inspiring and clever, now from what I’ve heard/read I have to agree that it was indeed boring. Boring also because there really was little original substance – same old, same old that he’ve eard previously from others.
As for the questions of the importance of grounding a political speech in proper historical analysis, I don’t think that that necessarily has to be boring. For instane, if you listen to speeches of Lenin or Trotsky or Chavez … even though they are long, but not boring, and very engaging with the personal conditions of each listener. One has to admit that Lenin’s speech impediment didn’t make him exactly the best public speaker, but when he spoke he could really *engage* even the most primitive listener.
So far I cannot see a single voice on amenian political platform (with an exception of David Hakobyan perhaps) that could explain to a common folk why is he/she in such shoe, through a coherent materially-grounded system of analysis (also known as Ideology). And here again we are back at the problem of death of ideologies, which is also the death of progressive culture.
Observer,
I completly agree with you.I noticed that also but in adifferent way. Yesterday I was looking at his photos and it was hard to find one which demonstrated close relation between him and public. His not a populist however he needs to interact with people as there are many there who would liketo interact with him.
This is a message that has to be passed to him.
[…] a comment on an entry on his own blog, Observer details what we need to hear now from every candidate. It might be that seldom have raised such issues in past elections in Armenia, and that it as at […]