TIGRAN SARGSYAN ON BLACKMAIL, THREATS AND CHRISTIANITY
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan presented the program of the government to the National Assembly on April 29 after which he held a briefing at the lobby of the National Assembly, which was mostly on the ideas Tigran Sargsyan had expressed during the meeting of the National Assembly. Tigran Sargsyan stated that there will be no social tension in the country if the rich live a more modest life because it is not Christian when wealth and power is displayed in a country with the problem of poverty. Mr. Sargsyan, you say about impermissibility of display of wealth and power. It is clear that the display of power is regulated by the law. How are you going to regulate the display of wealth? T.S.: Everyone can interpret my words in their way. I think that what I was talking about are simple Christian values. I think we all are aware of what I am talking about. I am talking about the way of life. I said that the way of life of the rich should change in Armenia. In other words, it is the way of life of people, what we are in everyday life. How do we behave in the country where the primary problem of the government is to overcome poverty? If we want solidarity, social integrity, the rich must change their way of life. They should not display all that if they want to shape a climate of solidarity, they must behave as a Christian, as an Armenian. I think it is a simple, logical approach. Mr. Prime Minister, is it a modest way of life when the ministers ride in cars worth tens of thousands of dollars? T.S.: Dear colleagues, I have always stated and I state that we must begin with ourselves, and my preaching is not addressed to you but to all of us. It does not happen so that we live with Christian values and you do not. In our society there will be a climate of solidarity if there is consensus on those values, and I think that you will agree that the Armenian society has no alternative but to shape a climate of solidarity. Mr. Prime Minister, your initiative that the newspaper stories about different officials should receive a special attention is interpreted in different ways. It is perceived as an effort to protect officials. How would you comment on that move? T.S.: Thank you. I hope that my today’s report will be published fully because very often my statements are distorted by our opponents, trying to distort the content and meaning. The key thesis that I put forward and would like our opposition to focus on it is that if we want to have accountable media, we must first of all have an accountable government. This is first. The second important thesis that we are going punish wrongdoers, and it concerns officials as well. Third, we are going to protect honest officials from lies, insult, gossips, which the honest officials need. Otherwise, no honest and decent person would like to work in government. And you must help us. We are introducing a new concept. We must be open and transparent, and we have made the first steps in that direction. Have you ever seen that an institutional integrity investigation were carried out on the instruction of the prime minister based on a story published in the media? So, endorse this approach rather than attack us, distort the idea, support us. Otherwise, all our initiatives will fail. Mr. Prime Minister, you said that open and transparent activities are especially complicated with regard to the customs and tax services because there is blackmail and threats, and people do not want to work in a new way. Please give more detail. T.S.: As to blackmail, I think you have witnessed how people rebel when we try to apply the law in the Republic of Armenia. Immediately demonstrators appear who protest that their rights are violated but in reality we try to apply the law fully, and it is highly important who makes those people gather in front of the government and hold a demonstration the purpose of which is that we carry out no reforms at the customs service but restore the old regime when it was possible to smuggle products from China to Armenia. And now that we have eliminated this opportunity, those people organize rallies. I think that the changes we carry out are sensitive changes because we make people change their behavior because people are driven by the inertia of thinking and way of acting. Mr. Prime Minister, you mentioned that we must not accept the European values blindly. Do you mean such basic values as human rights, freedom of speech and press? T.S.: I would like to tell you that human rights, freedom of speech are not European values, they are Armenian values. And if you are acquainted with the book by Makhakia Ormanyan, a famous figure of the Armenian Apostolic Church in which he makes profound analyses of the history of the Armenian Apostolic Church, you will see that it is one of the peculiarities of our nation, and we need not imitate what is in our nature. It is simply necessary to discover and use. And the artificial approach that we must yield to that European values, it is insulting. It is insulting for a person who considers himself to be Armenian, who has dignity because the European values should be based on the Christian system of values. And today we can see European ugliness, deviation from those values, and we are not going to follow blindly the values which are not acceptable for us, worth the Armenians, the Christians. And it will mean overcoming provinciality. We do not need imitations, we need to return to our origin. Mr. Prime Minister, you stated about relieving the tax load. Give more detail, please. T.S.: The approach to the tax load is the following: the forces which support a liberal market set forward the thesis that the tax load should not be heavy not to hinder the development of business, and the load of solution of part of social problems is put on the shoulders of business, and thereby business becomes socially responsible. In other words, the function of redistribution of the government acquires another content. The role of the state is important but limited. What does it mean? If the share of taxes in the GDP increases through improvement of tax administration, we will review the problem of rates of taxes because it is not expedient to have a 25 percent of share of taxes in the GDP because it is more expedient if the private sector directs its income, profit at the implementation of social programs. Thereby the ability of self-organization of the society, its potential is discovered. If the state assumed a too heavy load, a psychological complex emerges that the society is responsible for all the issues. Any problem that the citizen has, goes and demands the solution from the state which dissolves the government. And we are going to have a number of programs which are intended to spur social initiatives, not to demand the solution of every problem from the government and solve it ourselves, at home, in the community. Mr. Prime Minister, your government overlapped with the inflation of some foodstuffs, and the prices are expected to grow more. Don’t you fear that it may aggravate the lack of confidence of the society and people in the government? T.S.: Generally, there is no need to fear criticism. I have noted in my report, now I want to repeat. We have fair people. It is important to have people see that we are honest, we are fair, we do not conceal our problems, we openly talk about our problems and we offer solutions which we can implement. And our people will duly appreciate it because also with your help he must tell the truth to people. There is serious influence, circumstances which we cannot prevent. The crisis on world markets affects us by all means because we import most foodstuffs, and as a poor country, because poverty has not been eliminated in Armenia yet, we cannot solve this problem in a wink. At the same time, we will present our possibilities, our solutions, we are going to be open, ready to listen to alternative solutions. I think that the problem of confidence necessitates to be honor, not to fear unpopular solutions. In that case we will enjoy the confidence of people and your assistance.
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- 239 Birth of Saint Grigor Loosavoritsh. He founded Christianity in Armenia in 301. He died in 326.
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- 1904 The battle of Ishkhanadzor, one of the most important battles of the Sassoon rebellion against Turkish exactions.
- 1945 The Armenian 89th Tamanian Division participates in the street battles of Berlin.
- 1961 The Achievements of the National Economy of the Armenian SSR Exhibition opens in Yerevan.
- 1963 The first unit of Yerevan's Thermal Electric Power Generator is put on line.
- 1992 The Artsakh armed forces dislodge Azeri Turk soldiers that had mounted assaults on Stepanakert and Karitak (Artsakh).
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