100 DAYS OF DRIFTING

Whatever Serge Sargsyan has been doing since he took up the office of president, Serge Sargsyan is special to the modern history of Armenia because it is not understandable for not only the society, the citizens, but also for the ruling elite. For instance, the leader of the Republican Party Serge Sargsyan shapes his government from representatives of other parties. Or Serge Sargsyan first does not authorize the rallies of the opposition but then allows them to take place where they had been foreseen. With regard to manpower policy, Serge Sargsyan did not make any appointment which would show that the “controlling interest” of that appointment is in his hands rather than Robert Kocharyan’s. Perhaps other examples could be noted which would reveal that Serge Sargsyan’s 100 days of tenure are not understandable. However, since it is evident to both the citizens and the elite, it is not worthwhile to waste time on additional examples. In fact, Serge Sargsyan’s actions are not understandable for regular logic. However, when they are viewed through the prism of the Armenian reality, it becomes evident that everything is more than understandable. Perhaps there is one important reason why Serge Sargsyan’s actions are not understandable. He does not understand in what status he has appeared now and where the waves are driving him. The new president of Armenia does not appear to be an official who carries out public administration but is like a person in a boat on the sea who has realized that it is pointless to resist the storm, and it is more expedient to row windward. Serge Sargsyan is obviously conducting a policy of the moment, in other words, he solves short-term problems because he has no resource for solving medium-term, let alone long-term problems. Not only he does not have the resource of confidence of the society but also of the confidence of the system. During his 100 days of tenure Serge Sargsyan has been unable to define the most important problem. During his 100 days of tenure he has considered the most important problem the neutralization of Levon Ter-Petrosyan, meanwhile in reality the greatest problem during Serge Sargsyan’s tenure was Robert Kocharyan, and it was necessary to neutralize the factor of Kocharyan rather than the factor of Ter-Petrosyan. Even if the new president of Armenia has realized the subtlety of the situation, he has been unable to find ingenuity or strength to solve that important problem. Consequently, we may even say that 100 days of tenure of Serge Sargsyan has not even started yet because ten years of tenure of Robert Kocharyan has not ended yet. The point is that in Armenia the end of that tenure is defined by the Constitution but is brought into being through bypassing mechanisms. This was the case with all issues, including everyday ones, let alone the shaping of government. Robert Kocharyan has not handed over the wheel of those vicious mechanisms, and judging by the developments of the past few months, he seems unlikely to hand it over. Consequently, Serge Sargsyan has one way of suspending Robert Kocharyan’s tenure: he must turn the Constitution into a mechanism of solving problems in the country. And only in that case will it be possible to consider that Serge Sargsyan has come to power and to set the timer. However, the fact that Robert Kocharyan’s tenure continues does not relieve Serge Sargsyan of responsibility for the occurrences in the country. Moreover, now he is much more responsible for the existing reality than if it were unambiguous that Serge Sargsyan is the president who controls the situation. The point is that in the current reality Serge Sargsyan is the veil of the unconstitutional government of the country because according to the Constitution, Robert Kocharyan’s office ended on April 9, 2008. HAKOB BADALYAN

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Headlines for July 07, 2008

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100 DAYS OF DRIFTING
Whatever Serge Sargsyan has been doing since he took up the office of president, Serge Sargsyan is special to the modern history of Armenia because it is not understandable for not only the society, the ...
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