Armen Martirosyan: “Armenia’s problem cannot be solved by the PM's sweet words”

Interview by David Stepanyan, Yerevan. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza

The vice-president of “Heritage” Party Armen Martirosyan told Vestnik Kavkaza about the balance  of forces in the Council of the Elders in Yerevan, social movements, and new trends of the Armenian internal political life.

-    As the result of the elections to the Council of the Elders, your bloc “Hello, Yerevan” became one of forces which will govern the capital. Do you plan to head the fraction of the bloc? And how do you see your work in the capital’s parliament?

-    I consider the work in the Council in the same way as the work in the parliament of the republic. The fraction of Heritage, which consists of 7 people, managed to resist pro-government fractions (131 MP) in the Council, which includes only 65 people. It will be easier for us to work. It seems our bloc’s fraction will be headed by someone else. There is a tem which has experience and will positively influence its further activity.

The “Hello, Yerevan” Fraction plans to cooperate with the fraction of Prosperous Armenia only in case of the political position accord on certain issues concerning development of Yerevan. We should work as the full-scale opposition, even though the results of the elections to the Council of the Elders were falsified. On the voting day there were almost no ballot stations where crime wouldn’t be committed. The Republican Party of Armenia put pressure on voters, gave bribes, said what people should do, while the police and the National Security Service pretended they didn’t see anything.

-    The leader of Heritage Raffi Ovannisyan is visiting the USA. What is the goal of the visit?

-    He is taking part in the event devoted to celebrating Day of the First Republic of Armenia. However, probably Raffi Ovannisyan will conduct several meetings which will be connected with a new protest movement “For New Armenia.” There is a group of problems that should be settled, especially considering the fact that not only citizens of Armenia, but all Armenians should take part in the movement.

-    Considering speeches by Premier Tigran Sarkisyan, the government is seriously thinking about ways out of the difficult socio-economic situation…

-    Many people in Armenia can say sweet nothing, just like our Premier. But one thing is to talk and another thing is to implement these ideas in reality. Our smart prime minister who speaks beautifully about the revolution of thought, but he must know that this revolution should be carried out by elite which is absent in Armenia. If Sarkisyan wants to carry out the revolution, he should provide liberalization of the market and competitiveness which would encourage establishing of the middle class, new elite and change the state of mind. Problems cannot be solved by sweet words. The government won’t settle them.

First of all, it is unable to settle them; secondly, it doesn’t want to do it. Thirdly, there are serious contradictions between interests of the society and a narrow group of the authorities, and they prevent settlement of the problems.

In the period of the global crisis and the post-crisis period the activity of banks all over the world appeared to be unprofitable, Armenia was the only exception. Net profit of the Armenian banking system grew by 28% in 2012. It is clear that if banks get such a profit, other economic segments cannot gain such profits.

The premier proposed the idea of 30-per cent subsidies for gas prices increasing by means of internal resources, using Eurobond production. It is cover-up of another increase of the foreign debt.

-    However, the government is taking certain steps. For instance, it prepares for increasing wages, pensions, and social benefits…

-    If it is fulfilled, they will use foreign loans again; so it won’t be a solution for the problem. The foreign debt continues growing and becomes dangerously huge. However, it won’t stop the leadership. It won’t try to figure it out to the detriment of its own interests. Today people are obviously dissatisfied with the power in Armenia. Those who wanted to leave have left, the others don’t want to or cannot leave. These people will have to rebel because there is no alternative. Our duty is to help them.

In such situations in other, more civilized countries than Armenia, it would be a direct path to a revolution. There are many reasons for a revolution in Armenia. The other question is whether it would be carried out or not. It is unclear whether the Armenian society is ready. The foreign partners provide the support to the authorities. In their return, the authorities are ready to do everything the foreign partners want. I don’t even mention external challenges and the unstable situation in the region. All this can be a reason for a rebellion.