FORMER PRIME MINISTER TALKS ON ARMENIA’S FUTURE AT U. MICHIGAN
By Michael Coulter, Michigan Daily; SOURCE: U. Michigan
Michigan Daily via U-Wire
University Wire
March 14, 2006 Tuesday
ANN ARBOR, Mich.
Some say the most important dates in Armenian history occurred
thousands of years ago, but the nation has also undergone important
changes in its recent history.
Hrant Bagratyan, the former Armenian prime minister, said Armenia now
needs to go through a second wave of political and economic reforms
to emerge as a modern nation.
University of Michigan students and professors filled the Kalamazoo
Room of the Michigan League Monday night to listen to Bagratyan
speak about his time as prime minister from 1993 to 1996 and about
the continuing work he says needs to be done in Armenia today.
Bagratyan became prime minister at the age of 35, and is considered
the architect of Armenia’s transition to a market economy after the
fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
His lecture, titled “Adapting to New Economic Values: Armenia in
Transition,” focused on progress and evolution in Armenia.
He also spoke about the problems that arose after the first wave of
reforms in the post-Soviet era, such as the difficulties stemming
from privatizing businesses and industry after years of heavy state
control over the economy.
Bagratyan explained some of those issues using amusing, yet informative
analogies.
“An empire should be like a cake that’s on the table until everyone
has a piece,” he said. “Once all the cake is gone, it should be over.”
He likened Armenia to a car that can only move forward if all the
pieces are working properly.
Since resigning as prime minister, Bagratyan has held a variety of
positions, but he is currently the vice president of an Armenia-based
brandy company, one of the oldest companies in Armenia.
“He has first-hand experience in changing a part of the 20th century,
and he will go down in history,” said History Prof. Gerard Libaridian.
Libaridian, who organized the lecture, said he expected a large and
diverse crowd of students to attend the event.
Attendee Christine Harper, a graduate student in the School of Public
Health, said she came to learn about how the country has recovered
since the collapse of the Soviet system.
Harper said her brother will be serving in the Peace Corps in Armenia
in June.
Another student who attended the event because of his interest in
the recovery of Armenia was RC sophomore Aram Sarkisian, who said he
came to get Bagratyan’s perspective on important governmental issues
facing Armenia.