WILL ROBERT KOCHARYAN GO ALL THE WAY?
Lragir.am
14 July 06
In the evening of July 12 the Audit Service of the president of
Armenia informed press that serious cases of abuse were revealed in
privatization of state property and land. The cases of abuse revealed
by the Audit Service are so serious that action was taken.
If the Kocharyan administration has just learned about the cases of
abuse in the sale of state property and land, the society has long
been aware of its criminal nature. And if the society was sursprised
at the information, only because the society did not expect that such
revelations are possible in Armenia. On the other hand, there were
no revelations as such. It was merely announced that serious cases
of abuse were reported, and action was taken. The information is not
full, for there are no names of government agencies, public officials,
who are suspected of criminal deals and embezzlement of public money.
In other words, the crime was reported, the criminals will be revealed
later. But it will not take much effort because public crimes and
public criminals are so many that one only needs to match them. In
fact, we must expect that currently the administration is thinking
over matching these. In fact, the role of investigation is going to
be smaller than the role of politics. There is a lot of evidence
to this. The work of the Audit Service of the president gathered
momentum two years ago, when they started hinting at scandalous
revelations to be made soon. These did not take place however,
instead the investigation continued. A year ago they took up the
sphere of expropriation of state land and property. Several months
ago Robert Kocharyan made serious statements. He even threatened to
sue the director of one of the Agencies for Program Implementation,
appointed by the prime minister. Public revelations, however, were
being late. And now they are here. They are made after Mathew Bryza
announces about learning from Azerbaijan, immediately after the
Iranian visit of Robert Kocharyan, by the end of Levitin’s visit,
when the result of the investigation of the crash of A320 is presented
to the president. Finally, the revelation is made when ten days are
left until the extraordinary conference of the Republican Party. It
is notable that the Republican officials attend to the privatization
of state land and property.
Hence, Robert Kocharyan makes a knight’s move on the eve of the
Republican conference, which was said to become a crucial superpartisan
moment for the Republican Party and the defense minister Serge Sargsyan
to acquire a leading position in the Republican Party. The expression
"knight’s move" is losings its originality in the political sphere of
Armenia. However, the president does not have a problem of originality
when someone predicts that this fall Serge Sargsyan will take the
power, who has files on everyone.
In this circumstances all the president can do is show who is the
landlord and what intentions it has. It is not accidental that this
move is made with the knight. "The one who will be up against him
with a knight, he will get the reply with a knight." It is difficult
to say, however, that the announcement of the Audit Service of the
president is a reply. If yes, it is not a full reply, because it is
important to punish criminals, not to announce about the crime.
Besides, it is rather important who will be punished, an ordinary
official or we will see an unprecedented revelation.
In this sense, any development appears possible except a determined
decision, and that the investigation will go all the way and the way of
"compromise" will not be chosen. In other words, the examiners and the
examined will come to an arrangement, including on a scapegoat. But
in this case the situation of the president may become even more
complicated. If Kocharyan fails to be consistent all the way, he may
lose the public support he might have got in case he went all the
way to reveal the criminals, even if they are people around him.
If he fails to be consistent, the president’s step will not get a high
evaluation of the West, which is no less aware of cases of abuse by
whom and where than the president’s audit service. In other words,
being well aware of the real situation, the West is also rigorous
in changing the situation. And if Aliyev’s example is cited, who put
ministers to prison, it is clear what is required from the president
of Armenia.
Half revelation is not in the home political interests of Robert
Kocharyan. The point is that his move, which might be against the
administrative-criminal resource of the Republican Party mobilized
by Serge Sargsyan, can push this resource to consolidation rather
than crush it. Even if they make a compromise, it will be a mere act
of temporising until they take all the power. In this case, Robert
Kocharyan’s has only one chance to avoid the "status of observer"
not to stop after this move, for otherwise this move may become his
last move.
HAKOB BADALYAN