GROWN-UP AND MATURE BUSINESSMEN BUT STILL COMPLAINING
James Hakobyan

Lragir, Armenia
Nov 2 2006

Several Armenian businessmen showed up at the November 1 hearings
held by the Union of Producers and Entrepreneurs, and expressed
their dissatisfaction concerning the unpredictable fluctuations of
the exchange rate of the dollar and the hypertensive revaluation of
the dram. Besides, the businessmen complained of the policy, the
insifficient anti-black economy efforts. It is notable to mention
the names of those few businessmen who were present in the ceremony
of this "group complaint". Areg Ghukasyan, the brother of the NKR
president Arkady Ghukasyan, Republican, the owner of the salt mine.

Ashot Baghdasaryan, Republican, the owner of Kilikia Beer Factory, the
government has recently promoted his business considerably by cutting
the excise tax on the local beer. Both Ghukasyan and Baghdasaryan
are members of parliament. Another complainer was Gagik Abrahamyan,
Ara Abrahamyan’s brother, who is in diamond business. The "tribune"
of protest was Arsen Ghazaryan, the chair of the Union of Producers
and Entrepreneurs. It is notable that every time on listening to
his complains a smile appeared on Tigran Sargsyan’s face, which
could not compete with that of the Cheshire cat but was equally
expressive. Either Tigran Sargsyan was daydreaming and was not even
listening to the complaints or he was listening and smiling at their
words. And their words at least arouse a smile. And the reason is
not that they are also operating in the black economy.

Everything is much more simple. Even if we suppose that these
businessmen do everything legally and hate the black economy,
as they assured, it is simply illogical that they are members of
the ruling political party, which is supposed to battle the black
economy. In other words, instead of complaining to the president of
the Central Bank Tigran Sargsyan Areg Ghukasyan and Ashot Baghdasaryan
should complain to the leader of their own political party Andranik
Margaryan, who works as the prime minister of Armenia. Tigran
Sargsyan is an appointed person, who does whatever they tell him
to do. And perhaps he smiled and wondered that these grown-up and
mature businessmen do not know yet that he does not work out policies,
he implements policies. The National Assembly works out the policy,
and the parliament majority is the Republican Party, and therefore
the leader of this political party is the prime minister.

The same businessmen who complain of the unpredictable revaluation of
the dram, the black economy and many other things, during the universal
elections they stood beside Robert Kocharyan. We have to be grateful
that they did not blow a kiss to their relatives and make clear to
them who they should vote for. The same businessmen have never tried
to establish an organization, which would sustain the legal and fair
competition they confess. And though we admit that their complaints
are fair, we nevertheless have to emphasize that their complaints
are not righteous because they are complaining of their cherished
government with whom they signed the unwritten laws of the game. And
when the government breaks the written laws, they do not have the
moral right to protest. In order to gain this right they first need
to build their relations with the government on the written laws.