SINCE ARMENIA’S INDEPENDENCE COUNTRY’S POLITICAL ELITE IS BECOMING MORE
AND MORE DISQUALIFIED, LARISA ALAVERDIAN CONSIDERS

YEREVAN, MAY 8, NOYAN TAPAN. Since Armenia’s independence country’s
political elite is becoming more and more disqualified. Larisa
Alaverdian, a member of the RA National Assembly Zharangutiun
(Heritage) faction, expressed such an opinion at a discussion organized
on May 7 at the National Press Club. According to the deputy, those who
are called up for being elite, in most cases even do not realize their
own responsibility. While it is them who should have assumed the
mission of building a free person, which has failed in Armenia so far.
L. Alaverdian affirmed that one of the reasons of the situation formed
in the country today is that many of members of society still "bear a
slave in themselves."

According to Alvard Petrosian, a member of the NA ARFD faction, her
contemporaries are mostly situation politicians. "Time compelled the
active part of people to be engaged in politics. I consider my presence
in politics as much accidental," the deputy said. In her words, in 1988
people took to the streets thinking that they carried out a revolution,
but the Communist Party leaders remained country’s rulers. Today also
former communists or leaders of the Young Communist League remain in
politics passing on from one party to another in many cases.

In the opinion of Heghine Bisharian, the Chairwoman of the Orinats
Yerkir (Country of Law) Party faction, representatives of the political
elite should have principles, morality, and sense of responsibility.
While people deprived of the above mentioned traits receive the right
to decide people’s fate. And such people often become a political elite
just with "people’s hands."

According to Ruzan Khachatrian, a representative of the People’s Party
of Armenia, today’s Armenian political elite is represented by people,
who have appeared there thanks to not their merits, but posts they
take. In her words, the things were not this way even in the Soviet
years when not communist leaders but dissidents enjoyed more authority
in society. R. Khachatrian affirmed that the country should be quickly
relieved from today’s political elite. In her words, rules of natural
selection should work in politics, which can be guaranteed only through
holding of democratic elections.