HAVING AMBITIOUS PROGRAMS IS GOOD
GEVORG HAROUTYUNYAN

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
11 Oct 2008
Armenia

But the simplest problems are not resolved

Interview with GEVORG POGHOSYAN, Head of the Armenian Sociological
Association

`Mr. Poghosyan, do we make too much haste or is the process of making
changes in the country really too slow?’

`There is such an impression that no changes are taking place. Even the
predication that L. Ter-Petrosyan would soon go abroad didn’t come
true. And now they say the `congress’ has exhausted itself and should
quit the political arena. And the activists of the so-called congress
insist that each new meeting of theirs is going to be the most
decisive, and something is going to change. Both parties exaggerate.
Whereas the congress should become an active political pro-opposition
force and continue working. And the authorities should work as well.

No ultimatums, threats or demonstrations can change anything. The
political arena cannot exist without the opposition. Society is
disappointed both with the opposition and the authorities equally. This
is the saddest fact. The people are dissatisfied with the role of both
parties.

In our country, establishing a Ministry, providing it with a space,
furniture, human resources and equipment turns out to be easier than
forming a public council under the President. Striking though it is,
such=2
0is the truth. Whereas, no particular space or expenses are
required for setting up the public council. This creates an impression
that there’s very little need for setting up the council.

Yes, a country like Armenia which has such a big Diaspora should have
established a relevant Ministry long ago. Because the absence of such
body in Armenia is as unusual as the absence of an Oil Ministry in a
country rich in oil resources. We all say that our chief potential is
the human being; we export `brains’ and labor force, and the foreign
transfers constitute the major part of our Gross Domestic Product. The
Diaspora is our oil, but it is only now that we are going to have a
Ministry of Diaspora.

Now, both the President and the Prime Minister of the country say that
tour intellectual potential is the principal resource for us to be
considered competitive on the global level. This structure is necessary
in terms of making the public domain active and participating in the
strengthening of the state.

Especially considering that the political opposition appears on the
arena occasionally, mostly at election time, and then, suffering a
defeat, goes underground again. It is necessary to have a permanently
working institution on the political arena; and this is no less
important than having a Ministry of the Diaspora.’

`Why do you think the process of forming the Public Council is being 0D
delayed?’

`There are hundreds of `whys’ like that. It turns out that the
authorities choose to discredit themselves. The promises that are being
given and the ambitious programs that are being published are very
attractive and desirable. The ideas of becoming a regional center of
energy supply, financial resources, tourism, healthcare and technology
are brilliant. It is an axiomatic truth that our society and economy
should be based on knowledge. We, all the scientists, are happy that
the statements we have been making for 10 years are now being pointed
out by the authorities.

All the statements are right and commendable, and all the ambitious
programs are desirable. But eventually, even the simplest and
easy-to-solve programs remain unsolved. There is obviously a wide gap.
Even in the elitist shops and expensive boutiques the controlling
cashboxes were never installed, but we are planning to become a
regional financial centre. Unless we resolve the simple problems, no
one will believe that we are capable of implementing complex and
ambitious programs. It is also possible to solve small-scale problems
along with the implementation of the complex and ambitious programs,
but that is never done.

This is a way towards self-discrediting. As a matter of fact, nothing
changes in everyday life. It turns out that the authorities make
declarative statements which is really dangerous.’