THEY FEED PRESENT FROM PAST

Lragir.am
14:49:35 – 22/07/2009

Interview by SIRANUSH PAPYAN

– In your opinion, what is the civil stance of the intelligentsia
today?

What is intelligentsia in general?

– There are two ways of activities in life- vital activity and thinking
activity. Usually the thinking activity is what the future creates. And
the difference between these two activities is very big. Sometimes it
even causes conflicts because the intellectual wants to eliminate the
present to build what comes from their mind. Such an intellectual is
always in conflict with the present and the current government. But in
our case, it is the government which makes people intellectuals. In
order to be a national artist, national painter or a big writer, one
has to follow the will of the government. So the meaning of the word
"intellectual" mutates. An intellectual has always to be opposition.

Today, the intellectuals are still created by the government and
an intellectual appears in an ambiguous situation. They have also
the great fear of not being known, because very few intellectuals
are ready to be recognized as a value from above, with whom it is
interesting. When the ideas of an intellectual are interesting and
one may think that they may create future it is good. If it is not
so, the words of an intellectual are perceived as propaganda that
you understand or do not understand. When an intellec tual does not
have this kind of ideas, they are afraid that if sanctions coming
from above lack, either they will be unknown or will not be demanded.

– Your assessment to the developments of the past one year.

– The setting up of the Congress has a great symbolic meaning in
it. Gandi told about the Indian National Congress that it is the way
of the Indian people to self-organize under the condition of English
occupation. He stresses right the self-organization. He does not
strive for rebellion.

Today we may say that the HAK is the way of the organization of the
Armenian people under the condition of criminal occupation. It is
notable that the HAK remained, though there is no hope for power any
longer, as the electoral process is completely defamed, but the HAK
remained as the potential for people’s self-organization.

-So, you do not agree with the HAK opinion that we are going to have
extraordinary presidential election.

– Maybe we will have it. There was no aspiration to self-organization
during Robert Kocharyan’s tenure. Some kind of false constructiveness
was happening, the expression of which was the creation of different
types of parties such as "Bargavach Hayastan" and "Orinats Yerkir", as
well as Serge Sargsyan’s "public council". Now the society understood
that it needs some kind of self-organization. Serge Sargsyan does
not manage to preserve=2 0the image, which will enable the public
perceive him as a bearer of state values.

But the question here is not only the image of the president. The
question is that the public should not refuse its self-organization
after the victory of the opposition.