GOVERNMENT’S MISE EN SCENE

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12:42:55 – 14/08/2009

Interview By Siranuysh Papyan

Artur Petrosyan- art critic, Art-laboratory member. Participated in
the "resistance" project and in a number of other actions. HAK member.

– What is intelligentsia for you? And what are the civil stances of
the intelligentsia today?

– Intellectuals are those people, who want to influence on the public
with the help of their intellectual work and feel responsible for
the events in their country and in the world.

The civil stance of today’s intelligentsia we may say that is polarized
The intelligentsia in Armenia is divided into two camps. In the first
camp, there are those "geeks and idiots" (these are the definitions
of the current government given once by the present head of the
Public Council Vazgen Manukyan) and in the second camp, there are the
oppositional intellectuals. In the first camp, there are those people,
who are consciously connected with the oligarchs and governmental
members they have material interests. They are interested in money
allocated from the state budget to use it for their personal purposes.

– But they are members of the Council of Elders now and they say
that they have come to solve issues from inside and that they are
opposition.

– I think that the Republican with the help of the stars invented by
it tries to fulfill its bandit activities.

A struggler from inside is for example Tigran Arakelyan, who is
detained now accused of intention to beat up a police official who
is doubly bigger than he is and there is not responsible action from
these artists. They are not able to bring up any issue. The government
did not make them members of Elder Council for them to bring up issues
they are just a screen. They are a mise en scene for the government.

– Was the government not able to fulfill its bandit activities as
you stated without them?

– They always need to seem softer. When wrongdoers get richer in
capitalistic countries, they need soft people. And they always find
such idiots, who are ready to join them for money or for naivety.

– One year and a half passed after March 1, and many people say that
the movement weakened. Do you feel it especially being a HAK member?

– I think there is no difference between the situations before March 1
and now. I cannot compare today with March 21 and the events following
it, the strolls in the North Avenue … we may say that today we live
the second phase of disappointment, but it think this is normal. In
general I do not understand the concept of HAK, I like more the word
levonness". But this is normal in Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s strategy,
who likes soft and small actions.

– Do you believe that extraordinary presidential elections will
take place?

– The important is that the atmosphere and the ideology of the HAK
become massive for us not to have outrageous election during the
following ones. This is more important now then to change the present
government. After all, we may appear in the same situation as now.

– Do you believe that we will reach a point when we will have fair
and transparent elections considering the fact that the last elections
were described as the worst and the most criminalized in Armenia?

– The May 31 election was the result of the very disappointment I
mentioned. On the other hand, the HAK did not hold active propaganda
activities to be able to involve different masses. Because today we
have several Armenias in Armenia: first Armenia is that of "geeks and
idiots", the second is the oppositional, struggling Armenia, and the
third is the one of disappointed and indifferent people. The opposition
was not able to involve in the struggle the third Armenia. It did it
on February 26. People showed their force on March 1, they understood
that they may struggle and they have the needed resource. But with the
time, the disappointment deepened and the social worsening situation
was added. And this time, I may say for the community of Arabkir, there
were not ballot stuffing or breaches, but just people were corrupt.

I think this stoppage of activities of the HAK is determined by
internal and organizational issues. I hope that from September 18,
more active activities will be started and Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s
visits to the regions prove this.

– How do you see that activeness, if as you said people are
disappointed and the other part is indifferent?

– All my hope is Levon Ter-Petrosyan from this point of view. He was
able to arouse a national movement in 2007, he was able to form a
real opposition from a rally of 60, 000 participants (the great part
of which came to oppose to him and were full of doubts). If he wants,
he can arouse another big wave.

I think we should treat March 1 as the day of independence, as it
was the day of the formation of civil society.

– You say that it may happen if Levon Ter-Petrosyan and his supporters
would like it.

– No, if his supporters want, it will not happen, but if Levon
Ter-Petrosyan wants, it will.

– Let us suppose that the HAK came to power, the geeks and idiots you
mentioned, will automatically become opposition. Do you not appear
in opposite camps?

– I think that artists, independently if they support the government or
they do not, they have to be independent at least financially. They may
have fascistic ideas or communistic ideas, they may defend Stalinism
but they do not have to depend financially on the government. The
most important is to defend your independence and not to serve the
government or the opposition. An artist must not make the order of
someone, their freedom is more important independently if they support
the government or the opposition.