Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan was the guest during the press conference held at the “Hayeli” club on Friday. Journalists were surprised to see that the prime minister had chosen to communicate with them through the means of a press conference-something which he usually doesn’t do. However, it turned out later that there was a reason for that.
The “Hayeli” club had taken a survey: Which political activist was known for his dedicated work in the political field and politics in 2006? The activist with the highest points was Andranik Markaryan. The speaker said that in his opinion, the results of the survey go to show that the people not only trust, but also love the prime minister. However, Andranik Markaryan did correct himself by saying some of the people. He also said that he was surprised to see the results because he represents the Armenian government and if the government does good deeds, then the results are normal. Andranik Markaryan explained that the reason for his long term as prime minister (May 12, 2000 to now) was due to the success of the cooperation between the president, the government and the National Assembly. Let’s not forget to mention that there was no other government official or minister mentioned in the survey besides him and Vardan Oskanyan. Andranik Markaryan considered that normal because the work of the government is summarized along with the work completed by the prime minister.
“My points are thanks to the work done by the rest of the government officials,” mentioned Markaryan.
Besides being the head of the Armenian government, A. Markaryan is also leader of the Armenian Republican Party, which didn’t receive a high rating during the survey. The Prime Minister of Armenia believes that only time will show and that the low rating is due to partisanship of the government. After the recent interview given by Armenian President Robert Kocharyan, many people thought that the president sees the “Prosperous Armenia” party as the future leading party at the National Assembly. However, A. Markaryan didn’t come to that conclusion.
“Most of his speech was dedicated to the work that the government has done in the long run. If we compare and contrast the government and the “Prosperous Armenia” party, the party is just entering the political field and there is always a bigger interest towards a newly formed party. Only time will show,” says A. Markaryan.
As for the “policy of distributing potatoes and tying haystacks”, Markaryan made a correction and said that “Millennium Challenges” fund is doing that, not the Republican Party. He also said that the government isn’t really doing anything with those charities; it’s just that the government is obligated to do that and there shouldn’t be any advertisement for that.
“We’re bringing in 235 million dollars and directing that money towards the villages in the course of five years. It’s kind of silly for me to compare the distribution of potatoes with this program.”
Markaryan is certain that there are always people in Armenia who are grateful for even a little help and he considers the gratefulness of people as humanistic. However, there is one thing that the prime minister doesn’t like.
“I don’t like it when they tape that moment and then show how the people are saying “thank-you” on television. The people doing charities must hear that thank-you and keep it to themselves and not discuss it during their meetings,” says A. Markaryan.
As for the Armenian Republican Party, it is currently involved in organizational work with the territorial branches, provision of technical equipment, etc. “We’re not involved in propaganda; we’re building our party,” says the prime minister.
One of the journalists asked about the murder of the village head of the Nalbandyan village, which the Armenian presses connect with the Republican Party.
“I feel sorry for that murder. Any murder, or a crime, becomes a target for this or that political power during the tense situation of the political field.”
According to Markaryan, the Republican Party pays a lot of attention to the local government elections; however there have been times when the Republican Party has lost.
“But there haven’t been any beatings during the elections; much less murder…what I mean is that the price of murder and having a village head are not equivalent.”
The Armenian Prime Minister told journalists that the government had asked the president to assign the Police of Armenia to quickly reveal the case. “I think that the political powers trying to politicize the murder are simply starting black PR,” said Markaryan. As to whether or not the murder will be revealed, Mr. Markaryan doesn’t know. “I want to believe that it will soon be revealed.”
The prime minister was asked how he treats his former and present coalitional party colleagues, one of which (“Rule of Law”) is “trying its luck” in the capital cities of Europe, while the other-the ARF-is becoming more and more oppositional while being a part of the government. It turned out that Markaryan doesn’t really care which party tries his luck and from where it gets help. According to him, political powers of Armenia must solve their issues in Armenia, however, it’s normal if the political power tries to raise its reputation and be recognized abroad. As for the Dashnaktsutyun, according to Markaryan, this is not something new.
“We have worked like this for the past seven years and still do.”
Andranik Markaryan doesn’t agree with the ratings of the World Bank, according to which corruption has increased in Armenia and reforms have slowed down.
“It’s difficult to reach great heights when you’re fighting against corruption for 2-3 years. You close one door, the other one opens. You start coming up with new projects in order to fight against the new methods of corruption.”
Journalists were also interested to know what the Armenian Prime Minister had to say about the comparisons between Nairi Hunanyan and Zhirair Sefliyan written in the Armenian presses.
“As a principle, I agree with what Tigran Hakobyan has to say. I don’t really know what the case is about…if they have committed a crime, they must be punished regardless of who is the president and who is the prime minister…I simply read their speeches and I’m worried over the tone of their speeches, the way they speak and their desires,” said Markaryan, adding that he didn’t know how they were able to do all they had done and what level they had reached.