– People of Yerevan in the center of public attention often have an influence on the public when expressing their opinions on any phenomenon. Is that a good thing?
– There is no doubt that the well-known person, whether he likes it or not, finds himself in the center of attention and is forced to be careful about what he says and does. Whether he knows it or not, he has a complex inside because he can’t feel free like he did before. People change when they become famous; very few people are able to stay the same. I don’t consider myself a famous person and never try to stay out of the public eye; on the contrary, I always try to communicate with the audience, and the people in the audience are my fellow citizens. I don’t see the meaning of living a private life.
– Almost all political parties use well-known people, including actors, singers or athletes. It seems as though that does not amaze anyone and does not make them protest.
– Of course they use them and that happens even more every four years. Everything is done actively and crudely. There are political activists that at least try to meet with them and sometimes talk, but there are also those who send someone on behalf of them. That person comes and asks in a rude manner: “How much are you worth?” Whereas the first type is in some way acceptable (the person wants to know your opinion and “guide” you to his ideology), the second type of behavior of political activists is obscene; I can’t find any other words to describe it. But unfortunately, the second type of political figures most often get what they want and they know very well that if they are successful in buying a few, then they can buy anyone, and that everyone is the same. They say ‘Well, he is like the rest; find out what he wants, give it to him so he will come”. It is very sad and pathetic, but that’s the reality.
– Do many state their price?
– Yes.
– But aren’t they throwing their reputation away by doing that? They received money for the first month, then what?
– But who is discrediting them? It is acceptable to sell your vote in Armenia, which is no different from the attempts to sell organs. We all know how people buy organs from somebody else-they take the liver, then the kidneys…there are people who can live on the money they receive from selling kidneys. They can also sell the ear, or the nose.
– So are people in Armenia forced to sell their votes with the thought that it is better to sell it knowing that it is not going to count?
– Some are forced to do that, while others simply love money too much. By selling your vote, you sell your soul. In Armenia, anyone who reaches a certain position thinks that he is not going to be in power for a long time and has to “rob” as much as he can. But we entertainers also think like that at times; we want to sell our votes today, get our couple of thousand and then don’t care what happens. We will never stand on our own two feet with that mentality and will not allow our country to develop. If I realize that if today I may not have enough money for bread and that my child will not have his milk to drink, but that later I will have money to buy my child more, then everything will be fine. By refusing to take the 5,000 drams for my vote, I will wait for something better. But Armenians still don’t have that mentality. Elections are coming up; some people are going to try to “hunt” for votes, while others are going to try to find the “hunters” to offer their votes.
– Perhaps we don’t believe in a better tomorrow, that we can buy more for our children.
– I agree that there has been nothing new in the political field for a while now. But I think that what my country needs now is a “strong hand”. I am for a strong leader; I would even say a very strong leader. Perhaps I am going against myself, but I am certain that what we need is fear. There is no fear; everyone is tolerant and they do whatever they want, of course, as much as they can. That is why you have people driving on sidewalks; they can throw you out of your house and even sell your home. The people are not afraid deep down inside; nobody thinks that sooner or later somebody will come knocking on their doors asking them ‘What are you doing?’ In other words, there is no legal power that causes fear, not to mention respect.
– Fear is not a good thing…
– It is a very bad thing, but we have to experience that. All the countries that don’t have the emotional state of freedom start from fear. Nothing will happen if there is no fear. We are ideologically not ready to be free and independent. It cost us bloodshed and many lives to get independence, but we are not ready for that independence; we think ‘well, we’re free now, the country is ours and anyone can take what he can from this country’.
– Do you see any honest and trustworthy political activist on the horizon?
– I think that there are such people and besides striving for the big chair and position, they are doing things that will help the country in the future. I feel calm because I am neutral and have never benefited from anything for praising someone. But I must recall the deceased Andranik Margaryan, thanks to whom our theatres are able to function as such. Margaryan not only helped theatres ten days before the elections in order to get votes; he did that during all his years in office and created a certain stable condition. He used to help artists and not only gave them money, but also watched their performances and read their books. Currently the Defense Minister of Armenia Serge Sargsyan is in charge of issues concerning culture, sports and foreign relations. He is a very smart and strong man, but I see something strange; I think to myself: ‘what are our other ministries doing and what are they called for?’ Perhaps our army is so strong and the situation is so stable that the Defense Minister can get involved in such issues, or he is the type of person who can’t concentrate on only one issue and tries to do a couple of things at the same time. When I look at the political activists who are going to shape the future of Armenia, to be honest, I feel weak and want to raise my hands and surrender. Many people have entered the political field, but I can only mention one or two people’s names. The promises made these days (in fact, we will soon hear more of those promises) lack something. You look in the eyes of the activists making the promises and then read their biographies and think that they are probably all angels because the life stories up to 1990 of all of them are unknown; they are clean. And it is that political activist with the clean record who wants to teach me how I should live, how I should look at art and how I should do my job. I will really start to respect, for example, Gagik Tsarukyan, if he “gets down to business” and as president of the Olympic Commiteee says ‘Dear friends, let politicians, finance specialists, lawyers and the people studying laws be involved in parliament, while I will dedicate myself to sports and will do everything that I can to develop sports in Armenia”. He can unite the athletes and come up with a great Olympic team. Besides money, you also need management skills in a team and Tsarukyan, as a former athlete and good manager, can do that.
– Why does everyone, including artists, want to enter parliament?
– It is because for the time being, they are securing themselves for the future and are thinking about personal safety. That is the only reason. If the artist wants to enter parliament, then he is finished. The creative artist has no right to be in politics. It is wrong because he is at a loss as a creator and does not develop as a political activist. As for the creation of laws on art, they should invite our artists, consult with them and we can decide the laws together.
– If you decided to get involved in politics, you would receive a number of votes.
– Then what…? Suppose I became a deputy. After a couple of months, the people would not see me on stage, and I can’t live without my audience.
– Couldn’t you coordinate the two?
– Judging from our Armenian mentality, the stage will no longer suit me. I would have to wear a suit, sit in the chair and press buttons. I will not help anyone by doing that. Now, on stage I do what nobody would do if he were in my shoes. I feel good on stage.
– Politics is very much like theatre. There are actors, directors and sponsors in both politics and theatre. Perhaps there are good actors and sponsors, but no good directors. Maybe they can be invited from abroad?
– We won’t be able to invite directors from abroad; we can’t do what Georgia does. We have to pick a director among Armenians who will be able to put on a good play which we will not feel ashamed of showing to the world.
– Are you going to go to the elections?
– Definitely, I always go to the elections and I know whom I am going to elect.
– Are you familiar with the plans of the parties?
– All of the programs of the parties are the same; it seems as though they have copied from each other. I am even afraid to say how many parties we have. No political party says that it is going to come to power to destruct, demolish or rob. They all want to build, rebuild, secure national prosperity and improve the lives of the children and the elderly. Maybe some newly founded political parties have read those plans in a newspaper and have decided to use it as a good plan to unite the people. Everything is written so well that if you read the plan of any party and believe it, you will go after it. In other words, founding parties has turned into a business.
– Are things going to get better, or will we continue to live in a vacuum?
– It is too early to talk about if it will get better, because our desires and opportunities are not consistent. We all want something, but do the opposite. We say ‘it is OK, we’ll “get along” with what we have.’ We are not spiritually free.