It was president Kocharyan’s 53rd anniversary yesterday. This year the president is celebrating his birthday in Greece.
The president left for Greece with a private visit on Monday, and his visit will last one week. He will return to Armenia next Monday. Yesterday the RA prime-minister and the NA speaker congratulated the president. As well as many officials, MPs, ministers and others are going to congratulate the president with greeting cards or by other means. We wander whether any official has prepared a gift or a nice surprise for their lovely president or not.
“I have sent congratulations, but without any presents”, said the minister of employment and social security, Aghvan Vardanyan. Answering to our question why he hadn’t given any gifts he said, “Let me say that it is my business”. Also, the minister of energy, Armen Movsisyan has always congratulated the president, but has never given any gifts. “It is not common”, said the minister, “I think it is right”.
“First, the president is not at the office so that I can call him and congratulate. Second, the party will congratulate in the name of all its members”, said ARP member Galust Sahakyan diplomatically in answer to our question. The latter has not given any presents to the president and thinks that this is what he wants as this may be a subject of different political discussions. Certainly, it is hard to know whether they tell the truth or not. Maybe the MPs are limited with congratulations only, but we don’t think this concerns the ministers as well. The members of the parliament, who are in periodic contact with the president, hardly would stay so indifferent and not to prepare any expensive gifts such as guns, souvenirs, watches, etc. Notwithstanding, NA deputies Khachatur Sukiasyan and Khachik Manukyan were frank in their answers.
“At this moment I am receiving congratulations”, said the deputy elected in the precinct of Talin, “Now I am at the central electoral commission and have just received my mandate. I will congratulate as soon as I go out. However, I will not give any gifts as I don’t have personal contacts with him and it would not look well”. “Now I can’t congratulate since the president is not in Armenia”, said Kh. Sukiasyan, “However, to tell frankly I haven’t ever congratulated him and thus I haven’t given any gifts either. Now I’d like to use this opportunity and congratulate the president; I am wishing him all the best. I think that in our country deputies are not accustomed to congratulate the president of the country. Deputies would first congratulate the speaker”.
During this week almost all printing houses of Yerevan were busy with printing greeting cards for the president. Such greeting cards were ordered by different officials starting from kindergarten directors and ending up with high rank officials. The wishes don’t differ much; people wish the president be healthy, happy in the family and lucky, many years of happy life and, please imagine, many years of office. It is hard to find out whether people will send only congratulations to the president’s office or will attach gifts to them too.
However, we are sure that deputy Volodya Badalyan, the father of the president’s daughter-in-law will give a present to the president. We called him with the hope to get a positive answer, indeed Mr. Badalyan got very angry at our question. “Is this a question to ask? What is it? It is my business” said the number one father-in-law of the republic and hang the phone. We asked the same question to the mayor of Gyumri city, Vardan Ghukasyan, who answered to the question in a political context. “Why do you ask that?” asked the mayor and hang the phone. We tried to leave the governmental officials and ask the representatives of the opposition whether any of them has congratulated the president or not.
“No, I haven’t congratulated. Notwithstanding our relationship I don’t have such habit”, said the NDU leader, Vazgen Manukyan. As usual, Artashes Geghamyan gave a unique answer to our question. “I haven’t received any notification from the president’s office informing that it is the president’s birthday today. If I received, I would congratulate”. Tigran Karapetyan has congratulated the president on the air of his TV channel, but without any presents. “Has the president ever given me a present so that I give him too?” said Karapetich. We thought that at least the ministers and deputies would prepare surprises and gifts for the president besides congratulations only. Even we thought that such presents would be very expensive. However, please imagine that it is not a custom in Armenia to give presents on the occasion of the president’s birthday.
We hope at least the president of Greece, Carolos Populyas will give a present to our president. We were informed by the media department of the president’s office that president of Russia Vladimir Putin, Alexander Lukashenko, Nursultan Nazarbaev, the heads of different CIS institutions and organizations, deputies of the Russian state Duma, governors and other Russian officials have already congratulated the president.