– Ms. Nadezhda, there was time, when you were occupied with active politics. You were an MP of the Supreme Council of the second convocation. However, it has been awhile since you have not only been refusing to participate in any inner political process of Armenia but also refuse to echo on that. What keeps you away from politics?
– When I was an MP our state has just been established and we all had to do our best to help our country by using whatever capacity we had. I can say that I was busy with both the issues of socially vulnerable families and also worked on numerous legal bills. I was probably the first MP to raise the issue of developing a law on copyright. However this law is still incomplete. Unfortunately the reason why I abstained from politics is that I didn’t have time to do what I like to do. Everyone must do one thing and do it well. As the political field has gradually been improved I decided to yield my position to more professional political scientists and politicians. And I hope we see the good result.
– It’s been awhile since you were out of politics but as they say if you don’t take care of politics then it will take care of you. Specifically I mean the post-electoral developments of February 19 presidential elections and the aftermath of March 1 tragic events. I suppose you are also concerned about the tension in the country.
– Unfortunately I was not in town on that day, paid a business visit to Moscow. All the citizens are sorry for the events. The worst thing for me is that foreign nations will have a negative opinion about us. I travel to many countries and know that the foreigners like Armenians for their wisdom and talent. Our country was just flourishing and things were getting better gradually. All the changes should have been made in a civilized and peaceful way. I wouldn’t like to know what happened on March 1. I don’t want to draw assumptions about who’s guilty and who’s not as I was not there on that day. It is better to see once instead of hearing a hundred times. At least I would like that everything proceeded in a neat way. I first of all blame myself for the failures and I think everyone would mine himself/herself guilty of these incidents at a certain extent. We must be criticizing ourselves.
– You said that you were not in town on March 1 but the thing is that prior to the trgc events of March 1 we have had the post-electoral tension. On February 19 when you were in town were you able to suppose what would happen afterward?
– We are still in the period of development. I cannot do political analysis because my major is not political science. I am a singer. I can only express my opinion as a citizen. If something is started it should also be over. We were building a state and that state had its start. We are now at the stage of development; we have both shortcomings and progress.
– I suppose that this theme for you is a little complicated because you worked during Ter-Petrosyan’s presidency and have good relations with Serzh Sargsyan as well.
– I really worked during the presidency of Ter-Petrosyan, Robert Kocharyan and am now working during the presidency of Serzh Sargsyan. I appreciate Ter-Petrosyan a lot. How can we forget that during his presidency we won the war and strengthened our independence. He was the first president of our country, has been through a lot. But our country needs to progress and I envision that Serzh Sargsyan can also lead this country on the right track. I know him as a person, as a politician. Moreover, I trust and believe him.
– The artists, singers and actors have slightly limited their roles. They only sing, go to concerts but do not express their standpoint as citizens of this country. When different newspapers and media sources asked them what they think of the events of March 1 they said that they were either not in town or declined to answer.
– I don’t want to blame the singers. There are singers, who have their clear attitude. They just need to think about their work, they love their jobs, the stage, etc. Let them sing and decide who they are going to vote for.
– Prior to the presidential elections when many of our singers have started to sing on behalf of the governmental candidate many of our compatriots of the Diaspora decided to boycott their concerns by not inviting them or refusing to but concert tickets. Don’t you think that this is a serious negative impact on the reputation of our singers (the ones, who have it) and their pockets?
– Haven’t heard of that and didn’t even have time for that.
– Although my next question doesn’t have any connection with our conversation I can’t help asking you that. Recently they showed a video where a pretty girl was dancing and coquetting in front of a camera and the young man was saying, “Babe, nobody better than you.” The problem is that when I tried to reproduce the song on the piano it turned out that the song consists of just one note. During the refrain the song reaches the second and the last musical notes. Have you ever heard that song?
– I didn’t hear that song. Yes, one note… The modern signing art is the way it is now. These songs have a very short life. Can you say the same for example about Robert Amirkhanyan’s composition? Of course not. His compositions will never be forgotten. There is one genre nowadays, which is aimed at only entertaining. Such songs exist in the whole world. And our young people are trying to imitate them. The problem is not the note but the lack of taste and illiteracy. Songs must be written by educated and literate people. Recently our newly appointed Prime Minister said that ignorant people are dangerous. Great idea! The person must learn all the time. However, it is hard to make our singers understand this.