Fight of Clans Or Quality Change

By Hakob Badalyan

Staff changes in the Armenian governmental system, especially the resignation of the Yerevan Mayor, caused an essential question within ordinary citizens: did the government not forgive Gagik Beglarian because he dared to beat a governmental official, or the government will from now on punish every official even if the latter beats a vagabond? The society wonders: what would happen to Gagik Beglarian if he had beaten an ordinary citizen, instead of an officer of department of protocol of the president office.
The citizens know the answer which was formed during the experience of many years: it is – nothing would happen to Gagik Beglarian. After all, relatives, body guards of high ranking officials have beaten many ordinary citizens, or even killed, rendered invalid, but none of them bore responsibility.
Weeks ago, Head of the Staff of the President office Karen Karapetian insulted a protester from Nairit factory who with his colleagues were demanding their salary. Karapetian did not even apologize for his words, and the president office did not consider it worth apologizing for such a vocabulary of Karen Karapetian.
We can remember other cases and mention names of other officials, but it makes no sense, since citizens remember it better than anyone else. If the press writes about three or four, the citizens know about five and six, they also know that no official bore responsibility.
The question of the citizens is a result of the traditions and atmosphere formed during many years, whether what is happening is an expression of fights between clans or for the sake of quality change of the government. After all, if before it happened the way the society knows, it does not mean that at a certain point, it cannot be as the society wants. Everything happens for the first time.
But it is still to be proved. It is necessary to show that Gagik Beglarian did not become a “white crow” in the black government, but the black government decided to whiten. Further developments are necessary to be considered to understand this; whether the behavior of officials and oligarchs will change, and more, whether their composition will change, because the society demand changes of not only the behavior but also the composition. As much as these remands will be fulfilled, the society will decide whether it deals with a new power or the same old rubbish.