Lies and Excuses?

Its interesting, on today’s news on Azatutyun Radio, there is an interview in Prague with Eduard Sharmazanov. There is a prologue to the interview, which rhetorically points out that every single election, on just about every level in Armenia in the past 20 years, has resulted in the re-election of the incumbent. And, that, if we assume that they were free and fair elections, then that means that the majority of Armenians were satisfied with whomever was in power/party, and voted for that person/party again.

Now, I don’t know if he heard that preamble before he started talking, or how the interview was edited. But, Sharmaznov did state that the HHK, the ruling part of which he is a member, has made steps towards more free and fair elections, and that these steps have been applauded by external, European, organizations.

This just seems like a load of crap. For many reasons. So many.

But what really got to me today, what went through my head while I was listening to that piece, was – well, if you admit that you’re moving toward free, fair, democratic, non-corrupt elections, that means you aren’t there now. And if you’re the party that is ruling now, and won the most recent elections, that means you won in non-free, non-fair election(s), which means they were corrupt.

Which means you just admitted that you won illegally.

If you are truly interested in having free and fair, democratic elections, then you not only put into place a ten, twenty, one hundred, log-fold more changes (than you think you have already) in the election system, in preparation for the next set of elections, but you do everything possible to address and correct the illegalities which exist in the system now, and find and hold responsible those who perpetrated the fraud within your party, and outside. That is:

-hold responsible those MPs who have been and are, even caught on camera, voting fraudulently in parliament
-hold responsible those MPs who are illegally holding the position of MP and are active businessmen
-find and hold responsible those who were involved in the fraudulent election practices in the elections of the past 4 years…

These are, of course just a start, and necessary, but not sufficient.
For f**k’s sake, cheating MPs are caught on camera, and nothing is done.

On another note, while I’m still sitting here listening to Azatutyun, I am impressed by Anna Israelyan’s tactful way of bringing up Vahagn Hovnanian’s ties to Kocharyan – and perhaps, just perhaps, that this relationship might afford him some type of protection. He, of course, avoids answering the question, or truly addressing the issue. He starts with a vague response about the confused, mixed- up, immature state that things were/are in.

Is this an apology, or an excuse for his relationship with Kocharyan?