An Interview with Eleonora Manandyan

OK: You were a proxy for Demirchyan during the Presidential Elections last year but you told me that this was not because you necessarily supported him but rather, you supported the democratic process. This is an interesting approach in a county where people rarely speak about democracy.

EM: We just wanted to take another approach and to set an example. It's not easy to break the system, of course, but it is possible to create something different and to let people make their own choice. Do you want this system or that one? It's the same with the rubbish on the streets that I told you about earlier. A few days ago I was walking somewhere with a colleague late at night and there was a water leak that was making the ground icy and slippery. So, we tried to find out where the leak was to see if we could do anything about it. Two boys saw us and asked us what we were doing. We explained and their response was "Are you Armenian?" At first, they couldn't understand why we were concerned with this water but then they helped us.

OK: So what you' are saying is that by setting an example, people can change? Of course, when people see someone driving around in a Hummer or jeep and that they are wearing very expensive clothes and eating at expensive restaurants that might also be another example for them to follow.

EM: Yes, this is another possibility but when we talk to people they agree with our approach. Yes, some can see that the people with all the money do not have an education and that they became wealthy through illegal ways but something will change although perhaps not in our lifetime. Maybe our children will not see it either but our grandchildren will and people of this kind will not exist by then. However, I understand that this is a rather optimistic view. Of course, there has been some progress in certain areas and also some sectors of the economy when compared to the early years of independence but real progress depends on the people, many of whom don't feel any progress at all. There certainly hasn't been any real progress in our mentality and in fact, we have regressed.

Now, we are not independent -- really, Armenia is not independent -- and people don't consider that there is a future. They don't feel part of this country and this is really a great problem that outsiders can't see. There are still many people deprived of the ability to live normal lives and who still need bread although not as many as before. However, I don't consider social polarization as a social issue but instead, a political and psychological one. If the rich were paying their taxes, for example, then social polarization would become a social issue but even then, many poor people would still lack the willingness to change their situation.

OK: Do you think that in the next few years society will become more mature and be able to stand up for its rights?

EM: I think it depends on whether any new leaders will emerge. I also believe that the constitutional amendments might be a first step in activating people in time for the next Parliamentary and Presidential Elections. On the other hand, there are people involved in politics, even in government, who think that many things will change next year. I'm not sure but it's possible that many things will indeed change by 2008 but, I'm afraid, they might not necessarily be changes for the better. In particular, I think the problem of Karabagh will be raised by the international community and after its solution, many people consider that Kocharian will resign. In that case, however, there is the possibility that [the Defense Minister] Serzh Sarkisyan will come to power.

OK: How do you view the role of the Diaspora in Armenia?

EM: We need the Diaspora and it is important for us all to feel part of the same nation. Unfortunately, we do not and this is the problem. Perhaps this started when Armenia declared independence but I also think that when Kocharian came to Armenia, people started to divide Armenians into those from Armenia and those from Karabagh. Then we started to divide Armenia and Karabagh from the Diaspora. Yet, we have a virtually mono-ethnic country and this can help us solve the problems in our Republic far more easily than in Georgia or Azerbaijan. However, the Diaspora is not interested in the political process although maybe this is because they understand that all the financial support they gave up until 1994 was stolen by the government. As a result, they don't want any real connection with the Republic.

However, we have to change this situation. We all have to feel Armenian again.

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