Vazgen Manukyan: I was more surprised to know that Surik Khachatryan was removed from office
What consequences can Surik Khachatryan’s reappointment as Governor of Syunik province have? The question was asked today to Chairman of Armenia's Public Council Vazgen Manukyan. “In any country, if an official’s name is circulated in a scandal or in a high-profile case, regardless of whether he is innocent or guilty at that point, he either resigns office or his team fires him so that he will not prevent them from implementing the political programs for which they have come to power. In similar situations, a person's destiny becomes secondary,” said Mr Manukyan. In democratic countries, the reason for the mess is also elections, since public will never vote for political forces whose representatives are involved in scandals. But even in non-democratic countries, if a person earns people’s disrespect, let us not discuss whether it is justified or not, his team sacks him. The Soviet Union was not a democratic country, but if a feuilleton was written about some official, he was immediately asked to leave the ranks. For any government, whether democratic or non-democratic, understands that it can govern the country only in case public trust in moral values and standards is not violated, and also there is not an atmosphere of impunity In this respect, I think the reappointment was not a right decision. But, seeing what is happening in Armenia in the last decades, I was more surprised when he [Surik Khachatryan] was removed from office than when he was reappointed to the position,” said Vazgen Manukyan.
