During a press conference, Armenia's second President, Robert Kocharyan, discussed his reasons for not making public appearances in the past three years. He mentioned that one reason was his desire to "leave the prime minister alone with his electorate."
"The media often suggested that my active presence, press conferences, and 'existence' hindered certain individuals from establishing themselves in the political arena. I disagreed with this thesis but agreed to give them that opportunity," Kocharyan noted, as reported by Auroranews.am .
He added that despite his silence, discussions about him continued, even among those who preferred he remain quiet.
"But what happened? I wasn't speaking, yet they talked about me, even about my shadow, quite frequently. And mainly, those who wanted me to stay silent were the ones talking. We have what we have today, and despite all my efforts, there's a large group waiting for me to speak. This was the first reason for my passivity.
The second reason was that I thought it might be right to leave the prime minister alone with his electorate. I thought it might be beneficial for him to explain to the 600,000 'prime ministers' why their lives are deteriorating, why the government is relentlessly reaching into their pockets, why they've become subjects of fines, why the government is mired in corruption, why poverty is in their minds, while the wealth of the Civil Contract party members is in their safes," Kocharyan stated.