Tweet
SARKISIAN LAMBASTES 'POPULIST' OPPONENTS
By Ruzanna Stepanian and Ruben Meloyan
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Jan 29 2008
Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian campaigned in the southern Armavir
region on Tuesday, again promising to significantly raise living
standards and attacking his election challengers' pledges to downsize
Armenia's armed forces and cut taxes.
As was the case during his previous campaign rallies, Sarkisian was
particularly scathing about former President Levon Ter-Petrosian
as he rallied hundreds of people in the town of Echmiadzin. Without
mentioning Ter-Petrosian by name, he condemned the latter's recent
remark that Armenia, which currently has a 60,000-strong army,
would need no more than 15,000 troops to secure its borders after
the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The ex-president argued earlier this month that the military, which
has long been financed better any other state institution, is a huge
drain on the country's scarce public resources. He said the country
should also phase out compulsory military service and hire military
personnel on a contractual basis.
"I don't want to prove at this meeting the falseness or immaturity
of this idea," Sarkisian told the Echmiadzin rally. "I just want you
to take a moment and think. Today the Armenian army protects 1,280
kilometers of border. Imagine what will happen to our country if
our army becomes 10,000-strong. That means we will have only a few
soldiers per kilometer."
President Robert Kocharian likewise ridiculed the idea as he renewed
his verbal attacks on Ter-Petrosian at the weekend. Kocharian again
accused his predecessor of endangering national security after giving
awards to a large group of Armenian army officers on Monday.
Criticism of Ter-Petrosian and his administration's track record
was also a major theme of Sarkisian's speeches at similar campaign
rallies held in Yerevan's Erebuni and Nubarashen districts on Sunday.
But the former president was not the only opposition candidate
lambasted by the Armenian premier in Echmiadzin. In an apparent
attack on former parliament speaker Artur Baghdasarian, Sarkisian
mocked unnamed presidential hopefuls who promise to simultaneously
cut taxes and sharply increase government spending.
"Armenia has no oil, no other source of revenue and the welfare of
our elders and invalids depends only on taxes," he said. "How are
they going to cut taxes and raise pensions? Maybe they are magicians."
Baghdasarian has been particularly vocal in promising to reduce
tax rates and boost government expenditure on social programs. The
leader of the opposition Orinats Yerkir Party reaffirmed this pledge
on Tuesday as he campaigned in another southern region, Vayots Dzor.
Speaking at a rally in the regional capital Yeghegnadzor, he said he
would at least double public sector salaries and triple pensions by
stimulating economic activity and cracking down on tax evasion.
"There are no reductions in tax rates in Armenia because there is
no equal taxation in Armenia," he said, accusing wealthy businessmen
close to Sarkisian of large-scale tax fraud.
"These people have divided all branches of the economy among
themselves with the government's connivance and consent," charged
another Orinats Yerkir leader, Mher Shahgeldian. He went on to allege
that the authorities are deliberately keeping many Armenians mired
in poverty to be able to buy their votes.
Baghdasarian also indicated that, if elected president, he will abolish
compulsory military service even before a Karabakh settlement. "We
have tens of thousands of unemployed men," he argued.
"It would be better if they went to the army and got paid. This is
the case in many countries."
Sarkisian, meanwhile, insisted that most Armenians are now better
off than they were several years ago. He also reiterated his pledge
to double the average household income in the country within five
years if he wins the February 19 election.
By Ruzanna Stepanian and Ruben Meloyan
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Jan 29 2008
Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian campaigned in the southern Armavir
region on Tuesday, again promising to significantly raise living
standards and attacking his election challengers' pledges to downsize
Armenia's armed forces and cut taxes.
As was the case during his previous campaign rallies, Sarkisian was
particularly scathing about former President Levon Ter-Petrosian
as he rallied hundreds of people in the town of Echmiadzin. Without
mentioning Ter-Petrosian by name, he condemned the latter's recent
remark that Armenia, which currently has a 60,000-strong army,
would need no more than 15,000 troops to secure its borders after
the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The ex-president argued earlier this month that the military, which
has long been financed better any other state institution, is a huge
drain on the country's scarce public resources. He said the country
should also phase out compulsory military service and hire military
personnel on a contractual basis.
"I don't want to prove at this meeting the falseness or immaturity
of this idea," Sarkisian told the Echmiadzin rally. "I just want you
to take a moment and think. Today the Armenian army protects 1,280
kilometers of border. Imagine what will happen to our country if
our army becomes 10,000-strong. That means we will have only a few
soldiers per kilometer."
President Robert Kocharian likewise ridiculed the idea as he renewed
his verbal attacks on Ter-Petrosian at the weekend. Kocharian again
accused his predecessor of endangering national security after giving
awards to a large group of Armenian army officers on Monday.
Criticism of Ter-Petrosian and his administration's track record
was also a major theme of Sarkisian's speeches at similar campaign
rallies held in Yerevan's Erebuni and Nubarashen districts on Sunday.
But the former president was not the only opposition candidate
lambasted by the Armenian premier in Echmiadzin. In an apparent
attack on former parliament speaker Artur Baghdasarian, Sarkisian
mocked unnamed presidential hopefuls who promise to simultaneously
cut taxes and sharply increase government spending.
"Armenia has no oil, no other source of revenue and the welfare of
our elders and invalids depends only on taxes," he said. "How are
they going to cut taxes and raise pensions? Maybe they are magicians."
Baghdasarian has been particularly vocal in promising to reduce
tax rates and boost government expenditure on social programs. The
leader of the opposition Orinats Yerkir Party reaffirmed this pledge
on Tuesday as he campaigned in another southern region, Vayots Dzor.
Speaking at a rally in the regional capital Yeghegnadzor, he said he
would at least double public sector salaries and triple pensions by
stimulating economic activity and cracking down on tax evasion.
"There are no reductions in tax rates in Armenia because there is
no equal taxation in Armenia," he said, accusing wealthy businessmen
close to Sarkisian of large-scale tax fraud.
"These people have divided all branches of the economy among
themselves with the government's connivance and consent," charged
another Orinats Yerkir leader, Mher Shahgeldian. He went on to allege
that the authorities are deliberately keeping many Armenians mired
in poverty to be able to buy their votes.
Baghdasarian also indicated that, if elected president, he will abolish
compulsory military service even before a Karabakh settlement. "We
have tens of thousands of unemployed men," he argued.
"It would be better if they went to the army and got paid. This is
the case in many countries."
Sarkisian, meanwhile, insisted that most Armenians are now better
off than they were several years ago. He also reiterated his pledge
to double the average household income in the country within five
years if he wins the February 19 election.