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HIGH-LEVEL STRUGGLE: CLASH OF EX'S AND INCUMBENTS POSSIBLE IN ARMENIA AS IN RUSSIA
Naira Hayrumyan
ArmeniaNow
Analysis | 30.09.10 | 16:01
Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov was released of his duties after almost
two decades of service.
The way of solving personnel issues in Russia, as well as in
post-Soviet Armenia, still remains far from democratic. The condition
was illustrated this week in Moscow with the sacking of Mayor Yuri
Luzhkov and has been demonstrated in Armenia recently in less dramatic
but nonetheless effective pressures.
This week, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev fired the veteran mayor
because, said the president, Luzhkov had "lost my trust". Luzhkov
stayed in his office for 18 years and hardly anyone in Russia would
protest against his departure but for the method of this dismissal.
Russia's influential Prime Minister Vladimir Putin himself said that
Luzhkov "did not find a common language" with Medvedev, and that's
why he was fired. As many as 250 city officials in Moscow have also
been dismissed and they are now facing criminal cases.
Politically motivated "personnel pogroms" are typical also for
Armenia. And because political leaders in Armenia, like in Russia, are
closely related to business circles -- in other words, are oligarchs --
authorities "influence" them by putting pressure on their businesses.
In recent months, tax audits have been conducted at enterprises of
Parliament Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan, and leader of the pro-government
Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) Gagik Tsarukyan, both of whom are
perceived to have stronger ties to former president Robert Kocharyan
than to President Serzh Sargsyan.
A campaign against the coalition member party (PAP) has begun
nearly two years before the scheduled parliamentary election. The
vice-chairman of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), Razmik
Zohrabyan, said that his party could weaken PAP at any time, but was
not yet willing to do that. In addition to economic instruments,
RPA is using other methods as well. The press writes about likely
arrests of a number of criminal elements, who are PAP members. Some
media reported that people have been leaving the PAP ranks en masse
and joining RPA - hoping to secure protection in the party of Sargsyan.
Attacks against PAP are explained by the fact that the party tacitly
supports ex-president Robert Kocharyan. Like in Russia, in Armenia,
too, there is a hidden competition between the former and incumbent
presidents. In contrast to Russia, where Medvedev and Putin do not yet
say who of their tandem will run for president at the next elections,
the participation of Serge Sargsyan in the next presidential elections
in Armenia appears to be a foregone conclusion. As to Kocharyan,
after leaving his office in 2008 he would say that he hated to become
Armenia's "youngest pensioner".
The existing trends suggest that the main forces that are going to
participate in the 2012 parliamentary elections in Armenia will be
taking their positions in the next few months and joining them will
be "intermediate" parties, while the main battle, like in Russia,
will take place between the current and former presidents.
From: A. Papazian
Naira Hayrumyan
ArmeniaNow
Analysis | 30.09.10 | 16:01
Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov was released of his duties after almost
two decades of service.
The way of solving personnel issues in Russia, as well as in
post-Soviet Armenia, still remains far from democratic. The condition
was illustrated this week in Moscow with the sacking of Mayor Yuri
Luzhkov and has been demonstrated in Armenia recently in less dramatic
but nonetheless effective pressures.
This week, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev fired the veteran mayor
because, said the president, Luzhkov had "lost my trust". Luzhkov
stayed in his office for 18 years and hardly anyone in Russia would
protest against his departure but for the method of this dismissal.
Russia's influential Prime Minister Vladimir Putin himself said that
Luzhkov "did not find a common language" with Medvedev, and that's
why he was fired. As many as 250 city officials in Moscow have also
been dismissed and they are now facing criminal cases.
Politically motivated "personnel pogroms" are typical also for
Armenia. And because political leaders in Armenia, like in Russia, are
closely related to business circles -- in other words, are oligarchs --
authorities "influence" them by putting pressure on their businesses.
In recent months, tax audits have been conducted at enterprises of
Parliament Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan, and leader of the pro-government
Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) Gagik Tsarukyan, both of whom are
perceived to have stronger ties to former president Robert Kocharyan
than to President Serzh Sargsyan.
A campaign against the coalition member party (PAP) has begun
nearly two years before the scheduled parliamentary election. The
vice-chairman of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), Razmik
Zohrabyan, said that his party could weaken PAP at any time, but was
not yet willing to do that. In addition to economic instruments,
RPA is using other methods as well. The press writes about likely
arrests of a number of criminal elements, who are PAP members. Some
media reported that people have been leaving the PAP ranks en masse
and joining RPA - hoping to secure protection in the party of Sargsyan.
Attacks against PAP are explained by the fact that the party tacitly
supports ex-president Robert Kocharyan. Like in Russia, in Armenia,
too, there is a hidden competition between the former and incumbent
presidents. In contrast to Russia, where Medvedev and Putin do not yet
say who of their tandem will run for president at the next elections,
the participation of Serge Sargsyan in the next presidential elections
in Armenia appears to be a foregone conclusion. As to Kocharyan,
after leaving his office in 2008 he would say that he hated to become
Armenia's "youngest pensioner".
The existing trends suggest that the main forces that are going to
participate in the 2012 parliamentary elections in Armenia will be
taking their positions in the next few months and joining them will
be "intermediate" parties, while the main battle, like in Russia,
will take place between the current and former presidents.
From: A. Papazian