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'ONLY A MATTER OF TIME TILL HAK LOSES ITS RELEVANCE': US EMBASSY
epress.am
09.06.2011 13:17
Since its creation in May 2008, the 17-party opposition Armenian
National Congress (ANC, or HAK in Armenian) has been unable to
accomplish its stated goal of dislodging the ruling authorities from
power, wrote then US Charge d'Affaires in Yerevan Joseph Pennington
to the US State Department on Jan. 4, 2010, according to a recently
released cable on WikiLeaks.
The US diplomat notes that according to the embassy's contacts inside
ANC, four main factors "have combined to create mounting discouragement
and disagreement within the ANC":
"These include [ANC leader and former president Levon Ter-Petrossian]
LTP's conciliatory stance on President Sargsyan's foreign policy; a
lack of internal democracy in the Congress; a lack of strategy to move
towards declared goals; and a shortage of financial resources. These
factors, contacts tell us, have brought many of the 17 member parties
to apathy and discouragement, and prompted them to explore ways
to break away from the ANC without burning their bridges with the
prominent but self-centered and vindictive LTP."
Pennington writes that some of the "more nationalistic"
members of the opposition bloc have "vehemently disagreed" with
Ter-Petrossian's stance on foreign policy issues, in particular
his views on Armenia-Turkey rapprochement and the resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. "These members are disgruntled by LTP's
apparent support of President Sargsyan on these issues."
The US embassy's contacts also note that lack of internal democracy is
another factor undermining the bloc's integrity as decisions are made
solely by Ter-Petrossian and "formalized in the so-called 'political
council,' which has essentially no leverage in the decision-making
process."
Another challenge that the bloc reportedly faces is a shortage of
financial resources: "Those businessmen who were providing financial
support to the ANC in hopes that the bloc might come to power have
reportedly stopped doing so - including the former MP and embattled
business tycoon Khachatur Sukiasyan."
The cable concludes with Pennington summing up his comments on
Ter-Petrossian and the Armenian National Congress:
"Repudiation of the ruling authorities has always been the main reason
for the ANC's existence. In this respect, its
supporters initially viewed LTP and his stature as a former president
as assets for effecting change in an authoritarian political
environment. These supporters, however, have lost hope in LTP,
recognizing that the downsides of his leadership style (vanity,
authoritarianism, personalized politics) are insurmountable. While
many in the ANC are still reluctant to cut the cord due to their own
political insignificance, it seems that it is only a matter of time -
perhaps after the upcoming Jan. by-election - before the ANC completely
loses its relevance. Should the ANC avoid an irretrievable break-up,
it will only be because of its disparate parts' desire to keep the
bloc on life support until the next round of parliamentary elections
in 2012, where they would have a better chance competing together
than going it alone."
From: A. Papazian
epress.am
09.06.2011 13:17
Since its creation in May 2008, the 17-party opposition Armenian
National Congress (ANC, or HAK in Armenian) has been unable to
accomplish its stated goal of dislodging the ruling authorities from
power, wrote then US Charge d'Affaires in Yerevan Joseph Pennington
to the US State Department on Jan. 4, 2010, according to a recently
released cable on WikiLeaks.
The US diplomat notes that according to the embassy's contacts inside
ANC, four main factors "have combined to create mounting discouragement
and disagreement within the ANC":
"These include [ANC leader and former president Levon Ter-Petrossian]
LTP's conciliatory stance on President Sargsyan's foreign policy; a
lack of internal democracy in the Congress; a lack of strategy to move
towards declared goals; and a shortage of financial resources. These
factors, contacts tell us, have brought many of the 17 member parties
to apathy and discouragement, and prompted them to explore ways
to break away from the ANC without burning their bridges with the
prominent but self-centered and vindictive LTP."
Pennington writes that some of the "more nationalistic"
members of the opposition bloc have "vehemently disagreed" with
Ter-Petrossian's stance on foreign policy issues, in particular
his views on Armenia-Turkey rapprochement and the resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. "These members are disgruntled by LTP's
apparent support of President Sargsyan on these issues."
The US embassy's contacts also note that lack of internal democracy is
another factor undermining the bloc's integrity as decisions are made
solely by Ter-Petrossian and "formalized in the so-called 'political
council,' which has essentially no leverage in the decision-making
process."
Another challenge that the bloc reportedly faces is a shortage of
financial resources: "Those businessmen who were providing financial
support to the ANC in hopes that the bloc might come to power have
reportedly stopped doing so - including the former MP and embattled
business tycoon Khachatur Sukiasyan."
The cable concludes with Pennington summing up his comments on
Ter-Petrossian and the Armenian National Congress:
"Repudiation of the ruling authorities has always been the main reason
for the ANC's existence. In this respect, its
supporters initially viewed LTP and his stature as a former president
as assets for effecting change in an authoritarian political
environment. These supporters, however, have lost hope in LTP,
recognizing that the downsides of his leadership style (vanity,
authoritarianism, personalized politics) are insurmountable. While
many in the ANC are still reluctant to cut the cord due to their own
political insignificance, it seems that it is only a matter of time -
perhaps after the upcoming Jan. by-election - before the ANC completely
loses its relevance. Should the ANC avoid an irretrievable break-up,
it will only be because of its disparate parts' desire to keep the
bloc on life support until the next round of parliamentary elections
in 2012, where they would have a better chance competing together
than going it alone."
From: A. Papazian