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AN INTIMATE PROCESS
ARMAN GALOYAN
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/engsrc/interview26233.html
Published: 17:21:06 - 17/05/2012
Interview with Vahan Hovhannisyan, member of ARF Bureau
ARF expressed dissatisfaction with the result of the parliamentary
election. In your opinion, who is to blame for this situation, the
society, the authorities, anyone else?
The society is to blame but it is not fair to blame everyone equally
for the fault of the society. The government is to blame, the political
forces forming government who used the desperate, miserable state of
the society which was morally bankrupt as a result of their policy.
So, is there a meaning in dealing with politics, organizing and
holding elections?
We must struggle to be able to enlarge the range of people who are
ready for a free voting.
Do you think it is possible?
Nothing is impossible, simply struggle. So, one should not be desolated
and lose hope.
Will the ARF nominate a presidential candidate in 2013?
Soon we will hold a Supreme Meeting of ARF which will identify our
future actions. I cannot say anything now. There are separate views
but I cannot say what decision will be made on the elections.
There is an opinion that only PA benefited from cooperation with PA,
while ANC and ARF lost a lot of votes. Was this cooperation effective,
in your opinion?
The purpose was to monitor the election. I think this cooperation
was not effective. But it was not right to reject this attempt,
as the representatives of the Heritage Party did.
Is the opposition to blame for the results of the elections?
Everyone was to blame. But as I said, the guilt of the society is
divided in different portions. Mainly the government was to blame.
ARF is dissatisfied with the result of the election but you did not
dispute them at the Constitutional Court.
Apply to the Constitution Court for what? In other words, when have
you achieved justice in our courts that you now advice us to? I
don't think there is a meaning to apply to the Constitutional
Court. On the day when the CC dismissed our claim disputing the
provision prohibiting publication of the lists of people who voted,
any application is meaningless. In addition, I do not think that the
opposition has enough evidence to change anything. Earlier elections
used to report outrageous violence, ballot studying, kidnapping, etc,
this time other methods of election fraud are used. Coercion, vote
buying, distribution of votes by force, everything was an intimate
process. It was not done openly to be able to report evidence to the
court. A lot of people tell everything honestly but refuse to make
a testimony. Election fraud was perpetrated by a state machine and
now it is meaningless to dispute it within the state machine.
If the parties of the joint headquarters to monitor the elections
disputed together, wouldn't it ensure a political effect?
It could have a political effect. But at least three parties, ANC,
ARF and PA, should act together. Dispute the election result together,
report all the evidence on breaches. This scenario is impossible for
PA for several reasons. PA will not take that step. And we are not
interesting in applying to the Constitutional Court with the Congress.
But it could have an effect.
I don't think so. There would be a result if everyone went. But the
option of everyone seems to have been closed.
The government seems to be considering a coalition. Was ARF offered
to form a coalition government?
No.
Would you accept if there were one?
No.
What will a parliamentary group of 5 do in parliament? How do you
imagine activities of 5?
In a parliament where the ruling majority is held by people designated
by the bureaucratic machine it makes no difference whether it is 5 or
10. We had 16 members of parliament 5 years ago, they had been elected
by another society, in other conditions, other economic development.
These two situations are not compatible. 16, 5 or 1... It makes
no difference. We will fight till the end. Our extra-parliamentary
activities will undergo serious change. But it is an issue that the
Bureau should decide.
Will you opt for action outside the National Assembly?
We have never limited ourselves to parliamentary activities. There
are dozens of civilized methods of fight which are combined with
parliamentary activities.
Social polarization, poverty, immigration are reported to grow year
over year. In addition, those are official statistics. How does it
happen that in a country impoverished day by day the government gets
more votes in every next election? How do you explain this paradox?
This is a paradox. The authorities know they deceive the society but
they did it in a crafty way. I don't care what the government thinks.
I care for what the society thinks. Most people probably thought
that their vote will not be important and they can undergo coercion,
accept election bribes, and so on. A lot of people thought so while
now it turns out that their vote was important.
From: Baghdasarian
ARMAN GALOYAN
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/engsrc/interview26233.html
Published: 17:21:06 - 17/05/2012
Interview with Vahan Hovhannisyan, member of ARF Bureau
ARF expressed dissatisfaction with the result of the parliamentary
election. In your opinion, who is to blame for this situation, the
society, the authorities, anyone else?
The society is to blame but it is not fair to blame everyone equally
for the fault of the society. The government is to blame, the political
forces forming government who used the desperate, miserable state of
the society which was morally bankrupt as a result of their policy.
So, is there a meaning in dealing with politics, organizing and
holding elections?
We must struggle to be able to enlarge the range of people who are
ready for a free voting.
Do you think it is possible?
Nothing is impossible, simply struggle. So, one should not be desolated
and lose hope.
Will the ARF nominate a presidential candidate in 2013?
Soon we will hold a Supreme Meeting of ARF which will identify our
future actions. I cannot say anything now. There are separate views
but I cannot say what decision will be made on the elections.
There is an opinion that only PA benefited from cooperation with PA,
while ANC and ARF lost a lot of votes. Was this cooperation effective,
in your opinion?
The purpose was to monitor the election. I think this cooperation
was not effective. But it was not right to reject this attempt,
as the representatives of the Heritage Party did.
Is the opposition to blame for the results of the elections?
Everyone was to blame. But as I said, the guilt of the society is
divided in different portions. Mainly the government was to blame.
ARF is dissatisfied with the result of the election but you did not
dispute them at the Constitutional Court.
Apply to the Constitution Court for what? In other words, when have
you achieved justice in our courts that you now advice us to? I
don't think there is a meaning to apply to the Constitutional
Court. On the day when the CC dismissed our claim disputing the
provision prohibiting publication of the lists of people who voted,
any application is meaningless. In addition, I do not think that the
opposition has enough evidence to change anything. Earlier elections
used to report outrageous violence, ballot studying, kidnapping, etc,
this time other methods of election fraud are used. Coercion, vote
buying, distribution of votes by force, everything was an intimate
process. It was not done openly to be able to report evidence to the
court. A lot of people tell everything honestly but refuse to make
a testimony. Election fraud was perpetrated by a state machine and
now it is meaningless to dispute it within the state machine.
If the parties of the joint headquarters to monitor the elections
disputed together, wouldn't it ensure a political effect?
It could have a political effect. But at least three parties, ANC,
ARF and PA, should act together. Dispute the election result together,
report all the evidence on breaches. This scenario is impossible for
PA for several reasons. PA will not take that step. And we are not
interesting in applying to the Constitutional Court with the Congress.
But it could have an effect.
I don't think so. There would be a result if everyone went. But the
option of everyone seems to have been closed.
The government seems to be considering a coalition. Was ARF offered
to form a coalition government?
No.
Would you accept if there were one?
No.
What will a parliamentary group of 5 do in parliament? How do you
imagine activities of 5?
In a parliament where the ruling majority is held by people designated
by the bureaucratic machine it makes no difference whether it is 5 or
10. We had 16 members of parliament 5 years ago, they had been elected
by another society, in other conditions, other economic development.
These two situations are not compatible. 16, 5 or 1... It makes
no difference. We will fight till the end. Our extra-parliamentary
activities will undergo serious change. But it is an issue that the
Bureau should decide.
Will you opt for action outside the National Assembly?
We have never limited ourselves to parliamentary activities. There
are dozens of civilized methods of fight which are combined with
parliamentary activities.
Social polarization, poverty, immigration are reported to grow year
over year. In addition, those are official statistics. How does it
happen that in a country impoverished day by day the government gets
more votes in every next election? How do you explain this paradox?
This is a paradox. The authorities know they deceive the society but
they did it in a crafty way. I don't care what the government thinks.
I care for what the society thinks. Most people probably thought
that their vote will not be important and they can undergo coercion,
accept election bribes, and so on. A lot of people thought so while
now it turns out that their vote was important.
From: Baghdasarian