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Inauguration Day: Tsarukyan, three opposition parties opt out of
Sargsyan's swearing-in ceremony
VOTE 2013 | 08.04.13 | 22:37
Photolure
By SIRANUYSH GEVORGYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter
Prosperous Armenia Party leader Gagik Tsarukyan has effectively opted
out of attending the inauguration of Serzh Sargsyan for a second term
as president of Armenia. Among those not taking part in the National
Assembly's special session held on the occasion will also be the
factions of at least three opposition parties - Heritage, the Armenian
National Congress and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation.
A spokesperson for Tsarukyan said the PAP leader left Armenia on
Sunday. She did not specify his whereabouts, but said his visit abroad
was a private one.
By choosing a trip abroad over attending Sargsyan's inauguration
Tsarukyan fueled more speculation about mounting rivalry between the
two former allies ahead of the Yerevan elections. Other members of the
PAP faction did not specify whether they would take part in the
ceremony planned in the Karen Demirchyan Sport and Concert Hall on
Tuesday or not.
The PAP, which quit the coalition with Sargsyan's majority Republican
Party of Armenia (RPA) after last May's parliamentary elections, has
made no secret of its plans to gain control in Yerevan as a result of
the May 5 elections. It started an active campaign on Sunday as did
the RPA, whose representatives are sure of another electoral success
of their team now headed by incumbent mayor Taron Margaryan.
Attendance or non-attendance of the Presidential Inauguration has
thus, in many ways, turned into a kind of indicator for future trends
in domestic politics.
Meanwhile, former presidential candidate Raffi Hovannisian, who has
been disputing Sargsyan's reelection, plans to gather his supporters
in Yerevan's Liberty Square at about noon on April 9 for what he has
described as an inauguration of a `new Armenia'. A protest march will
be organized later in the evening. But the Yerevan authorities have
prohibited a march through Baghramyan Avenue where the Presidential
Palace is situated. Hovannisian supporters disagree with the kind of
prohibition, but it is yet unclear whether they will obey or defy it.
In a related development the police issued a warning to oppositionists
that they must remain peaceful and follow the permitted route for
their procession. Otherwise, it said, police officers would be at
liberty to enforce the law.
Meanwhile, military authorities have confirmed a number of media
reports that army units currently not involved in combat duty have
been brought to a state of high alert. Defense Ministry spokesman
Artsrun Hovhannisyan, however, said it was a standard procedure during
all holidays when there is a particular `external danger' for the
country and a presidential inauguration was no exception in this
sense.
Opposition leader Hovannisian has repeatedly assured the authorities
of the non-violent methods of his Barevolution campaign, which he
hopes will bring about a power change peacefully. He has also warned
the authorities against using the military in internal political
disputes.
Sargsyan's swearing-in ceremony
VOTE 2013 | 08.04.13 | 22:37
Photolure
By SIRANUYSH GEVORGYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter
Prosperous Armenia Party leader Gagik Tsarukyan has effectively opted
out of attending the inauguration of Serzh Sargsyan for a second term
as president of Armenia. Among those not taking part in the National
Assembly's special session held on the occasion will also be the
factions of at least three opposition parties - Heritage, the Armenian
National Congress and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation.
A spokesperson for Tsarukyan said the PAP leader left Armenia on
Sunday. She did not specify his whereabouts, but said his visit abroad
was a private one.
By choosing a trip abroad over attending Sargsyan's inauguration
Tsarukyan fueled more speculation about mounting rivalry between the
two former allies ahead of the Yerevan elections. Other members of the
PAP faction did not specify whether they would take part in the
ceremony planned in the Karen Demirchyan Sport and Concert Hall on
Tuesday or not.
The PAP, which quit the coalition with Sargsyan's majority Republican
Party of Armenia (RPA) after last May's parliamentary elections, has
made no secret of its plans to gain control in Yerevan as a result of
the May 5 elections. It started an active campaign on Sunday as did
the RPA, whose representatives are sure of another electoral success
of their team now headed by incumbent mayor Taron Margaryan.
Attendance or non-attendance of the Presidential Inauguration has
thus, in many ways, turned into a kind of indicator for future trends
in domestic politics.
Meanwhile, former presidential candidate Raffi Hovannisian, who has
been disputing Sargsyan's reelection, plans to gather his supporters
in Yerevan's Liberty Square at about noon on April 9 for what he has
described as an inauguration of a `new Armenia'. A protest march will
be organized later in the evening. But the Yerevan authorities have
prohibited a march through Baghramyan Avenue where the Presidential
Palace is situated. Hovannisian supporters disagree with the kind of
prohibition, but it is yet unclear whether they will obey or defy it.
In a related development the police issued a warning to oppositionists
that they must remain peaceful and follow the permitted route for
their procession. Otherwise, it said, police officers would be at
liberty to enforce the law.
Meanwhile, military authorities have confirmed a number of media
reports that army units currently not involved in combat duty have
been brought to a state of high alert. Defense Ministry spokesman
Artsrun Hovhannisyan, however, said it was a standard procedure during
all holidays when there is a particular `external danger' for the
country and a presidential inauguration was no exception in this
sense.
Opposition leader Hovannisian has repeatedly assured the authorities
of the non-violent methods of his Barevolution campaign, which he
hopes will bring about a power change peacefully. He has also warned
the authorities against using the military in internal political
disputes.