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POLITICAL END OR NEW BEGINNING?: TER-PETROSYAN PLANS FOR REFORMATTING OPPOSITION BLOC DRAW MIXED REACTIONS
POLITICS | 08.02.13 | 12:30
Photolure
By NAIRA HAYRUMYAN
ArmeniaNow correspondent
The announcement by the leader of the opposition Armenian National
Congress (ANC) Levon Ter-Petrosyan of plans to set up a new
social-liberal party on the platform of the current opposition bloc has
elicited mixed reactions, with some representatives of the government
calling it the sign of the former president's political fiasco.
In an interview with the pro-opposition Chorrord Inknishkhanutyun daily
on Thursday, Ter-Petrosyan said: "The Congress has fulfilled its role
of a movement relentlessly struggling against the gangster state,
but this movement needs serious institutional changes to continue
its mission and struggle till the victorious end... Considering the
tendencies of political developments in the coming years, I think it
is now time for various political forces and non-partisan individuals
of the Congress to merge into one single political party."
The ANC has been accused of dispersing its powerful revolutionary
sentiments that Ter-Petrosyan managed to mobilize at one point in
2008. Back then his rallies - in the run-up to the presidential
election - were attended by tens of thousands of people and were
accompanied with calls for the overthrow of the regime. The ANC formed
several months after the dispersal of post-election demonstrations
on March 1, 2008 continued its rallies for some time, before the
movement eventually died out as fewer and fewer people would turn
out for the events.
However, the number of Ter-Petrosyan supporters has sharply decreased
especially after the opposition leader engaged in what essentially
amounted to political bargaining with representatives of the regime he
had harshly criticized and labeled as a bunch of criminals for years.
First, his representatives conducted fruitless "consultations"
with President Serzh Sargsyan's political coalition, then with
representatives of tycoon Gagik Tsarukyan, the leader of the Prosperous
Armenia Party. Some experts believe it was due to this bargaining that
the ANC got seven mandates in the National Assembly in the May 2012
elections. However, dissent within the ANC ranks grew even stronger
after that.
Several major political parties and individuals making up the alliance
decided to quit it formally, others left the alliance by the de
facto absence. And it is this situation that eventually must have
led to Ter-Petrosyan's decision last December not to make another
presidential bid.
Experts estimate that it was then that Ter-Petrosyan completely
disoriented and 'dispersed' the pro-opposition part of the society
that pinned their hopes on that bigger segment of the opposition.
Ter-Petrosyan, however, stopped short of urging members and supporters
of his alliance to boycott the elections.
The announced plans for the establishment of a new party of a
social-liberal orientation immediately sparked speculation about the
imminent dissolution of a number of political parties that currently
make up the ANC. These are the Armenian National Movement (ANM) and
the People's Party of Armenia (PPA) and several other major parties.
Justice Minister Hrayr Tovmasyan was quick to point out in this regard
that if the members of these political parties join the new party of
Ter-Petrosyan, these parties will have to be formally dissolved.
ANM leader Aram Makukyan and PPA leader Stepan Dmirchyan indicated,
however, that they wanted their parties to continue to exist. However,
it is possible that at some point they will change their minds and
join the nascent party.
The Armenian opposition certainly needs reformatting if it wants to
continue to fight for influence over government decision-making.
Perhaps this reformatting will change the paradoxical situation
that now exists in Armenia when a considerable number of people
are critical of the ruling force, but this majority has no powerful
political force to expresses its interests.
Despite the existing frustration about the social and economic policies
of the ruling party among a considerable part of the population,
people apparently see no other equally powerful opposition party
to vote for. In fact, Ter-Petrosyan has failed to live up to the
expectations of many pro-opposition members of the public.
Deputy Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, ruling Republican Party of
Armenia spokesman Eduard Sharmazanov insisted on Thursday that by his
move Ter-Petrosyan is only trying to save the ANC from a collapse. He
added that only time will show how effective this format will be for
the opposition political force. For the time being, Sharmazanov said,
the ANC has turned into a mere group of supporters of Ter-Petrosyan
and bloc coordinator Levon Zurabyan.
POLITICS | 08.02.13 | 12:30
Photolure
By NAIRA HAYRUMYAN
ArmeniaNow correspondent
The announcement by the leader of the opposition Armenian National
Congress (ANC) Levon Ter-Petrosyan of plans to set up a new
social-liberal party on the platform of the current opposition bloc has
elicited mixed reactions, with some representatives of the government
calling it the sign of the former president's political fiasco.
In an interview with the pro-opposition Chorrord Inknishkhanutyun daily
on Thursday, Ter-Petrosyan said: "The Congress has fulfilled its role
of a movement relentlessly struggling against the gangster state,
but this movement needs serious institutional changes to continue
its mission and struggle till the victorious end... Considering the
tendencies of political developments in the coming years, I think it
is now time for various political forces and non-partisan individuals
of the Congress to merge into one single political party."
The ANC has been accused of dispersing its powerful revolutionary
sentiments that Ter-Petrosyan managed to mobilize at one point in
2008. Back then his rallies - in the run-up to the presidential
election - were attended by tens of thousands of people and were
accompanied with calls for the overthrow of the regime. The ANC formed
several months after the dispersal of post-election demonstrations
on March 1, 2008 continued its rallies for some time, before the
movement eventually died out as fewer and fewer people would turn
out for the events.
However, the number of Ter-Petrosyan supporters has sharply decreased
especially after the opposition leader engaged in what essentially
amounted to political bargaining with representatives of the regime he
had harshly criticized and labeled as a bunch of criminals for years.
First, his representatives conducted fruitless "consultations"
with President Serzh Sargsyan's political coalition, then with
representatives of tycoon Gagik Tsarukyan, the leader of the Prosperous
Armenia Party. Some experts believe it was due to this bargaining that
the ANC got seven mandates in the National Assembly in the May 2012
elections. However, dissent within the ANC ranks grew even stronger
after that.
Several major political parties and individuals making up the alliance
decided to quit it formally, others left the alliance by the de
facto absence. And it is this situation that eventually must have
led to Ter-Petrosyan's decision last December not to make another
presidential bid.
Experts estimate that it was then that Ter-Petrosyan completely
disoriented and 'dispersed' the pro-opposition part of the society
that pinned their hopes on that bigger segment of the opposition.
Ter-Petrosyan, however, stopped short of urging members and supporters
of his alliance to boycott the elections.
The announced plans for the establishment of a new party of a
social-liberal orientation immediately sparked speculation about the
imminent dissolution of a number of political parties that currently
make up the ANC. These are the Armenian National Movement (ANM) and
the People's Party of Armenia (PPA) and several other major parties.
Justice Minister Hrayr Tovmasyan was quick to point out in this regard
that if the members of these political parties join the new party of
Ter-Petrosyan, these parties will have to be formally dissolved.
ANM leader Aram Makukyan and PPA leader Stepan Dmirchyan indicated,
however, that they wanted their parties to continue to exist. However,
it is possible that at some point they will change their minds and
join the nascent party.
The Armenian opposition certainly needs reformatting if it wants to
continue to fight for influence over government decision-making.
Perhaps this reformatting will change the paradoxical situation
that now exists in Armenia when a considerable number of people
are critical of the ruling force, but this majority has no powerful
political force to expresses its interests.
Despite the existing frustration about the social and economic policies
of the ruling party among a considerable part of the population,
people apparently see no other equally powerful opposition party
to vote for. In fact, Ter-Petrosyan has failed to live up to the
expectations of many pro-opposition members of the public.
Deputy Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, ruling Republican Party of
Armenia spokesman Eduard Sharmazanov insisted on Thursday that by his
move Ter-Petrosyan is only trying to save the ANC from a collapse. He
added that only time will show how effective this format will be for
the opposition political force. For the time being, Sharmazanov said,
the ANC has turned into a mere group of supporters of Ter-Petrosyan
and bloc coordinator Levon Zurabyan.