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ARMENIAN OPPOSITION: POSSIBILITY OF TACTICAL ALLIANCE - 1
Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
July 15 2013
15 July 2013 - 11:27am
Susanna Petrosyan, Yerevan, exclusively to VK
Recently, the system of the Armenian authorities has been galvanized
by a row concerning the registration of the company in an offshore
zone in Cyprus in the name of Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, as
well as facts relating to the disclosure of abuse by the government,
which is reflected in a report by the Control Chamber. (See "Armenia:
the principle of the "weak link"). These events have caused great
public interest and could not help affecting the processes within the
government. It can be seen that behind the outward calm and unity of
the government there is tension that takes both explicit (in the form
of a statement by speaker Hovik Abrahamian, who accused the government
of robbery) and latent forms. In particular, some members of the ruling
Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) are now dissatisfied with the fact
that an utterly discredited prime minister remains in the government,
weakening the regime.
At the same time, the opposition feels quite confident. If we examine
the parliamentary activities of representatives of parties like the
ARF, the "Prosperous Armenia Party" (PAP) and the "Armenian National
Congress" (ANC) during the last year, we can see that these forces
acted with common positions on critical issues such as the government's
program, the draft state budget and setting up a temporary committee
of the National Assembly on the events of March 1, 2003. MPs from the
three factions showed rare unanimity on the need for the provision
by the parliament as a political body of a political, not a legal,
assessment of the events of March 1. Such a level of parliamentary
cooperation between the opposition forces of Armenia was seen only
in the first half of the 1990s.
Against the backdrop of the deteriorating socio-economic status,
the complete inactivity of the authorities and the impoverishment
of the masses and migration, in Armenia the opposition is ready to
cooperate in implementing the most important political, economic and
legal reforms, and most importantly - is ready to cooperate in the
issue of a change of power.
The ANC, PA and ARF are not satisfied with the policy of the
authorities for various reasons, but there is one important fact -
the interests of these forces are identical on the question related
to prompting the internal order in the country, especially the radical
political reforms that would make Armenia politically and economically
freer. Opposition members are aware that monopoly and corruption
stifle the country's economy, and to change the situation for the
better real reforms are needed, but their implementation under the
current regime, which only declares the need for reform, is impossible.
We should note that the ANC and ARF, with great controversy in the
past amounting to hostility, have managed to develop cooperation for
the sake of change.
The question of a possible merger of the opposition is still relevant.
Some Republicans, as well as state-controlled experts, are trying to
speculate about the fact that the opposition parties did not combine
into a single unit in the parliamentary elections of 2012. This fact
is being represented as a sign of the weakness and failure of the
Armenian opposition.
To understand whether a united opposition is possible, we should
consider the following fact: there will never be a full merger
between them, because the ANC, PAP and ARF represent different
political niches. In particular, the ARF is a socialist party, and
the ideology of the ANC is social liberalism. The PAP does not have
any clearly-defined ideology, but judging by the applications made
by the party functionaries, it can be assumed that the PAP expects
serious internal party reform, and the party will be ideological and,
most likely, left-wing, because the representatives of the PAP focus
on social issues.
To be continued
http://vestnikkavkaza.net/analysis/politics/42636.html
From: Baghdasarian
Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
July 15 2013
15 July 2013 - 11:27am
Susanna Petrosyan, Yerevan, exclusively to VK
Recently, the system of the Armenian authorities has been galvanized
by a row concerning the registration of the company in an offshore
zone in Cyprus in the name of Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, as
well as facts relating to the disclosure of abuse by the government,
which is reflected in a report by the Control Chamber. (See "Armenia:
the principle of the "weak link"). These events have caused great
public interest and could not help affecting the processes within the
government. It can be seen that behind the outward calm and unity of
the government there is tension that takes both explicit (in the form
of a statement by speaker Hovik Abrahamian, who accused the government
of robbery) and latent forms. In particular, some members of the ruling
Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) are now dissatisfied with the fact
that an utterly discredited prime minister remains in the government,
weakening the regime.
At the same time, the opposition feels quite confident. If we examine
the parliamentary activities of representatives of parties like the
ARF, the "Prosperous Armenia Party" (PAP) and the "Armenian National
Congress" (ANC) during the last year, we can see that these forces
acted with common positions on critical issues such as the government's
program, the draft state budget and setting up a temporary committee
of the National Assembly on the events of March 1, 2003. MPs from the
three factions showed rare unanimity on the need for the provision
by the parliament as a political body of a political, not a legal,
assessment of the events of March 1. Such a level of parliamentary
cooperation between the opposition forces of Armenia was seen only
in the first half of the 1990s.
Against the backdrop of the deteriorating socio-economic status,
the complete inactivity of the authorities and the impoverishment
of the masses and migration, in Armenia the opposition is ready to
cooperate in implementing the most important political, economic and
legal reforms, and most importantly - is ready to cooperate in the
issue of a change of power.
The ANC, PA and ARF are not satisfied with the policy of the
authorities for various reasons, but there is one important fact -
the interests of these forces are identical on the question related
to prompting the internal order in the country, especially the radical
political reforms that would make Armenia politically and economically
freer. Opposition members are aware that monopoly and corruption
stifle the country's economy, and to change the situation for the
better real reforms are needed, but their implementation under the
current regime, which only declares the need for reform, is impossible.
We should note that the ANC and ARF, with great controversy in the
past amounting to hostility, have managed to develop cooperation for
the sake of change.
The question of a possible merger of the opposition is still relevant.
Some Republicans, as well as state-controlled experts, are trying to
speculate about the fact that the opposition parties did not combine
into a single unit in the parliamentary elections of 2012. This fact
is being represented as a sign of the weakness and failure of the
Armenian opposition.
To understand whether a united opposition is possible, we should
consider the following fact: there will never be a full merger
between them, because the ANC, PAP and ARF represent different
political niches. In particular, the ARF is a socialist party, and
the ideology of the ANC is social liberalism. The PAP does not have
any clearly-defined ideology, but judging by the applications made
by the party functionaries, it can be assumed that the PAP expects
serious internal party reform, and the party will be ideological and,
most likely, left-wing, because the representatives of the PAP focus
on social issues.
To be continued
http://vestnikkavkaza.net/analysis/politics/42636.html
From: Baghdasarian