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JOSTLING FOR SUCCESSOR?: PRIME MINISTER IN THE BALANCE AS STRUGGLE FOR GEOPOLITICAL ORIENTATION, FUTURE PRESIDENT ON IN ARMENIA
POLITICS | 19.06.13 | 10:46
Photo: www.gov.am
By NAIRA HAYRUMYAN
ArmeniaNow correspondent
Several domestic political scandals fraught with high-profile
resignations are arising in Armenia. Despite the fact that the country
has no tradition of resignations based on violations or alleged
violations of ethical and legal norms and standards, recent media
disclosures of offshore accounts could cost Prime Minister Tigran
Sargsyan his position considering other undercurrent processes.
Online newspaper Hetq conducted a journalist investigation and last
month published an article suggesting that Sargsyan is a stakeholder
of a Cyprus-registered company involved in some 'murky dealings'.
While the prime minister is trying to prove that he was not aware
of the company being registered in his name, on Tuesday businessman
Ashot Sukiasyan, whose name also figured in the article in connection
with the deals, admitted that he registered the company in Sargsyan's
name without the prime minister's knowledge. Earlier, Sargsyan asked
the Prosecutor-General's Office to inquire into who had registered
Wlispera Holdings Limited and how his name appeared in the list of
its shareholders. Recently, a case was opened against Sukiasyan,
whose whereabouts are apparently not known, and he was put on the
'wanted' list.
However, the opposition political parties, in particular, the Armenian
National Congress and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, actively
raise questions and doubt the innocence of the prime minister.
Law-enforcement authorities are silent. President Serzh Sargsyan does
not express his position either.
While the offshore scandal was unfolding, another one emerged
as the Control Chamber published its report on violations and
abuse of government funds revealed in 2012. In particular, it
said that building organizations were often spending budget funds
inappropriately, sometimes paying for material ten times as much
as the market price. Parliament Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan, a senior
member of President Sargsyan's Republican Party, was quick to blame
the government, lashing out at "plunderers' of public money.
The Armenian media have already branded this process a campaign against
the prime minister. Despite the validity of the charges and the lack
of counterarguments on the part of Tigran Sargsyan, the course of the
scandals suggests that there might be forces that consistently work
for Sargsyan's resignation. There could be lots of forces interested
in that, first of all Russia and advocates of the pro-Russian course
in Armenia, as well as the forces that challenge Tigran Sargsyan's
'leadership' within the Republican Party.
The current prime minister is considered to be perhaps the only
apologist of the pro-European course of development and the signing
of the Association Agreement with the European Union within Armenia's
establishment. He also acts as mouthpiece when it comes to rejecting
persistent offers from Russian about accession to the Customs Union
and the Eurasian Union - Kremlin-advocated integration projects for
ex-Soviet states. And the closer it draws to November, when Armenia
is due to initial its Association Agreement with the EU, the stronger
becomes the pressure on the prime minister.
Add to this the fact that technocrat Sargsyan is deemed to be
the most likely candidate for presidency in Armenia in 2018. The
Constitution bars incumbent president Serzh Sargsyan from seeking a
third consecutive term and the jostle for the successor has already
started within the ruling party. In this regard, the 'conservative'
or rather 'oligarchic' wing of the Republican Party led by Hovik
Abrahamyan appears to have launched a crusade against Tigran Sargsyan.
It is unlikely to be a coincidence that recently reports appeared in
the media that the Prosperous Armenia Party could again become part
of the governing coalition and its leader, tycoon Gagik Tsarukyan,
who is in-laws with Abrahamyan, could be appointed prime minister.
Considering this, the prospect of Prime Minister Sargsyan's
resignation becomes real, and now everyone is waiting for President
Serzh Sargsyan's word. But everyone clearly understands that the issue
is not only about Tigran Sargsyan, but rather about Armenia's future
geopolitical orientation and president.
POLITICS | 19.06.13 | 10:46
Photo: www.gov.am
By NAIRA HAYRUMYAN
ArmeniaNow correspondent
Several domestic political scandals fraught with high-profile
resignations are arising in Armenia. Despite the fact that the country
has no tradition of resignations based on violations or alleged
violations of ethical and legal norms and standards, recent media
disclosures of offshore accounts could cost Prime Minister Tigran
Sargsyan his position considering other undercurrent processes.
Online newspaper Hetq conducted a journalist investigation and last
month published an article suggesting that Sargsyan is a stakeholder
of a Cyprus-registered company involved in some 'murky dealings'.
While the prime minister is trying to prove that he was not aware
of the company being registered in his name, on Tuesday businessman
Ashot Sukiasyan, whose name also figured in the article in connection
with the deals, admitted that he registered the company in Sargsyan's
name without the prime minister's knowledge. Earlier, Sargsyan asked
the Prosecutor-General's Office to inquire into who had registered
Wlispera Holdings Limited and how his name appeared in the list of
its shareholders. Recently, a case was opened against Sukiasyan,
whose whereabouts are apparently not known, and he was put on the
'wanted' list.
However, the opposition political parties, in particular, the Armenian
National Congress and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, actively
raise questions and doubt the innocence of the prime minister.
Law-enforcement authorities are silent. President Serzh Sargsyan does
not express his position either.
While the offshore scandal was unfolding, another one emerged
as the Control Chamber published its report on violations and
abuse of government funds revealed in 2012. In particular, it
said that building organizations were often spending budget funds
inappropriately, sometimes paying for material ten times as much
as the market price. Parliament Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan, a senior
member of President Sargsyan's Republican Party, was quick to blame
the government, lashing out at "plunderers' of public money.
The Armenian media have already branded this process a campaign against
the prime minister. Despite the validity of the charges and the lack
of counterarguments on the part of Tigran Sargsyan, the course of the
scandals suggests that there might be forces that consistently work
for Sargsyan's resignation. There could be lots of forces interested
in that, first of all Russia and advocates of the pro-Russian course
in Armenia, as well as the forces that challenge Tigran Sargsyan's
'leadership' within the Republican Party.
The current prime minister is considered to be perhaps the only
apologist of the pro-European course of development and the signing
of the Association Agreement with the European Union within Armenia's
establishment. He also acts as mouthpiece when it comes to rejecting
persistent offers from Russian about accession to the Customs Union
and the Eurasian Union - Kremlin-advocated integration projects for
ex-Soviet states. And the closer it draws to November, when Armenia
is due to initial its Association Agreement with the EU, the stronger
becomes the pressure on the prime minister.
Add to this the fact that technocrat Sargsyan is deemed to be
the most likely candidate for presidency in Armenia in 2018. The
Constitution bars incumbent president Serzh Sargsyan from seeking a
third consecutive term and the jostle for the successor has already
started within the ruling party. In this regard, the 'conservative'
or rather 'oligarchic' wing of the Republican Party led by Hovik
Abrahamyan appears to have launched a crusade against Tigran Sargsyan.
It is unlikely to be a coincidence that recently reports appeared in
the media that the Prosperous Armenia Party could again become part
of the governing coalition and its leader, tycoon Gagik Tsarukyan,
who is in-laws with Abrahamyan, could be appointed prime minister.
Considering this, the prospect of Prime Minister Sargsyan's
resignation becomes real, and now everyone is waiting for President
Serzh Sargsyan's word. But everyone clearly understands that the issue
is not only about Tigran Sargsyan, but rather about Armenia's future
geopolitical orientation and president.