THE HUNGER STRIKE MAY GIVE RENEWED IMPETUS TO THE STRUGGLE, AN ARMENIAN CENTER FOR NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES (ACNIS) EXPERT SAYS
March 11 2013
In Edgar Vardanyan's Opinion, it will draw more attention to the
struggle Raffi Hovhannisyan stated during a rally in Freedom Square
yesterday that if Serzh Sargsyan "takes a false oath" on April 9,
he would take that oath on his, Raffi Hovhannisyan's, corpse.
www.aravot.am asked Edgar Vardanyan, an expert and a political
scientist of the ACNIS, whether that radical measure was the last step
or it was a step that could be the beginning of a new process. "Hunger
strike is a really radical step, but it doesn't mean that the one who
takes this radical step has exhausted all the other steps. It is just
that there is a time limit, because deadlines have been announced. The
inauguration day has been mentioned as the deadline, and society has
expectations till that date. I think that taking that into account,
as well as the fact that the government doesn't want to meet the
opposition's demands, and it has already employed certain means of
provocation, under these circumstances, Mr. Hovhannisyan took the most
effective step of influencing the people's minds," the ACNIS expert
noted. We asked him whether it was a step to influence the people's
minds or the government's mind. "I think the people's minds, because
in that case, the people will pressure the government; I think one
shouldn't have any delusions about the government's conscience or
other feelings. This hunger strike will draw more attention to the
struggle and possibly, give renewed impetus to the struggle. Let me
also say that the struggle's conception is basically Gandhism; it is
just that it is confined to one person for now. It is possible that
this step will lead various citizens, political and social groups who
have espoused this conception to become more active and society to
overcome the state of passiveness, stop being, as it were, an onlooker
and play a more active role," Edgar Vardanyan said. Emma GABRIELYAN
Read more at: http://en.aravot.am/2013/03/11/152894/
© 1998 - 2013 Aravot - News from Armenia
March 11 2013
In Edgar Vardanyan's Opinion, it will draw more attention to the
struggle Raffi Hovhannisyan stated during a rally in Freedom Square
yesterday that if Serzh Sargsyan "takes a false oath" on April 9,
he would take that oath on his, Raffi Hovhannisyan's, corpse.
www.aravot.am asked Edgar Vardanyan, an expert and a political
scientist of the ACNIS, whether that radical measure was the last step
or it was a step that could be the beginning of a new process. "Hunger
strike is a really radical step, but it doesn't mean that the one who
takes this radical step has exhausted all the other steps. It is just
that there is a time limit, because deadlines have been announced. The
inauguration day has been mentioned as the deadline, and society has
expectations till that date. I think that taking that into account,
as well as the fact that the government doesn't want to meet the
opposition's demands, and it has already employed certain means of
provocation, under these circumstances, Mr. Hovhannisyan took the most
effective step of influencing the people's minds," the ACNIS expert
noted. We asked him whether it was a step to influence the people's
minds or the government's mind. "I think the people's minds, because
in that case, the people will pressure the government; I think one
shouldn't have any delusions about the government's conscience or
other feelings. This hunger strike will draw more attention to the
struggle and possibly, give renewed impetus to the struggle. Let me
also say that the struggle's conception is basically Gandhism; it is
just that it is confined to one person for now. It is possible that
this step will lead various citizens, political and social groups who
have espoused this conception to become more active and society to
overcome the state of passiveness, stop being, as it were, an onlooker
and play a more active role," Edgar Vardanyan said. Emma GABRIELYAN
Read more at: http://en.aravot.am/2013/03/11/152894/
© 1998 - 2013 Aravot - News from Armenia