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RAISING THE STAKES: SARGSYAN USHERS IN NEW POLITICAL CONDITIONS BY TACKLING FORMER COALITION PARTNER
ANALYSIS | 13.02.15 | 10:45
By NAIRA HAYRUMYAN
ArmeniaNow correspondent
RELATED NEWS
Sargsyan lashes out at Tsarukyan, defends constitutional reform
The sensational speech delivered by President Serzh Sargsyan late on
February 12 has signaled the start of a new stage of a tough internal
political race in Armenia.
Addressing top representatives of Armenia's ruling Republican Party
(RPA), Sargsyan, who is the leader of the RPA, called for clearing up
the political field from "illiterate and non-political elements." In
doing so he leveled unusually strong criticism and mocked at the leader
of the second largest parliamentary party, Prosperous Armenia (PAP),
Gagik Tsarukyan. Moreover, the main target of Sargsyan's criticism
was the "illiteracy" of Tsarukyan, who recently issued an ultimatum
to the government.
This ultimatum is connected with planned constitutional reforms that
the Sargsyan administration intends to carry out in the near future.
In particular, under the proposed draft the current presidential
form of government is to be replaced with a parliamentary one. Most
opposition groups in Armenia believe this way the RPA seeks to ensure
its continued grip on power even after the end of President Sargsyan's
second and last term in office in 2018.
Last week, Tsarukyan convened a conference during which he said that in
conditions of the actually ongoing war at the borders with Azerbaijan,
the difficult economic and political situation in the country a change
in the model of public administration is impractical and dangerous. At
the same time, he did not rule out that if the government continues its
policy of consolidating the power of the majority, opposition forces
will bring thousands of people out into the streets for protests.
In his latest remarks, President Sargsyan described Tsarukyan the
politician as a "vice" for the country. The same day he signed a
decree releasing Tsarukyan from his membership in the National Security
Council. He also called for the commencement of a procedure to strip
the PAP leader of his parliamentary seat and made instructions to check
"unverified reports" about possible tax evasion and involvement in
cover-ups for crimes by Tsarukyan.
Many Armenian experts believe that it is former President Robert
Kocharyan who stands behind Tsarukyan and that Kocharyan intends
to return to active politics. However, Tsarukyan appeared to be
personally seeking the next presidency recently. Directly pointing
at his ignorance, Sargsyan said: "Can you imagine Gagik Tsarukyan
reading a speech at the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly,
which is followed by questions from deputies, including Azerbaijani
and Turkish ones? It is difficult and terrible to imagine that."
As for Kocharyan, vice-chairman of the Republican Party and Minister
of Education and Science Armen Ashotyan said after the RPA Council
meeting that Kocharyan, unlike Tsarukyan, is a political figure,
and in the RPA they have respect for the former president. At the
same time, he appeared to reaffirm the assumptions that the PAP had
been established to ensure the presence of the second president in
Armenia's active politics.
The PAP, Kocharyan and others did not react to the development
immediately. It is clear that Sargsyan has decided that before
announcing the constitutional reform it is necessary to neutralize
the key critic of this reform. After such a step, either the PAP
will admit its defeat and will disappear from the political arena or
Kocharyan will have to personally join the fray.
Remarkably, Tsarukyan was in Moscow recently and is said to have met
with Kocharyan there. As most Armenian media suggest, the PAP leader
did not find support in Russia.
http://armenianow.com/commentary/analysis/60587/armenia_politics_serzh_sargsyan_gagik_tsarukyan
ANALYSIS | 13.02.15 | 10:45
By NAIRA HAYRUMYAN
ArmeniaNow correspondent
RELATED NEWS
Sargsyan lashes out at Tsarukyan, defends constitutional reform
The sensational speech delivered by President Serzh Sargsyan late on
February 12 has signaled the start of a new stage of a tough internal
political race in Armenia.
Addressing top representatives of Armenia's ruling Republican Party
(RPA), Sargsyan, who is the leader of the RPA, called for clearing up
the political field from "illiterate and non-political elements." In
doing so he leveled unusually strong criticism and mocked at the leader
of the second largest parliamentary party, Prosperous Armenia (PAP),
Gagik Tsarukyan. Moreover, the main target of Sargsyan's criticism
was the "illiteracy" of Tsarukyan, who recently issued an ultimatum
to the government.
This ultimatum is connected with planned constitutional reforms that
the Sargsyan administration intends to carry out in the near future.
In particular, under the proposed draft the current presidential
form of government is to be replaced with a parliamentary one. Most
opposition groups in Armenia believe this way the RPA seeks to ensure
its continued grip on power even after the end of President Sargsyan's
second and last term in office in 2018.
Last week, Tsarukyan convened a conference during which he said that in
conditions of the actually ongoing war at the borders with Azerbaijan,
the difficult economic and political situation in the country a change
in the model of public administration is impractical and dangerous. At
the same time, he did not rule out that if the government continues its
policy of consolidating the power of the majority, opposition forces
will bring thousands of people out into the streets for protests.
In his latest remarks, President Sargsyan described Tsarukyan the
politician as a "vice" for the country. The same day he signed a
decree releasing Tsarukyan from his membership in the National Security
Council. He also called for the commencement of a procedure to strip
the PAP leader of his parliamentary seat and made instructions to check
"unverified reports" about possible tax evasion and involvement in
cover-ups for crimes by Tsarukyan.
Many Armenian experts believe that it is former President Robert
Kocharyan who stands behind Tsarukyan and that Kocharyan intends
to return to active politics. However, Tsarukyan appeared to be
personally seeking the next presidency recently. Directly pointing
at his ignorance, Sargsyan said: "Can you imagine Gagik Tsarukyan
reading a speech at the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly,
which is followed by questions from deputies, including Azerbaijani
and Turkish ones? It is difficult and terrible to imagine that."
As for Kocharyan, vice-chairman of the Republican Party and Minister
of Education and Science Armen Ashotyan said after the RPA Council
meeting that Kocharyan, unlike Tsarukyan, is a political figure,
and in the RPA they have respect for the former president. At the
same time, he appeared to reaffirm the assumptions that the PAP had
been established to ensure the presence of the second president in
Armenia's active politics.
The PAP, Kocharyan and others did not react to the development
immediately. It is clear that Sargsyan has decided that before
announcing the constitutional reform it is necessary to neutralize
the key critic of this reform. After such a step, either the PAP
will admit its defeat and will disappear from the political arena or
Kocharyan will have to personally join the fray.
Remarkably, Tsarukyan was in Moscow recently and is said to have met
with Kocharyan there. As most Armenian media suggest, the PAP leader
did not find support in Russia.
http://armenianow.com/commentary/analysis/60587/armenia_politics_serzh_sargsyan_gagik_tsarukyan