Civilnet
Armenia's former President Robert Kocharyan.
Armenia’s former President Robert Kocharyan has given an interview to 2rd.am, his unofficial website, about the recent political developments in the country.
Mr President, naturally, we would like to ask you to comment on the latest political developments in the country. Especially, during the well known meeting of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), where the target was the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP), the biggest and most influential party in opposition, but at the same time not the most radical until February 12. The latter was in constant contact with the authorities and, as we have discovered, had a mutual agreement of restraint while criticizing each other’s leaders. What do you think? How can we explain what happened?
I cannot explain why it was necessary for the president. If the calculation was based on pressuring Gagik Tsarukyan to dissolve PAP, then that in fact didn’t happen. On the contrary, there are clear signs of unity among the opposition through the sharp radicalization of vocabulary and goals. Also, PAP wasn’t discredited because of extremely unconvincing arguments. Any action against the leader of PAP today would be assessed by everyone as political persecution, which is deprived of any kind of legitimacy. And taking into consideration the level of social tensions and discontent in the country, as well as the popularity of PAP and its leader, as much as the authorities try to enthusiastically “cleanse” the political arena, the more there will be unity against the authorities and the prospects for political upheaval will be stronger. It is not difficult to foresee how all of this will impact the economy, the situation on the Line of Contact in Karabakh and the centenary commemoration events for the Armenian Genocide.
Mr President, it seems that all of this could 'blow up' the political situation in the country. These are the expectations and concerns of many of our citizens. Do the authorities have a way out of this situation?
I think they might have. Stopping here and not taking any administrative action against the leader of PAP, staying within the limits of verbal duels, returning to facing the opposition on a political platform... The intentions that were voiced during the ruling RPA meeting doesn’t resonate with the RA constitution and it literally pushes PAP, and the opposition in general, to organize mass street demonstrations, which will have unpredictable consequences. Arrests and repressive actions would take the country into a deep and long term crisis. Our country is already exhausted with major problems and their solution is possible only through maximally broad consolidation of society, based on the restoration of people’s faith in the future of the country. Unfortunately, what happened was a strong impulse in the opposite direction.
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