ARMENIAN COALITION LEADER SLAMS OPPOSITION OVER ITS METHODS

Hayots Ashkarh, Yerevan
5 May 04 p3

Text of Vahan Vardanyan interview with chairman of the parliamentary
group Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) Galust Saakyan in which he
criticizes the opposition in the light of the Council of Europe
resolution on Armenian issues by the Armenian newspaper Hayots Ashkarh
on 5 May headlined “I consider that betrayal”

(Hayots Ashkarh correspondent) Mr Saakyan, do you expect any changes
in the working style of the opposition after the resolution published
by the Council of Europe?

(Galust Saakyan) At the moment no. Our opposition colleagues will have
a theme connected with the resolution for discussing it during ten
days. But I think they understood that the Council of Europe is not
the political bureau of the USSR or Lenin’s mausoleum, so that they
can come and conduct revisions after complaining about the
authorities.

In fact, they were given an answer to the problems that were being
speculated more than a year. First of all, it was fixed that a vote of
confidence was only a proposal but not a decision of the
Constitutional Court. At the same time it is obvious that European
structures accept the results of the presidential and parliamentary
elections and there is no problem to revise them. The call for
dialogue, fixed in the resolution, is not principally a new thing
either. We have been saying the same for a year, but unfortunately
there is still nobody to listen to us.

Let us see what final conclusion our opposition colleagues will make
after the CE resolution. Today there is still a tendency to say what
they were saying before. But it is really becoming boring for the
society. It is unacceptable that by their working style in some sense
they are opening a door for interference by foreign forces in the
domestic political life of the country. Naturally, this cannot but
cause a counteraction.

(Correspondent) You accuse the opposition of making our country
vulnerable to foreign forces? But in its turn the opposition denies
this, especially an accusation that during recent PACE session they
cooperated with the Turkish-Azerbaijani delegation.

(Saakyan) Nobody says that there are not people with fair intentions
within the opposition. We also do not say that they especially went
and made an arrangement with the Turks and Azeris. But during the
discussion of the Armenian issue, the Turkish and Azerbaijani
delegations demonstrated serious proactivity. And representatives of
our opposition were those who put this issue forward. The decision
was adopted with difference of only six votes, and it is principally
clear that the problem of putting on the agenda a matter on the Turks
and Azeris voting was a decisive one. If our opposition colleagues did
not put forward this problem, they could not make use of the
situation. I condemn this phenomenon. Not only specific persons but on
the whole opening of the door to foreign interference. I consider that
betrayal.

(Correspondent) By giving such an assessment does the coalition not
close an opportunity for dialogue? (Saakyan) No, it does not. We said
many times that we are ready to talk but without preconditions. By
means of their actions the opposition transferred the political
developments to the judicial field when implementing any action they
come across the law. I agree that we should start a reverse process:
to discuss political problems in the political field and find
decisions. But nevertheless the coalition is not the opposition’s
nurse, so they always call for agreement to their demands, always call
for a dialogue and they always refuse because of some reason. If they
are going to continue their actions with illegal manifestations, the
law should act here. By the way, it is also mentioned in the
resolution of the CE that the opposition must not demonstrate
violence, that is, it should act within the framework of the law. All
this is becoming silly. They organize rallies, then they tell the
people to go home and come at the decisive day. This is a working
style which will be exhausted sooner or later.