Armenian opposition leader says government change “inevitable”

Noyan Tapan news agency
19 Apr 05

Yerevan, 19 April: Armenia is currently in the hands of several
people and while the Turks devastated Armenia by massacring its
population, it is being devastated without a massacre today, the
leader of the National Democratic Union, Vazgen Manukyan, said at a
press conference today.

Noting that two parties of the [ruling] coalition, the Republican
Party of Armenia [RPA] and Armenian Revolutionary Federation –
Dashnaktsutyun [ARFD], have declared themselves national, he said:
“I would like them to take a sheet of paper and describe clearly
what they mean by national. Not loving the Turks does not mean
‘national’. And the third party of the coalition, the Orinats Yerkir
[Law-Governed Country] Party, wants to establish lawfulness in the
country, even though there is nothing lawful in Armenia.”

In Manukyan’s opinion, a change of government is inevitable in
Armenia. Not only the opposition and people, but also all the echelons
of the authorities realize this. “We must have allies not only among
the population, but also among the authorities,” he said.

In theory, the best way to normalize the situation in the country
would be if members of the government understood that the current
situation has to be changed and tried to carry out changes, which
would be a “revolution from the top”, Manukyan said. However, this
scenario is implausible, in Manukyan’s view. Under these conditions,
the revolution must take place from the bottom – “a big movement that
will make the change of government imminent”.

Manukyan also said that although candidates of the National Democratic
Union are not running in the municipal elections, the party will wage
a struggle to make the elections as fair as possible.