Armenian opposition leader calls for government change

Arminfo
12 May 05

YEREVAN

Representatives of the parliamentary majority and opposition agree
that the presence of the opposition in parliament would make the work
of the Armenian National Assembly more interesting and effective. This
opinion was expressed today by representatives of some factions of the
Armenian National Assembly during a discussion at the national press
club on whether there is a parliamentary crisis in Armenia.

According to a representative of the opposition Justice bloc and the
leader of the Democratic Party of Armenia, Aram Sarkisyan, the crisis
does exist, but not in the National Assembly but “in the minds of the
administration, first of all the Armenian president”.

The reasons the opposition is boycotting parliament sessions were
never resolved, while representatives of the ruling coalition, obeying
the will of Armenian President Robert Kocharyan, could not find
courage to enter into dialogue with the opposition. When the
opposition is present in parliament, it looks like a parliament, while
without the opposition it doesn’t, and responsibility for the adoption
of poorly prepared and low-quality draft laws rests primarily with the
parliamentary majority, the leader of the Armenian Democrats said.

Asked whether the course of discussions on constitutional reforms
would have been different if the Armenian opposition had been involved
in it, Aram Sarkisyan categorically answered that it would not
have. The only thing that would have been different is that the number
of votes “against” the coalition’s package would have been slightly
bigger, nothing else.

Extraordinary parliamentary elections will not “save Armenia” from the
crisis, it is necessary to conduct presidential elections and change
the government, Sarkisyan said.

[Passage omitted: minor details]