Armenian opposition set to stage “velvet” revolution

Arminfo
24 Jun 05

YEREVAN

At present, the Armenian opposition has four allies – the people,
youth, the West and individual representatives of the political and
economic elite who understand that the existing situation in the
republic threatens national security, Vazgen Manukyan, leader of the
National Democratic Union [NDU], said at the 16th congress of the
party.

He said that currently 90 per cent of Armenia’s interests coincide
with those of the West. “The 10-per-cent discrepancy between these
interests is due to the national peculiarities of the Armenian
people,” Manukyan said.

He pointed out that “lawlessness” and “corruption” are terms that
classify the current situation in Armenia. “The ruling regime is
plundering the republic, its economy, nature and the diaspora’s
contribution. If this continues, they will eat up even the “fruits” of
the liberation struggle for Artsakh,” Manukyan said. He said that the
existing situation might remain unchanged for a long time if the
Armenian people do not wish to carry out structural reforms in
Armenia. At the same time, he said that the spirit of the Armenians
has been broken and even if there are the best programmes to develop
the republic, there will be no-one to implement them. “If the current
situation remains unchanged, then the West will lose its hope for
Armenia’s democratic development. The West will tell us – if you are
not in a position to build your statehood, what do you need Nagornyy
Karabakh for? Let it belong to those who deserve to have it,” Manukyan
said.

Despite this, he expressed his confidence that the opposition will win
the struggle with the authorities, but to this end, the opposition
should submit a precise concept of activities and their consequences
to the people.

In turn, Aram Sarkisyan, leader of the opposition Republic Party, who
was present at the NDU congress, said that irrespective of anything, a
national democratic velvet revolution will be staged in Armenia. At
the same time, he said that in order to stage a revolution, the
consolidation of political forces is not so important as the public of
the country.

The leader of the socialist forces of Armenia, Ashot Manucharyan, said
that not only the country’s authorities but also the opposition are to
blame for the existing situation in the country. Manucharyan
criticized the ruling regimes both in Armenia and Nagornyy
Karabakh. He said that the policy of the current authorities of the
Nagornyy Karabakh Republic did not differ from the policy of the
Azerbaijani authorities in the period when Nagornyy Karabakh was part
of Azerbaijan.

[Passage omitted: the congress was also attended by pro-government
forces]

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress