Armenian opposition activist says authorities impede country’s development

Arminfo
18 Jul 05

Yerevan, 18 July: “We hope that our colleagues from the Justice bloc
will reconsider their approach to the process of constitutional
changes, otherwise our party will issue its own assessment of the
situation in the near future,” the press secretary of the opposition
Republic Party, Suren Surenyants, has told an Arminfo correspondent.

Surenyants said the Republic Party was categorically against returning
to the parliament to discuss changes to the constitution. Furthermore,
the press secretary and his fellow party members believe that any
discussion around the proposed constitutional reform “would provide
the authorities with the opportunity to imitate a civil accord in
the country”.

“The main obstacle in the way of development of our country is not
the constitution but the criminal regime, while systemic reforms can
be carried out only if legitimate power is restored in the country,”
Surenyants said.

He added that Republic was ready to cooperate with any party and
society as a whole in this issue. At the same time, the opposition
activist added that “it is premature to speak about any negotiations
between parties”. Surenyants said that although the positions of some
parties on the issue of constitutional changes overlap, this is not
enough to establish alliance-like relations with parties that are
not part of the Justice bloc.