ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
May 12, 2006 Friday

Bagdasaryan’s party withdraws from Armenia’s ruling coalition

by Tigran Liloyan

The “Orinats Yerkir” (Country of Law) centrist party has withdrawn
from the coalition on which the Armenian government is based. The
decision to withdraw from the coalition was made late on Thursday at
a meeting of the Political Council of the party, which Parliament
Speaker Artur Bagdasaryan heads. It was announced here that he would
come out with a statement on Friday.

The ruling coalition was formed on June 11, 2003, shortly after the
latest parliamentary elections. This was done on agreement between
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan and leaders of the Republican
Party of Armenia, chaired by Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan, the
“Orinats Yerkir” party, and the “Dashnaktsutyun” party to
cooperate and to pursue a concerted policy.

The “Orinats Yerkir” decision actually disintegrates the ruling
pro-presidential coalition. The 2003 memorandum envisaged, in
particular, that validity of the coalition “may be terminated ahead
of term”, especially “if one of the sides decides to withdraw from
it due to some disagreements of principle”.

The “Orinats Yerkir” party held three ministerial posts in the
Armenian government.

Local analysts are sure that 39-year-old Artur Bagdasaryan, who heads
the “Orinats Yerkir” party and is reputed to be a pro-western
politician, will shortly resign also from the post of parliament
speaker and will join the opposition. They believe he will try to
follow in the footsteps of Georgian leader Mikhail Saakashvili, who
had first held some key government posts and had afterwards joined
the opposition and indulged in sharp criticism of the authorities.