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Lragir.am
12 May 06

The developments involving the Orinats Yerkir Party fit the logic of
pre-election developments, stated Member of Parliament Hrant
Khachatryan, the leader of the Constitutional Right Union, in a news
conference on May 12. According to him, the government is facing a
problem of keeping what it has, and, considering the pressure on
behalf of international organizations, holding elections concealing
electoral fraud.

Under these circumstances, Hrant Khachatryan thinks that the
government will try to render neutral the forces in the parliament,
which are a more or less independent, trying to shape a National
Assembly with more controllable members. Hrant Khachatryan views the
campaign against the Orinats Yerkir in this context. Hrant Khachatryan
says the Orinats Yerkir may not only secede from the coalition but
also find a more effective strategy. `We would not secede, we would
stay and fight,’ says Hrant Khachatryan. He says it is possible that
what happened is a game. According to Hrant Khachatryan, the game may
alsobe determined by the upcoming elections, calculated to win over
votes. But the member of parliament also says that there are a lot of
arguments that thisis not a game. One of these arguments is
long-lasting contact with the members of the coalition; Hrant
Khachatryan says the coalition colleagues of Orinats Yerkir have
always disliked this political party. Hrant Khachatryan also gives the
example of Artashes Tumanyan, which in the beginning appeared as a
game, but now obviously Tumanyan is having serious problems.

Besides, Hrant Khachatryan emphasizes that as a part of the
government, the Orinats Yerkir has always had its standpoint on
certain issues. At any rate, even if this is a game, people may accept
it, says Hrant Khachatryan, seeing that Arthur Baghdasaryan can make
changes in the country’s life. Hrant Khachatryan says there is no need
for confessions. `I cannot even feel the public demand for
confessions. The society does not need an honest person. It needs fast
changes,’ says Hrant Khachatryan. He also thinks that the future place
of the Orinats Yerkir in the political sphere and in the opposition is
determined by the opinion of the same people. `I am deeply convinced
that the opposition is not a hangout of losers or the repressed, a
temporary shelter, where they can stay, have a rest and try to take
power in one way or another. There are political parties which
expected and even prepared for the entrance of Arthur Baghdasaryan to
the opposition, and there are political parties to whom the secession
of Orinats Yerkir from the coalition means weakening of the coalition
and not strengthening of the opposition,’ says the leaderof the
Constitutional Right Union.

He believes that in the beginning people, and especially the ordinary
members of the Orinats Yerkir must evaluate, either accept or decline
the Orinats Yerkir Party. Hrant Khachatryan says personally he is not
happy about the weakening of the coalition or the prospect of
strengthening of the opposition.

Hrant Khachatryan is concerned by the impact of these developments on
the political sphere.