Regnum, Russia –
May 26 2006
Geghamian: Orinats Yerkir Party sent to break up opposition
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The Orinats Yerkir Party has been sent into the opposition camp to
break it up; National Unity Party Head Artashes Geghamian stated,
while debating with Orinats Yerkir Party Head Artur Bagdassaryan on
air of Armenian Shant TV-Channel.
`Primarily Bagdassaryan and his party selflessly defended President
Robert Kocharyan, while being in the ruling coalition, and now they
got into the opposition camp, supporting People’s Party Leader Stepan
Demirchyan and accusing me that I have betrayed him in second round
of 2003 presidential elections,’ Geghamian was perplexed. Meanwhile,
the NU leader stressed, even before outcomes of the first
presidential elections’ round were processed, opposition contenders
had signed a statement that they would not take part in the
elections’ run-off. `I am not to be blamed for that Stepan Demirchyan
disavowed later his signature and decided to participate in the
run-off. I am a man of my word and I could not do so,’ Geghamian
stated. He stressed that opposition contender’s participation
legitimatized presidential elections’ second round outcomes;
President Robert Kocharyan and Defense Minister Serge Sarkisyan
counted on it. According to Geghamian, if Stepan Demirchyan had not
taken part in the second round of the 2003 presidential elections,
the international community would have not recognized its results,
ArmInfo informs.
It is worth stressing that Orinats Yerkir Party Leader Artur
Bagdassaryan recently publicly accused Artashes Geghamian at a
parliamentary session that, having not supported Stepan Demirchyan’s
candidature in the run-off of the 2003 presidential elections, he
betrayed opposition and fulfilled, in such way, order of Defense
Minister Serge Sarkisyan, who expressed his assurance several days
before the second round that the opposition would not be able to
unite around a single presidential contender.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
