HAUNTED BY CHANGE OF POWER IN 98

Lragir.am
29 June 06

Pre-election processes are underway in the country, the evidence
to this is the summer congress of the Republican Party, and it is
connected with the settlement of the Karabakh conflict. Member of
Parliament Grigor Harutiunyan expressed this point of view on June
29 at the Pastark Club. According to him, the statement of the OSCE
Minsk Group American Co-Chair Mathew Bryza, then the joint statements
of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs show that the process of settlement
of the conflict over Karabakh is becoming more active.

Grigor Harutiunyan says there were different agreements in different
stages of the talks over the Karabakh conflict but Armenia and
Azerbaijan violated these agreements, therefore the mediators are
stating that they did their work, and the rest is to be decided by
the presidents.

And what is the job of the opposition in this situation? Grigor
Harutiunyan does not give a clear answer to this question. At least,
the opposition does not have anything to do with the authors of
the statement.

"But if you think that we must organize rallies, protests in front of
the embassies of the co-chairs. These people put it clearly that all
that has been reached, the proposals in the statement, were approved
by the heads of our states," says Grigor Harutiunyan.

He thinks that these proposals may lead to an early election. In the
long run, however, the opposition has nothing to do here. At least,
Grigor Harutiunyan says, a possible change of power will not be pushed
by the opposition, however it will not be the consequence of a process
going on inside the government.

"Early elections may be connected with the Karabakh process. It is not
real to consider an early election under the pressure of the government
or opposition, or inside the government. There is not a revolutionary
state. I repeat, however, that the change of power may repeat the
model of 98. Not the change of power, but the early election," says
Grigor Harutiunyan. He thinks that now the way out is the resignation
of Robert Kocharyan to temporize and try to improve the situation.

"We think there will be a resignation, and afterwards a change of
power," states Grigor Harutiunyan, declining to say who will push
Kocharyan to resign.