ONE-PARTISAN SYSTEM IS IMPOSED ARMENIA, UNITING OPPOSITION

Lragir.am
18 July 06

The problem is not that the defense minister must be non-partisan
or not. And the problem is not how the army will vote. The army
has always been instructed how to vote, stated the leader of the
National Democratic Union Vazgen Manukyan July 18, commenting on
Serge Sargsyan’s membership to the Republican Party at the Pastark
Club. According to him, the problem is much deeper and bigger for
the country’s future.

"Serge Sargsyan is known to control not only the army, which is known
to everyone, but also the economy and the bulk of financial influx
to Armenia. By joining the political party of Andranik Margaryan,
who controls the rest of funds and economy, a monster is created,
which controls the entire economy," Vazgen Manukyan says.

According to him, this path leads Armenia to a unipartisan order.
"Unipartisan, when we lived in the Soviet Union, there was only one
political party, but very few people remember that in Poland, Hungary,
Bulgaria, for instance, there were "satellite" parties besides the
Communist Party, but those were fictitious, intended to show to the
world that there are starts of democracy, but in reality there was
only one political party. Now this experience is repeating in Armenia,"
says the leader of the National Democratic Union.

According to him, it is hard to tell what can be set against the
phenomenon which crushes the internal political system and threatens
the future of the state, called Serge Sargsyan – Republican Alliance.

"Power is a pyramid. In the Soviet Union, the entire economy was at
the bottom of the pyramid. In Armenia the bulk of the economy is again
in that pyramid. Now imagine the power pyramid, and the workers of the
pyramid are told that it is favorable for them and they have to become
members of a political party. The power pyramid becomes a solid, strong
political party at once. The opposition does not have the possibility
to build a pyramid and fight the pyramid. Therefore, it is much more
difficult to oppose it in the opposition," says Vazgen Manukyan.

According to him, it is not accidental that the opposition is
speaking about revolution and a storm. Vazgen Manukyan thinks these
considerations take place because "no other ways of breaking through
the pyramid are visible".

"I would like, I wish one or two ideological forces appeared in
the opposition (but unfortunately the opposition does not have the
necessary funds), who would run in the election determined to go all
the way to struggle, if not to take power, at least to take a sector
of power to influence further developments," says Vazgen Manukyan.

The leader of the NDU says it is important that in a newly established
state the first persons take a risk and think about the public
interests besides their own interests. Vazgen Manukyan hints at the
steps taken by leaders of different countries intended to foster
the establishment of political parties, endangering their power but
thinking about the state.

"Jefferson, Adams, Washington acted so in America, Franco did,
Pinochet did. A real head of state must have only one great public
interest besides his personal interest. If our statesmen thought about
the future of the country apart from their personal interests, they
would encourage, foster formation of a normal force against them,"
says Vazgen Manukyan.

He says the opposition is diverse, but there are serious forces,
nevertheless, whose unification would change the state of things.

Vazgen Manukyan cannot discern a tendency of unification of serious
forces yet, but he does not exclude it either. He finds that life
will impose this unification.