Armenian Speaker Sees Nothing Strange About Premier Joining Ruling Part

Aravot, Yerevan
20 Jul 06

Excerpt from Margarit Yesayan’s report by Armenian newspaper Aravot
on 20 July headlined " We do everything in time"

An interview with the speaker of the Armenian parliament, Tigran
Torosyan.

[Correspondent] Mr Torosyan, the leader of the Democratic Party of
Armenia, Aram Sarkisyan, has said in an interview with our newspaper
that the Republican Party of Armenia [RPA] usually announces its
position at the last moment and this is the first time that the RPA
has jumped the gun to make political statements. Do you agree with
this? If you have really jumped the gun, what is the reason for this?

[Tigran Torosyan] Of course, I do not agree. The RPA takes steps when
the time is ripe. We never jump the gun, we do everything in time.

[Correspondent] It is rumoured that many businessmen, politicians
and celebrities are being forced to join the RPA. Does the RPA need
to gather people in such a way?

[Torosyan] Of course, it does not. And we do not do such things.

[Passage omitted: Torosyan explains why many people join different
parties.]

[Correspondent] Based on your logic, is it possible that some day
[Armenian President] Robert Kocharyan will decide to join a party,
as his slogan "My people is my party" is already out of date?

[Torosyan] I cannot predict if the president will join a party or not,
but I will not be surprised if it happens one day.

[Correspondent] You should agree that an extraordinary session with
the participation of officials in such hot summer gives the impression
that you are in a hurry? Why have you become so active in hot summer?

[Torosyan] Summer is really a hot time, but it is not the most
important factor in political life. We have 10 months till the
election. I would not say that political life is dead today. On the
contrary, one should work seriously at present to be well prepared
for future elections on the one hand and to do everything possible
for the future election to meet all international standards on the
other. This is really very important and will greatly affect the
internal and external relations of the state and, first of all,
the settlement of the Karabakh issue.

[Correspondent] The defence minister’s membership of the RPA generates
a question: who will be the person number one in the RPA – Prime
Minister Andranik Markaryan or Defence Minister Serzh Sarkisyan?

[Torosyan] I think there is nothing strange that the defence minister
has joined the RPA. Of course, Mr Sarkisyan is an influential
person and the RPA is an influential political party if not the most
influential one. His joining the RPA is natural.

[Passage omitted: the same happened in 1998 when Vazgen Sarkisyan
joined the RPA and there was no problem]

[Correspondent] How will relations between the Prosperous Armenia
Party and the RPA develop? There are reports that Prosperous Armenia
will be sidelined from the game.

[Torosyan] I see that not only Prosperous Armenia, but also other
parties are out of the game because they have been talking about the
RPA and Prosperous Armenia for a long time, which is an affront to
other parties. First, Prosperous Armenia should be established as a
party and then have far reaching programmes. I can say for sure that
the number of seats won by the party in the forthcoming parliamentary
election will mean nothing for the future of the party. In this
regard, I think that attention to Prosperous Armenia is exaggerated.
Some people recently predicted something that is not clear. Our state
is young – only 15 years old, but it is time for us to do more serious
analyses. Why should the prime minister tender his resignation? There
should be a very serious reason for his resignation.

[Passage omitted: Torosyan talks about some other predictions which
he describes as groundless.]

[Correspondent] Will Serzh Sarkisyan become chairman of the RPA
council?

The post of chairman of the party’s council will be reinstated at the
extraordinary session of the RPA, which will be held on 22 July. It
was cancelled in the previous session. The vice-president of the RPA,
Razmik Zograbyan, told journalists that this post might be offered to
Serzh Sarkisyan. At the same time, he brushed aside the rumours that
Serzh Sarkisyan will be elected RPA chairman in the future. He also
added that Sarkisyan will also "think about becoming a presidential
candidate" after the forthcoming parliamentary election.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress