EX-SPEAKER DEMANDS PROBE INTO GOVERNMENT ‘SMEAR CAMPAIGN’
By Emil Danielyan and Astghik Bedevian
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Oct 24 2006
The Orinats Yerkir party of former parliament speaker Artur
Baghdasarian demanded on Tuesday an official inquiry into what it
described as an ongoing government-sponsored "smear campaign" against
its ambitious leader.
In a written statement, Orinats Yerkir condemned several regional
television stations for broadcasting advertisements allegedly
"discrediting" Baghdasarian and his allies. It said the attack ads
have been aired in various regions of Armenia where Orinats Yerkir
leaders have held indoors gatherings with voters over the past month.
"According to our information, [the campaign] was organized by
certain high-ranking officials who have also banned TV companies from
disclosing the names of those who pay for the ads," the statement said
without naming names. It urged Prosecutor-General Aghvan Hovsepian
to identify and punish the "individuals discrediting the party and
tens of thousands of its members."
A senior Orinats Yerkir lawmaker, Heghine Bisharian, clarified
the allegations in parliament later on Tuesday, saying that the
alleged campaign was ordered by Prime Minister Andranik Markarian
and Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian, the two top leaders of the
governing Republican Party of Armenia (HHK). The verbal attack sparked
bitter recriminations between HHK and Orinats Yerkir deputies on the
parliament floor.
Hamlet Harutiunian, a Republican legislator, charged that Baghdasarian
used to be sponsored by Sarkisian and must thank the latter for his
dazzling political career. "Everyone knows Serzh Sarkisian’s role in
his growth as a political leader," Harutiunian said.
Incidentally, one of the TV stations in question, which is based
in the northern town of Vanadzor, was reportedly paid by Orinats
Yerkir to interview Baghdasarian during his recent trip to the area
but avoided airing the interview at the last minute. Orinats Yerkir
officials said that the Lori channel was forced to do so by the local
government. Lori denied the claims.
The 37-year-old ex-speaker also claimed earlier this month that his
party is now having serious trouble renting government-owned conference
halls for its gatherings with supporters across the country.
Orinats Yerkir, which was forced out of Armenia’s governing coalition
last spring and is now in opposition to President Robert Kocharian,
signaled last month the start of its preparations for next year’s
parliamentary elections with a fiery speech delivered by Baghdasarian
in the National Assembly. Risking fresh accusations of populism,
Baghdasarian accused the Armenian authorities of artificially
strengthening the national currency to pocket a large part of
multimillion-dollar cash remittances sent home by Armenians working
abroad. He also vowed to fight for the reduction of electricity prices
and other utility fees.
Baghdasarian, whose party did well in the last parliamentary elections,
has not ruled out the possibility of forming alliances with other
major opposition groups ahead of the 2007 polls.