National Unity Considers Zhirayr Sefilian’s Arrest As Part Of Author

NATIONAL UNITY CONSIDERS ZHIRAYR SEFILIAN’S ARREST AS PART OF AUTHORITIES’ LONG-RANGE PLAN

Noyan Tapan
Dec 14 2006

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 14, NOYAN TAPAN. The arrests of Zhirayr Sefilian,
the Commander of the Shoushi special battalion, the Coordinator of
the Defence of Liberated Territories public initiative, and Vardan
Malkhasian, a member of the Homeland and Honor Party’s Political
Board, make part of the long-range plan of the authorities. The plan’s
goal is to beg the international community’s indulgence towards the
falsifications to be committed at the forthcoming parliamentary and
presidential elections. This was mentioned in the draft statement
submitted by the National Unity Party for the discussion of the
parties making part of the Anti-criminal Movement. In the opinion
of the latter’s authors, artificially inflaming the home political
atmosphere in the country, they make an attempt to inspire the
international community that only the current ruling duet – RA
President Robert Kocharian and Defence Minister Serge Sargsian can
settle the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. "The Kocharian-Sargsian duet
tries to create an illusion among the international community and
especially the OSCE Minsk Group country-co-chairs that allegedly the
Nagorno Karabakh settlement is fraught with very serious consequences,
even with the danger of a coup d’etat," the document read. According to
the statement, the authorities have already fulfilled this scenario
at the 2003 presidential and parliamentary elections. At present
the authorities will also try to prepare a rich soil for falsifying
the forthcoming elections "in advance convincing the international
community that only under conditions of majority of criminal-oligarch
forces at the newly elected NA supporting Kocharian-Sargsian duet
it will be possible to ratify the document of Nagorno Karabakh
settlement approved by Kocharian." As Gagik Tadevosian, the Board
member of the National Unity Party, stated, the party did not take
part in opposition’s rallies in connection with Sefilian’s arrest,
as it was preparing its own analysis, which was expressed in the
above mentioned statement.