HOVHANNES HOVHANNISIAN DOES NOT EXCLUDE POSSIBILITY OF REVOLUTION IN 2007 ELECTIONS PROCESS

Noyan Tapan
Dec 18 2006

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 18, NOYAN TAPAN. The "executive power does its best
to weaken the role of the National Assembly, and if it continues in
this way from now on as well, the parliamentarism in Armenia will
disappear as a political institute." Hovhannes Hovhannisian, the
Chairman of the Liberal-Progressive Party of Armenia stated about it
at the December 18 press conference. In his words, the authorities
started the pre-electoral propaganda very early, and the struggle
for power proceeds both inside ruling administration and, what is
very perceptible today, and between authorities and opposition. He
mentioned that the authorities always strive for humbling the role
of the opposition, using at the same time mass media under its
control. In Hovhannes Hovhannisian’s opinion, there is no normal
dialogue in the country between the opposition and the authorities:
"The authorities respond ideas of the opposition with some gossips
and misrepresentation of the reality with the help of a number of
media." As for Present Kocharian’s recent statement that "no colour
revolution will take place," H.Hovhannisian stated: "The authorities
have a syndrome of fear before the revolution." He did not exclude the
possibility of a revolution in Armenia during the coming parliamentary
elections in May of 2007. In his words, if the authorities will again
attempt to falsify the election results, one may not exclude that the
people’s displeasure will be expressed in a revolution. Otherwise,
the authorities will again reproduce itself, and then the country will
appear in an awful social-economic and foreign political situation:
"The price for the authorities’ self-reproduction is a strict change
in the negotiation process not in favour of Armenia."