ANOTHER ARMENIAN GENERAL SET TO ENTER POLITICS
By Emil Danielyan

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Feb 14 2007

A top general was discharged from Armenia’s Armed Forces on Wednesday
in what is widely seen as a prelude to his participation in the May
parliamentary elections.

Major-General Seyran Saroyan, the influential commander of the Fourth
Army Corps, was relieved of his duties in accordance with a decree
signed by President Robert Kocharian. Kocharian’s office gave no
reasons for the move.

The decree has been anticipated since press reports last week which
said Saroyan, who is a leading member of the Yerkrapah Union of the
Nagorno-Karabakh war veterans, has decided to enter politics. He
will reportedly run for parliament as a candidate of the governing
Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) in a constituency south of Yerevan.

Incidentally, that parliament seat is currently held by Hakob
Hakobian, a controversial lawmaker who joined the HHK last year and
is currently facing prosecution on charges of fraud, tax evasion and
"hooliganism." Some Armenian media have speculated that the party wants
Saroyan to unseat the disgraced parliamentarian. The bearded general,
who holds sway in the southern town of Echmiadzin, has declined a
comment so far.

Another top general, Deputy Defense Minister Artur Aghabekian,
last week pointedly refused to deny Saroyan’s imminent involvement
in the electoral race. "It’s good when an officer with ample combat
experience wishes to try himself in another area, be it politics or
civil service," Aghabekian told reporters.

Aghabekian, who is also a prominent war veteran, himself has decided
to resign from the military and contest the elections on the ticket
of another governing party, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(Dashnaktsutyun). His resignation request was formally submitted to
Kocharian on Tuesday and is expected to be granted.