OYP AND ZHARANGUTIUN ARE NOT READY TO SHARE RESPONSIBILITY OF COUNTRY’S GOVERNMENT WITH RPA, ARMEN ASHOTIAN CONSIDERS

Noyan Tapan
May 31 2007

YEREVAN, MAY 31, NOYAN TAPAN. As member of RPA Board Armen Ashotian
affirmed, special power shift will be possible in the country only
in case of "solution of Nagorno Karabakh problem not favorable for
Armenia." As the latter said at the May 31 dispute with representative
of Zharangutiun Party Stepan Safarian, no other circumstance can result
in removal of power at present. And in general, in A. Ashotian’s words,
power is not an end in itself for RPA, establishment and development
of public-political consensus in the country is important for RPA.

Speaking about possible political coalition, A. Ashotian said that
for this purpose they should first of all find out whether the
parliament has forces wishing to share responsibility of government
with RPA. As he affirmed, currently neither Zharangutiun nor Orinats
Yerkir opposition parties represented in the parliament are ready
to share this responsibility. In response to the question, in what
issues RPA-Zharangutiun cooperation will be possible, A. Ashotian
added that if, for instance, Zharangutiun offers pro-state bills,
RPA will vote for them without fail. "I hope Zharangutiun will become
a constructi ve opposition," A. Ashotian concluded.

S. Safarian, in his turn, said that the two parties entered
the parliament with different programs and have essential
contradictions. One of them, for instance, is that Zharangutiun
considers the arrest of former RA Foreign Minister Alexander Arzumanian
and others as political, it considers the latters as political
prisoners, while RPA explains the fact of their arrest in a different
way. And nevertheless, in S. Safarian’s words, the two political
forces have some communities and it will be wrong if, for instance,
only for opposing Zharangutiun votes against raising salaries.