VAZGEN MANUKYAN AND RAFFI HOVANNISIAN PERFORMED THE ROLE OF DISSOLVING

Lragir, Armenia
July 16 2007

The opposition should first set up a team to run in the presidential
election. Without a team they will fail, stated Paruir Hairikyan,
leader of the National Self-Determination Union, on July 16 at the
National Press Club. According to him, Serge Sargsyan is the force that
has a team. Alone he is nothing but he has a team. "The opposition
must first take care to set up a team, the future security council,"
says the leader of the National Self-Determination Union.

With the presidential election drawing nearer, he thinks it is
important to unite the democratic forces, the forces which uphold
democracy. However, the reporters said everyone says to uphold
democracy, especially that Hairikyan also says they are ready to
collaborate with everyone. However, the leader of the National
Self-Determination Union said the forces which declared democracy
an ultimate goal must also accept the program that the National
Self-Determination Union offers. He says the president must be
transitional, the team should be set up which will enjoy the trust
of the public, a president must be elected, then the president
must provide the election of a prime minister and a parliament,
and then resign.

"You see I am amazed at the brazenness of people who say they will
run in the election when I am still alive. It is ultimate brazenness.

When the leader of the national liberation, when the men who
led them towards independence, the man who taught them the words
self-determination and democracy is still alive, they say they can
make a better president than him. I am not saying that I should be
named president, but they say it in my presence like if the son told
his father he would manage the house better," Paruir Hairikyan says.

Hairikyan perhaps hinted at Vazgen Manukyan for whom the leader of the
National Self-Determination Union has obvious antipathy. For instance,
in answer to the observation of the reporters that Vazgan Manukyan
endorses running in the election in a united team, Hairikyan said if
Vazgen Manukyan is already speaking about a united team, it means
he has moved towards progress. "Because he used to say me, only
me. However, he has no grounds to speak about unification because
in the parliamentary election people are led, people evaluate by
actions, and in the parliamentary election Vazgen Manukyan and Raffi
Hovannisian assumed a dissolving role," Paruir Hairikyan says. He
reminded the events of 1996 when the common presidential candidate
Manukyan escaped responsibility, Hairikyan says. Although he thinks
that to err is human, and if the discussion of the united team decides
that Vazgen Manukyan will be the candidate, Hairikyan will not mind.

According to him, the parliamentary election was much more important
than the presidential election because after the constitutional
reform the president’s role is not essential. Hairikyan says for this
reason Robert Kocharyan reshaped this document the way he liked, and
he will get a punishment for that but not a human punishment. As to
the forecasts in the Western media that Serge Sargsyan’s presidency
is inevitable, the leader of the National Self-Determination Union
says they reported the reality. In other words, the Western analysts
are merely evaluating the relations in Armenia and say that under
these relations Serge Sargsyan will become president. Meanwhile,
Paruir Hairikyan thinks the problem of the opposition, the democratic
forces is to ensure an electoral mechanism in the country to enable
people elect a president. If it is going to be Serge Sargsyan, if it
is going to be the people’s choice, Hairikyan will not mind.

"The American experts you mentioned are not knowledgeable for they
say the presidential election will bring about a change and Serge
Sargsyan will become president. He became president a long time ago.

We mean the ability to sustain the balance of powers," Paruir Hairikyan
says. As to the question why he does not bid for changing the situation
and bring into being his own ideas, Paruir Hairikyan said first he
must not necessarily bring into being his ideas, others may do it as
well, their implementation is important. Besides, "walk along God,
there is no need to go ahead of God."