ORINATS YERKIR RETALIATES TO PRO-TER-PETROSIAN NEWSPAPER’S ALLEGATIONS
ARMENPRESS
Feb 14, 2008
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 14, ARMENPRESS: In a retaliating move the deputy
chairperson of the Orinats Yerkir (Country of Law) party of former
parliament chairman Arthur Baghdasarian, lashed out today at
ex-president Levon Ter-Petrosian to accuse him of having concluded
a secret deal with the authorities to split the opposition.
Speaking at a news conference MP Mrs. Heghine Bisharian, who is also
head of Arthur Baghdasarian’s campaign office, denounced a story in
today’s issue of pro-Ter-Petrosian daily-Haykakan Zhamanak-which
claimed that prime minister Serzh Sarkisian has devised a gimmick
‘to forestall" accusations of vote rigging after the February 19 poll.
The daily claimed that the core of the ploy is to give the victory in
the first round to Arthur Baghdasarian, who will collect more votes
than Sarkisian himself and both will appear in the run-off.
The paper alleged that Baghdasarian and other presidential candidates
would accept the first round’s outcome and in the second round ‘it
would be simply a technical issue to secure Serzh Sarkisian’s victory."
The daily claimed that Baghdasarian and Sarkisian have agreed on this
scenario. It also said that Baghdasarian had to agree to it after
Sarkisian’s allies showed him some secretly recorded video tapes
disgracing Baghdasarian and his relatives.
"Levon Ter-Petrosian had announced when campaigning in Syunik yesterday
that he would like Arthur Baghdasarian to quit the race and support
his bid, but the following day the pro-Ter-Petrosian daily engineers
a slander campaign against Baghdasarian.
This is very suspicious,’ said Mrs. Bisharian.
She reminded of talks that were being held by Ter-Petrosian and
Baghdasarian over a possible union.
"In the evening they (Ter-Petrosian and allies) negotiate an alliance
with us while in the morning publish slandering claims. This is
difficult to explain. Our candidate has a steady electorate and his
popularity is mounting day after day and we have actually no doubt
that he will win the right to the run-off. If Ter-Petrosian wants the
opposition candidate to be in the second round he should join us,’
she said.
She said her party condemns political blackmail and called on all to
observe political correctness and the spirit of cooperation.
"One of the nine candidates will be elected president of this country
and the other 8 will lose,’ she said.