Gun, Azerbaijan
Feb. 21, 2008
Armenia facing fresh risks
Qabil Huseynli report
The [presidential] election in Armenia is over. [Prime Minister]
Serzh Sargsyan, who is another member [referring to incumbent
President Robert Kocharyan] of the Karabakh clan, whose hands are
soaked in the innocent blood of our peacefulcitizens, became
president of aggressive Armenia for four, and may be eight, years by
rigging the results of theelection.
If the truth needs to be told, everything happened according to
Russia’s scenario, and the authoritarian regime in this country has
been preserved once again.
[Passage omitted: CIS election monitors rushed to declare that the
Armenian election was democratic]
"Radical and non-constructive" policy to be continued
Thus, one epoch ends and another starts in Armenia. In fact, it is
difficult to call this a new epoch, too, becauseSargsyan stated that
he would continue Robert Kocharyan’s political line. All this means
that the rule of the clan originating from Nagornyy Karabakh will
continue in all areas and the country will maintain the radical
andnon-constructive line that it has demonstrated in its foreign
policy so far. This means that it will be almostimpossible to find
compromise options in the settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh problem
and to achieve peace throughtalks. As a result, one can say that the
tension in the region will remain and even increase a little further.
Russia prevented pro-Western forces from coming to power
The election showed that Russia did not allow democratic changes to
take place in Armenia which it calls itsstronghold. Russian spin
doctors understood well that [presidential candidate] Levon
Ter-Petrosyan’s victory might result in a sharp policy change in
Armenia and its pro-Western orientation. All of this might put a
serious questionboth over Russia’s strategic interests and the fate
of its [military] bases in this country. On the other hand,
thevictory of new pro-Western forces in Armenia could launch the
process of the ousting of Russia from the South Caucasus. Precisely
for this reason was a fair election not allowed to be held and the
results of the election were rigged in avery serious manner. Russia
once again proved that it is a supporter of authoritarian regimes in
this region and anenemy of peace, sustainable development and
economic prosperity. It proved once again that it is trying to
maintain the existing status quo in the South Caucasus and at the
same time to safeguard its strategic interests through the
riggedelection in Armenia.
West’s "inaction"
The inaction of the West which wants to get Armenia out of Russia’s
arms and likes to repeat this on everyoccasion cannot but cause
surprise. It is obvious that Western circles do not show enough care
for the development ofdemocratic values and civil organizations. It
should be admitted openly that the West has retreated from
competitionwith Russia in the region which means a great loss. This
loss will allow Russia to challenge the region on a largerscale and
retain its control over some processes, for example the resolution of
conflicts. In this way, the West’s plans related to search for
alternative energy routes and their implementation will be seriously
endangered. This means that Russia’s dictate over energy resources
will continue for some time to come.
As for Armenia, things will not calm down for some time there.
Tension and serious standoffs will increase further inparliament and
squares. Most importantly, the process of this country, which is
still known as Russia’s servitor,joining the new world order will be
delayed a lot.