A CRISIS OF TRUST
by Richard Giragosyan

168 Zham
February 28, 2008
Armenia

USA not attempting to stage revolution in Armenia

"The current post-election crisis in Armenia is focused on the election
process rather than on the election results. The current crisis is
not just a political crisis, but is rather an expression of deep,
fundamental problems, including corruption, socio-economic injustice
and the ‘deterioration of good governance’. Although personalities
play a bigger role in the political life of the Republic of Armenia
than programmes and platforms, this crisis is not a personal conflict
between [former president] Levon Ter-Petrosyan and [Prime Minister]
Serzh Sargsyan. It can rather be named "a crisis of trust". There are
a number of other factors that aggravate this situation – for instance,
the sharp polarization of Armenia’s political sphere, where there is no
political force in the arena that can act as a mediator. Finally, one
of the general lessons to be learnt from this crisis is the following
– although stability is important, a dangerous gap of legitimacy
has emerged in the country due to the absence of responsibility and
the weak rule of law," Richard Giragosyan, a US analyst of Armenian
origin, said, commenting on post-election developments in the Republic
of Armenia.

He said that if the rallies are held within the framework of law
(incidentally the police of the Republic of Armenia issued a statement
yesterday [27 February], recalling once again that the opposition
rallies are not authorized), the emergence of an active and healthy
opposition is in everyone’s interests.

"A dynamic opposition does not threaten, but strengthens the democracy
in the Republic of Armenia," Giragosyan said. "I’d like to emphasize
that evolutionary changes, focused not on individuals but on entities,
are necessary for establishing a real and stable democracy."

Recently representatives of some political forces in Armenia have
been speaking about the possible wish of foreign forces to organize a
"coloured revolution" in Armenia. Asked whether the political processes
taking place in the Armenia could be considered an attempted "coloured
revolution" – in particular, an attempted "coloured revolution" with
the USA’s mediation, Giragosyan said: "No, it is very clear that the
current crisis is not a ‘coloured’ revolution, and the USA does not
have any direct relation to it."

[BBCM Note: Supporters of Ter-Petrosyan have been rallying in Yerevan
since 20 February stating that the 19 February presidential election
was rigged by the authorities. According to the official results,
Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan won the election with 52.8 per cent of
the vote. Ter-Petrosyan came second with 21.5 per cent.]