DASHNAKS CALL FOR ‘NATIONAL UNITY’ GOVERNMENT

Radio Liberty
March 19 2008
Czech Republic

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) called on
Wednesday for the formation of a "government of national unity"
by all political parties represented in parliament, citing the need
to implement "serious reforms" and overcome Armenia’s post-election
political crisis.

Dashnaktsutyun’s decision-making Supreme Body in Armenia said the
establishment party is ready to join such a government and urged the
Armenian opposition to "use this opportunity to make the process of
reforms in the country more comprehensive and full-fledged."

The statement did not specify whether Prime Minister and
President-elect Serzh Sarkisian too is ready to see any opposition
group represented in a new coalition government which he plans to
form after taking office on April 9. Sarkisian has said that it
will comprise only representatives of his Republican Party (HHK)
and three other parliamentary parties, including Dashnaktsutyun,
that have recognized his victory in the February 19 presidential
election. He is currently negotiating with leaders of those parties.

The fifth parliamentary force, the opposition Zharangutyun (Heritage)
party led by Raffi Hovannisian, has rejected the official vote
results as fraudulent and strongly condemned the ongoing government
crackdown on supporters of the main opposition candidate, Levon
Ter-Petrosian. Dashnaktsutyun, by contrast, has defended the deadly use
of force against thousands of Ter-Petrosian supporters who demonstrated
in Yerevan on March 1. In a March 3 statement, the nationalist party
called the protest an attempted coup d’etat.

The Dashnaktsutyun leadership’s latest statement stressed the need
for the new Armenian government to strengthen judicial independence,
eliminate "impunity" enjoyed by government-connected individuals,
respect freedom of speech and form an "independent electoral system."

It said these and other reforms are essential for tackling
"hopelessness, polarization, mutual intolerance" which the party
believes is reigning in Armenian society in the wake of the
presidential election.