TASHNAQ IS SILENT AS SUPPORTERS SPECULATE
by Matt Nash

NowLebanon
icleDetails.aspx?ID=84737
March 24 2009
Lebanon

NOW asks party faithful which side it will choose

MP Michel Murr (R) announced he would ally with March 14 in the
Metn. The Armenian community generally votes with Murr, but the
largest Armenian political party has yet to announce with whom they
will ally in the June 7 polls. (AFP) The most dominant political
party among Lebanon’s Armenian community, the Tashnaq, has not yet
announced with which political coalition it will ally with in the
upcoming parliamentary elections. The community gets six seats in
Lebanon’s parliament (four in Beirut, one in the Metn and one in
Zahle), and Armenian votes were decisive in the 2007 by-election in
the Metn. That year the Free Patriotic Movement candidate Camille
Khoury beat Kataeb party leader Amin Gemayel by a few hundred votes
to fill the seat of former MP Pierre Gemayel, who was assassinated in
November 2006. Tashnaq traditionally allies with political heavyweight
Michel al-Murr, who announced he will be allying with March 14 this
election year. NOW Lebanon went to Bourj Hammoud, an almost exclusively
Armenian suburb of Beirut, to see what people thought of Tashnaq’s
delay and Murr’s announcement.

Andre, 37, Bourj Hammoud They are now with [FPM leader] Michel Aoun
because the past few years they’ve been allied with Michel al-Murr, and
now he’s alone so they are confused between him and Michel Aoun. But
they are probably all with Michel Aoun more than Michel al-Murr,
but they can’t leave Murr all together. They’re with both of them,
but I’m not sure how they can do it.

Do you think the party will split if Murr stays allied with March 14?

No, no, no. They party is all together. For example, I don’t like
Michel Aoun, but I am with the Tashnaq and I respect their opinion. But
I don’t like Aoun.

Will you vote with Tashnaq if they ally with Aoun?

I don’t know. I don’t know.

Colandaria, 55, Achrafieh Right now they are an opposition
party. They’ll ally with General Michel Aoun. Maybe there are
discussions between the Tashnaq and the Hariri parties [March 14],
I don’t know. Maybe they will reach a compromise on something. I
don’t know. They only had problems with the Hariri parties in the 2000
elections. Always the Armenians are their own parliamentary bloc. And
during the 2000 elections, Hariri didn’t give them anything. He didn’t
want an Armenian bloc [to have independence.] He wanted them to follow
him alone. He said, "You are either with me or against me." So Tashnaq
went alone in the elections and only got two deputies [of the six seats
reserved for Armenians.] Now they are trying to have all six deputies
so that there is an Armenian bloc. We are Armenians. We are neutral. So
now they are trying to negotiate this. If they achieve some agreement
with Hariri, maybe they will side with [March 14]. If not, no.

Do you think they’ll ultimately side with Murr and go along with
March 14?

Now the Tashnaq says we are with Michel Aoun. But the Armenians have
been with Murr for over 40 years. So they might say, "Ok, Murr is
not with us now so we will give votes just for him, not all of his
allies," which would mean voting March 14 in the Metn but voting
March 8 everywhere else.

Partick, 66, Oukar There are talks going on. There is no definite
answer. It takes time.

Do you think they’ll ultimately side with Murr and go along with
March 14?

Actually, I’m not interested in the political situation. Whatever will
happen, we will see. I cannot personally say that what Murr says will
lead to this, or that what someone else says will lead to that. The
Tashnaq party has a committee, and they are the actual deciders. I
cannot say what is going on.

Robain, 44, Bourj Hammoud They said they are with Michel Aoun. Of
course they’ve said this, [and] of course it’s a good thing.

So do you think they’ll split with Murr in the Metn?

No. We’re also with Michel Murr. All the lists will be with Michel
Aoun.

So the party will split its votes by siding with Murr and March 14
in the Metn and vote for March 8 everywhere else?

Tashnaq will vote with Aoun, and Murr will leave March 14.

Vacche, 35, Baabda Of course we will go with March 8 because there
is no place for Tashnaq in March 14.

So what does Murr’s alliance with March 14 mean for the Tashnaq?

Michel Murr is not with Michel Aoun now, but he will be before the
election. It will be the same relationship like in 2005. There is no
place in March 14 for Michel Murr.