ARMENIAN DASHNAKS MAY BE UNABLE TO INFLUENCE GOVERNMENT DECISIONS – MP

Aravot
May 1 2009
Armenia

A Dashnaktsutyun MP has said that he will quit his post of chairman
of the Armenian parliament’s standing Committee on Defence,
National Security and Internal Affairs but will stay as member of
parliament. In an interview with Aravot daily, Artur Aghabekyan
said that it would be difficult for Dashnaktsutyun to influence the
government’s decision-making process now that the party had gone
over to opposition. Aghabekyan also said that the road map signed
by Turkey and Armenia on 23 April meant only that the sides wanted
to start the process of normalization of relations. The following is
the text of Aghabekyan’s interview in Armenian newspaper Aravot on 1
May headlined "Lt-Gen Artur Aghabekyan resigns from the position of
committee chairman":

[Correspondent] After going over to opposition, [Armenian Revolutionary
Federation -] Dashnaktsutyun decided to keep the positions of
chairmen of the two standing committees in the National Assembly
[parliament]. But we were informed that regardless of the fact,
you want to resign from the position of chairman of the Standing
Committee on Defence, National Security and Internal Affairs. Why?

[Artur Aghabekyan] Some months ago I had the wish to quit the
committee chairman’s position. I do not want to go into details
but I think that I have expressed what I meant by the "months ago"
phrase. And when Dashnaktsutyun made this decision and we submitted
our resignation letters, my friends and people around me evidently
noticed the cheerful expression of my face at that moment. But after it
a different decision was made as a result of further discussions. As
a Dashnak, I am faithful to the rules and ideas. Also we should
not ignore the fact that I am a serviceman who lived his last 17-19
years of his life within an environment where the orders are first
immediately executed and then discussed. And I have been guided by
these principles. Despite this I have my personal viewpoint which
is I should not work in that position and that I should quit it. I
am certainly going to submit my resignation on Monday [4 May] at the
latest. I have informed my friends, my fiends in the [Dashnaktsutyun]
bureau, my faction head about it and we all concluded that I am
doing the right thing in that sense that as a disciplined Dashnak,
I submit my application to resign and, on the other hand, I have my
own viewpoint and hence can be guided by those principles and resign.

[Correspondent] We know that you had a very tough position at the
latest closed meeting between the foreign minister and MPs and you
did not conceal your anger.

[Artur Aghabekyan] The meeting with Edvard Nalbandyan disappointed
me very much. They presented Armenian-Turkish relations in a way
that I could not but lose my temper and respond. It speeded up my
decision. I shall continue my duties as a deputy. I have initiatives:
law on "Social Security of Servicemen" is in circulation; I have made
principled proposals regarding the law on "Compulsory Army Service"
which I have discussed with the prime minister and I think that the
government will accept them. I think that as a deputy I still have
things to do.

[Correspondent] What do you think of Dashnaktsutyun’s decision to go
over into opposition [over the Armenian government’s policy on ties
with Turkey]? Though they have disagreements on the foreign policy,
they have decided to keep the position of chairman of the Standing
Committee on Foreign Relations.

[Artur Aghabekyan] Frankly speaking, it is difficult to follow the
processes in our country being in opposition. There is culture of not
taking the opposition’s viewpoints into account in the decision-making
process. In fact, the opposition should be an important part of the
government. But this culture is not shaped in our country yet. Our main
concern is if we are completely cut off those discussions, our voice
will not be heard. Believe me, Dashnaktsutyun did a lot being part of
the [governing] coalition. Now we can describe that period either as
"internal opposition" period or period for broad possibilities for
discussions, but Dashnaktsutyun did quite a lot. And had it be in
opposition a year ago, it would not have been so effective. Time will
show whether or not this decision was right.

The committees for foreign relations and defence are important
bearing points for the Dashnaks to be kept informed on the processes
and to oppose them if necessary. And I am sure it will have some
impact. Look, everybody is speaking about the road map [agreement
between the Turkish and Armenian foreign ministries, mediated by
the Swiss Foreign Ministry, to normalize relations]. And one cannot
guess if that is an action plan or a schedule of actions. We could
not understand what the foreign minister presented to our society. I
have an impression that nothing has happened: there is no map, no
sketching, nothing has happened. Simply there has been a statement
to inform our society that they are going to start a process. The
Armenian president has clearly stated that if the border is not opened
then he will not accept invitation to be present at the football match
[between the Turkish and Armenian national teams in Istanbul in October
2009]. Being not informed about the map, I think it would be better
if our foreign minister stated that if the border was not opened by
the deadline mentioned by our president, then he would resign.

[Correspondent] The prime minister said that Armenia’s problem is that
some of us are completely against Armenian-Turkish relations. Our
foreign policy is not anti-Turkish but pro-Armenian. Do you share
this view?

[Artur Aghabekyan] Of course, not. Exactly one year ago we developed
the National Security Strategy headed by the Armenian president. It
took us and the president another six months to develop the security
doctrine (the paper is on energy, communications, security and defence,
and regional political situation). And we spent only a day or half
a day on Armenian-Turkish relations. I cannot understand what is
currently the role of that border for our country? Why should the
Armenian-Turkish border become a textbook for some of our officials
to work well? Let me mention that having no relations is a kind
of relation.

[Correspondent] As a veteran of [the Karabakh] war, don’t you have
concerns that all this has links to the Karabakh issue as well?

[Artur Aghabekyan] Actually, I do not see Armenian-Turkish relations
as an isolated issue. They have their start in the life of the third
republic. It is related to the Nagornyy Karabakh issue and it will
end within the framework of the Nagornyy Karabakh issue regulation. We
kept saying that Turkey is a conflicting side. Now I am asking if it
is a conflicting side or not? I am sure that Azerbaijan influences
Turkey more than the other way round. In this regard I cannot see
relations between Armenia and Turkey.