WHAT IS THE MAIN PROBLEM?
Haik Aramyan

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14:23:56 – 20/08/2009

The activists of the Armenian National Congress are convinced that a
resolution on Karabakh will be imposed and the government will have
to resign in both cases of signing and not signing. The impression
from the statements of some activists is that they believe in this
mechanism, and it is possible to understand them. The point is that the
present opposition had left government as a result of the developments
regarding the Karabakh issue.

The ex-chair of the National Assembly Committee of Foreign Affairs
Hovanes Igityan, member of the Armenian National Congress, says with
regard to the events of that time: "I was a member of the team which
included 30 others like me. The team included Nagorno-Karabakh as
well which expressed its opinion like it did in 1997, stopped the
process." By resigning at that time, the government really stopped
the process, although there is still a grounded opinion that if Levon
Ter-Petrosyan had dismissed Robert Kocharyan, Vazgen Sargsyan and
the other "hotheaded" ones, as he referred to them, he would remain
in power, and no change of government would take place.

You can both understand and not understand the activists of the
Armenian National Congress. You cannot understand that they continue
to believe that the government they now deal with is a political
team and it is possible to solve important internal and external
problems through political mechanisms. It happens so when you deal
with a political team. Surprisingly, however, the activists of the
Congress describe precisely the nature and mechanisms of the present
government but believe that they will get political answers to their
political messages, and they publicly express surprise every time
they do not get it. It is true that this stage of "romanticism"
has passed but there are expectations nevertheless.

Time shows that Serge Sargsyan and his team are neither able nor
fancy such things. The main problem is to hold on to power at any
price. Approving the principles of Madrid, Serge Sargsyan conveyed
through his spokesman that he is not going to resign. Perhaps this is
the only honest statement of the present government since it came to
power. It is difficult to tell if there is threat to Karabakh or not,
and Serge Sargsyan who was among those who toppled the government in
1998 keeps in mind that "experience" or he has got guarantees from
the outside. The result is the same in both cases.

Hovanes Igityan also stated that "the change of government is not
the problem. It is necessary to promote democracy. And the promotion
of democracy is not only change of government. Armenia needs the
following steps: free press, no political prisoners, a normal judicial
system. But all these should be the preconditions for a free and fair
election.’ It is difficult to disagree with Mr. Igityan, in fact
here is the entire potential for political struggle and bringing
the society together, and if this basic issue is not solved, the
rest, including the "Karabakh mechanism" turns into a mechanism of
suppressing freedoms and desires of the societies in Armenia and
Karabakh. This has been the case for multiple times.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress