RESIGNATION OR EXTRAORDINARY PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS
Armine Avetyan

October 10, 2009

The opposition to the protocols between Armenia and Turkey is growing
not only in the Diaspora, but in Armenia as well.

A unity of 12 political powers from Armenia came up with a joint
announcement against signing the documents, approving by the parliament
and compromising Karabakh. The people of the Armenian Diaspora were
so angry that the authorities of other countries had to mobilize
police and security powers to protect the Armenian president from the
Armenian Diaspora. As for the president, he not only is decisive in
his initiative to sign the document but also says that those who are
"threatening" him are naive. The president is in a very bad situation
and during his trips to the Diaspora centers he had to face opposition
of Diaspora Armenians and he was rejected by them. Is the president
able or may he refuse these protocols, which was called "treason"
by the Diaspora Armenians? The head of the ARF party board Armen
Martirosyan, which is one of the mentioned 12 parties, says that only
the political will may make Serzh Sargsyan refuse this document.

However he does not hope that the president may have a political will
and thinks that the protocols will be signed on October 10 and will be
adopted by the parliament. "I think that the only factor preventing
it may be either the president’s resignation or the dissolution of
the parliament. I am for either of these two solutions. I am only
against the signing of these protocols and will advocate for the
other solutions resulting in failure to approve this protocol in the
parliament. Otherwise he will have to give up on the Constitution
and his responsibilities toward the state," says A. Martirosyan. He
doesn’t believe that Serzh Sargsyan may ever resign voluntarily. He
says that the president may resign anyway because there is civic demand
for his resignation. However, on the one hand the wide spectrum of
the society does not oppose to the Armenian-Turkish developments. "I
think the passiveness of the society that we see now is just apparent,
but not deep. Armenia is waiting for the unity of political powers for
this purpose," says the MP. We wonder why the Heritage does not demand
the president’s resignation if they believe this is the only way to
stop the signing or adoption of the Armenian-Turkish document. "We
will wait till October 10," said the MP but did not say what they
can or are going to do if the documents are signed already.

Former member of the Republican party of Armenia and speaker of the
Armenian parliament Tigran Torosyan thinks that nothing can stop Serzh
Sargsyan from his decision but he believes the protocols should not be
approved in this form. We wonder whether it is not possible to stop
the process the president has started. "If you mean the adoption,
yes. There should be something extraordinary to prevent its adoption
in Armenia.

For example, if the adoption is delayed in Turkey, it may be prolonged
in Armenia as well. However, the parliament may discuss the issue in
3 months or one year and cancel this decision. Several months before
the collapse of the Soviet Union no one could say what was going to
happen," says Tigran Torosyan. He says the reaction of the Armenian
society is not the same as the reaction of the Diaspora. He says the
reason is the fact that the society is in an information blockade
and the government does not provide true and reliable information
concerning the documents to the society. Plus, most of the people who
are advocating for the document are trying to change the provisions
to present in a better context. "They are raising a question whether
they are for the opening of the border. Smart people cannot be against
it. But the problem is different and is whether the documents should
be approved as they are or no. Even in such conditions most part of
the society is against these documents. Thus, if all the sources are
closed there is no need to talk about the society’s reaction. Also
it is wrong to say that this relative quiet environment means lack
of concerns. The authorities should worry about it first of all,"
says the MP.

Tigran Torosyan thinks that it is up to the president only whether
this issue will have a pro-Armenian solution. "When everything was
almost finished in Key-West and it seemed the parties would sign
a document, Aliyev said he had to go to Baku and would sign after
it. But he left for Baku and said no. In a word, if he wants he can
pronounce this word," says Tigran Torosyan.

On the other hand, there are rumors that the president does not
have a choice and cannot step back because he cannot do it under the
pressure of other countries as he has problems with legitimacy. "Always
there may be pressure and it is evident that the major countries are
interested in this document. But I don’t think the problem is there. I
believe the price of these documents is much higher than any inner
issue. In a word, this is not a justification," says Tigran Torosyan,