TER-PETROSIAN STICKS TO CAUTION ON YEREVAN UNREST ANNIVERSARY
Emil Danielyan

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01.03.2010

Opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian reverted to harsh criticism of
Armenia’s leadership but stood by his cautious strategy of trying to
topple it on Tuesday as thousands of his supporters marked the second
anniversary of the 2008 post-election violence in Yerevan.

Speaking at the first major rally held by his Armenian National
Congress (HAK) in over five months, Ter-Petrosian assured them that
the administration of President Serzh Sarkisian will sooner or later
resign and call fresh national elections. Frequent anti-government
demonstrations would be counterproductive in this situation, he said.

"However safe the kleptocracy feels and however self-confident it
pretends to be, it will crumble in one day under the burden of a
growing wave of popular upheaval and issues it is inherently unable to
address," he said in a 50-minute speech. "And its leader [Sarkisian]
will be ripped apart by predators from his own entourage."

"Our duty is to be prepared for that day in order minimize the
country’s losses and prevent the state from becoming unmanageable,"
Ter-Petrosian told the crowd before it marched through the city center
to the scene of the vicious clashes between opposition protesters
and security forces that broke out on March 1, 2008.

Ten people died and more than 200 others were injured in the
violence sparked by the February 2008 presidential election in
which Ter-Petrosian was the main opposition candidate. The Armenian
authorities say it was the result of an opposition coup attempt. The
HAK vehemently denies that, saying that the authorities deliberately
used deadly force to crush non-stop demonstrations staged by
Ter-Petrosian in the wake of the disputed ballot.

In his speech, Ter-Petrosian said his opposition alliance has succeeded
in disproving the official theory of the unrest in the eyes of the
domestic public and the international community. He said Sarkisian
and his predecessor Robert Kocharian themselves staged a coup d’etat
after the "rigged" election.

The rally was keenly anticipated by HAK supporters, including those
dissatisfied with Ter-Petrosian’s obvious reluctance to make another
push for power. The former Armenian president indefinitely suspended
regular anti-government protests in September, saying that the HAK
can not topple Sarkisian without the backing of other major political
groups.

In a landmark November speech, Ter-Petrosian expressed his readiness
to recognize Sarkisian’s legitimacy if the latter embarks on sweeping
political reforms and frees all remaining "political prisoners." He
also lambasted nationalist critics of Sarkisian’s conciliatory policy
on Turkey. The Armenian president never responded to the unprecedented
overtures from his most influential political foe.

Ter-Petrosian on Monday renewed his scathing verbal attacks on
the Sarkisian administration, decrying its "criminal essence" and
alleged inability to "solve any problem facing the country." The
authorities, he charged, have "never realized the need to establish an
honest dialogue and national solidarity for confronting the existing
challenges." He also denounced the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement as
a "humiliating process" and blamed Sarkisian for "the prospect of a
disgraceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict."

The HAK leader went on to defend his cautious strategy against
criticism from more radical opposition elements, saying that holding
rallies too often only "lessens their impact." "Nonetheless, many
stubbornly do not accept this explanation and ignore or find secondary
the daily, arduous and enormous work that the Congress has been doing
since its formation," he complained.

Ter-Petrosian insisted that the HAK has done its best to achieve its
objectives over the past two years. "Let’s not forget that politics
is, first of all, an art of the possible," he said.

One of Ter-Petrosian’s closest associates, Levon Zurabian, likewise
claimed that the Sarkisian administration will eventually have no
option but to call snap presidential and parliamentary elections
because of what he described as its mounting foreign and domestic
policy failures. He said the fact that the authorities again seriously
restricted transport communication between Yerevan and the rest of
the country ahead of the demonstration shows that they are "terrified"
of the Ter-Petrosian-led opposition.

The HAK’s immediate objectives declared at the rally are more modest,
though. In particular, Zurabian announced that the alliance is planning
to launch a class-action lawsuit aimed at reversing a controversial
increase in natural gas prices approved by the authorities last
week. He urged HAK supporters to sign up for the legal action en masse.

It was also announced that the HAK will hold its next major rally on
April 6. Zurabian said it is timed to coincide with an international
human rights conference to be held in Yerevan.