TER-PETROSIAN ENDORSED BY POPULAR OPPOSITION LEADER
By Ruzanna Khachatrian
Radio Liberty, Czech Republic
Feb 12 2008
Opposition leader Raffi Hovannisian and his Zharangutyun (Heritage)
party endorsed Levon Ter-Petrosian on Tuesday, boosting the former
president’s chances of winning the Armenian presidential election.
The decision was announced after a meeting of Zharangutyun’s
nine-member governing board which began late Monday and ended after
midnight. In a written statement, the party said Ter-Petrosian’s
return to power would enable Armenia to undergo "systemic changes"
and have a "legitimate president."
Zharangutyun representatives indicated that the decision was not made
unanimously but did not specify whether Hovannisian voted for it. The
U.S.-born popular politician, who had served as independent Armenia’s
first foreign minister during Ter-Petrosian’s rule, declined to attend
a news conference held by them the next morning.
"Of all the candidates [Ter-Petrosian] has attracted greatest public
interest," said Vartan Khachatrian, a board member. "That is obvious
from his rallies. That factor had a serious impact on our vote."
According to Zharangutyun spokesman Hovsep Khurshudian, the hostile
coverage of Ter-Petrosian’s campaign by Armenia’s leading TV stations
loyal to the government was also a factor behind the move.
Zharangutyun made a relatively strong showing in the May 2007
parliamentary elections, becoming one of only two opposition parties
represented in the National Assembly thanks to its leader’s appeal.
Hovannisian, who is not eligible to stand in the upcoming ballot,
has been courted in recent months by several presidential candidates,
including Ter-Petrosian. He twice met the ex-president late last year
and is understood to have participated in the latter’s negotiations
last week with another major opposition contender, Artur Baghdasarian.
"During the negotiations [with Ter-Petrosian] we received answers to
many questions," Khachatrian told reporters. "I wouldn’t say that
all issues between us have been solved as we have some ideological
differences." He said Hovannisian and the eight other members of
the Zharangutyun plan to meet Ter-Petrosian soon to "ascertain"
his position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and other challenges
facing Armenia.
Zharangutyun indicated last month that it will not endorse any of Prime
Minister Serzh Sarkisian’s four main challengers unless at least two
of them join forces before the first round of voting scheduled for
February 19. None of them has dropped out of the race.
"The negotiation process did not yield desirable results," said
Khachatrian. "This step is aimed at making the [opposition] field
more inclusive and combative. The negotiations are not over."
"We believe that with this step the Zharangutyun party can spur the
process of forming an opposition wave capable of effecting changes
which we find necessary in Armenia," he added.