STRUGGLE AGAINST THE REFORMS
Armen Tsaturyan
Hayots Ashkhar Daily
June 19, 2008
Armenia
The nearer the 100 days of the activity of the newly elected government
in power the more evident that both the country’s President and the
Head of the government are doing their best to annihilate people’s
dissatisfaction towards the government, and the main "targets" of
criticism for the opposition.
We must remind you that the "super-centralized" activity of the
government in power is one of the before mentioned "targets", the
total control over the economy, tax and customs monopoly granted to
certain privileged entrepreneurs, the violation of citizens’ rights
by certain force structures, firstly the police and the existing gaps
in the sphere of the freedom of speech.
If you carefully observe the issues touched upon during the government
sessions you will notice that they are much more radical and what
is more important, much fresher than the statements made by ex Prime
Minister Hrant Bagratyan in 1990, regarding the essence and direction
of the reforms to be made in the country.
The present day authorities are more creative and courageous
particularly regarding the maintenance and use of the country’s
intellectual potential, making Armenia a financial center in the
region, than Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s team that failed to implement
these programs.
Does this mean that the authorities meet halfway all the political and
economic demands of the opposition? Of course no because the present
day authorities have chosen not the revolutionary but the reforming
path of the country’s development. For this the country needs,
balance, political stability. But not only doesn’t the opposition
not contribute to the implementation of the reforms but also makes
the authorities be cautious of its tempo, for the maintenance of the
internal political stability.
Ter-Petrosyan’s camp persistently continues to concentrate on its own
standpoint of overcoming the consequences of March 1-2 developments,
which from a goal has turned into means. The reason is, though
the new authorities have already started to fulfill the demands of
PACE resolution, their intentions to avert the new intensification
of internal political confrontation, makes them "move forward by
looking back".
Which means, in this case as well the aggressiveness manifested
by Ter-Petrosyan’s supporters and their boycotting the works of the
Public Council and the Parliamentary temporary committee investigating
March 1-2 developments is a real obstacle for the swift and perfect
fulfillment of the requirements advanced by PACE resolution.
Thus a really interesting situation has been created in our reality,
on the eve of the demonstration to be held by the opposition on June
20, Ter-Petrosyan and his team members who were the champions of
the radical political and economic reforms during the pre-election
campaign are struggling against the political team that is going to
implement these political and economic reforms.
Moreover though many of the demands advanced by Ter-Petrosyan and his
team have already been brought to life they still hope to take power.
A question arises here, in that case what is important for our
citizens – implementation of the reforms, or using the slogan of the
reforms only to take power, something that can be of great harm for
our country.