POLITICAL FIGURES OF ARMENIA HAVE DIFFERENT EXPECTATIONS FROM 2005
YEREVAN, January 21 (Noyan Tapan). The January 21 discussion organized
by the National Press Club with participation of representatives of
different political forces was dedicated to the discussion of the home
political situation formed in Armenia and representation of possible
scenarios of its development in 2005. The opinions of the participants
of the discussion divided. Thus, Samvel Nikoyan, a member of the Board
of the Republican Party of Armenia, an MP, Tigran Karapetian, Chairman
of the People’s Party, and Hamlet Haroutiunian, Chairman of “Artsakh”
compatriot union, assured that no great changes, including power
shift, will take place in Armenia in 2005. In their estimation, the
confrontation between the authorities and opposition won’t be global,
the struggle will rather move from streets to the NA. Meanwhile, all
of the 3 politicians expressed anxiety in connection with the possible
influence on the situation in the country. “The authorities may face
only external danger,” Tigran Karapetian declared. H.Haroutiunian and
T.Karapetian called on the political forces to unite around the
Karabakh problem. According to Hamlet Haroutiunian, if all the
political forces are united in the Karabakh issue the foreign forces
won’t be able to solve this issue. Aram Sargsian ansd Hrant
Khachatrian, leaders of the Democratic Party of Armenia and the
Constitutional Right Union, assured that great changes will take place
in 2005 and today both the authorities and the opposition are already
getting ready for the future complicated events. At the same time
A.Sargsian and H.Khachatrian for several times pointed to the
possibility to cooperate with coalition forces. Petros Makeyan,
Chairman of the Democratic Homeland party, gave assurance that “2005
will be a year of changes, which will take place in the form of
shocks, as its was in Georgia and the Ukraine.” Vahan Shirkhanian,
former Deputy Minister of Defence, former Minister on Coordination of
Industrial Infrastructures, expressed anxiety about the number of the
challenges, against which Armenia is to stand up. Thus, according to
him, this is not only the situation connected with the settlement of
Karabakh conflict, which starting from 1995 has becoming more and more
unfavorable for Armenians, but also the growing illiteracy among the
population, fall of birth rate, the fact that Armenia is, in essence,
becoming an old country as as the youth leaves the country searching
for a job.