KOCHARIAN CRITICISM ‘ACCEPTABLE’ TO RULING PARTY
Ruzanna Stepanian
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24.03.2010
The ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) reacted on Wednesday
cautiously to former President Robert Kocharian’s thinly veiled
criticism of the Armenian government’s response to the global economic
crisis.
Eduard Sharmazanov, the chief HHK spokesman, told RFE/RL that any
politically correct criticism is "acceptable" to the party headed by
President Serzh Sarkisian. "And Kocharian’s criticism was within the
bounds of correctness," he said.
In an interview with the Mediamax news agency released on Tuesday,
Kocharian rejected a widespread view, shared by pro-government
politicians, that the Armenian economy contracted sharply last year
because it had grown too dependent on the once booming construction
sector. He insisted that the construction boom, which came to an end
in late 2008, was driven by objective factors.
Kocharian claimed that the government could have averted the 2009
slump in construction had it quickly moved to sustain "huge" demand
in new housing and office space. He also said Armenia had boasted
much better macroeconomic indicators during his 1998-2008 presidency.
Sharmazanov said the HHK also deserves credit for that, arguing that
its former leader, the late Andranik Markarian, was prime minister
during much of the Kocharian presidency. "The Republican Party and
Robert Kocharian were allies for ten years and took many positive
steps for the country," he said.
Kocharian’s remarks were endorsed by a senior member of the Prosperous
Armenia Party (BHK), the HHK’s main junior partner in the governing
coalition. "Regardless of the purpose and target of the issues raised
in the interview, I can say I felt good when reading this interview
because we have similar approaches," Vartan Bostanjian told RFE/RL.
The BHK’s top leader, Gagik Tsarukian, is thought to be close to
Kocharian. Tsarukian has recently slammed a government minister
affiliated with the HHK for claiming that Armenia has already emerged
from the recession.