MP HITS OUT AT US DESCRIPTION OF ARMENIAN OPPOSITION AS “WEAK AND CAPRICIOUS”
Arminfo
7 Apr 06
Yerevan, 7 April: The description of the Armenian opposition as “weak
and capricious” by the US State Department report has deeply irritated
MP Agasi Arshakyan, deputy chairman of the National Unity Party.
“And I am not of a good opinion about them, the application of double
standards by the US Department of State is well-known,” Arshakyan told
our correspondent. The opposition and the authorities have equal power,
he said.
“The Armenian authorities are discredited and try to discredit the
opposition as well. We have no opportunity to prove our righteousness
before the people,” Arshakyan said. The Armenian people chose Western
values in the early 1990s, but later, they were disappointed because
of double standards of the West, he said.
“You turned a blind eye to demonstrations with involvement of thousands
of people in Armenia where 3m people live and kicked off a furore over
4,000-5,000 protesters in Belarus with 20m population,” Arshakyan
said in an address to US diplomats and described actions of the US
State Department as a manifestation of political corruption by the
West and encouraging weak governments in exchange of concessions.
He also said that the US criteria for freedom of conscience do
not coincide with Armenian criteria. “Favourable attitude towards
totalitarian and destructive cults is a trivial issue for us. We know
that Europe has values which are more proper to our people rather
than encouraging destructive sects and homosexuals,” the opposition
MP said. He also said that sects, which were banned in a number of
democratic countries, operate freely in Armenia.