According to political scientist Armen Aghayan, the struggle in the upcoming presidential election will be between Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) leader. “Levon’s opposition is dead. It died long ago; it is just that few know about it. The other opposition formats that have ever existed – the ARF and the Heritage Party – are not there, are almost on the sidelines. Thus, the same phenomenon continues that only yesterday’s government challenges the current government, because only it has financial resources for that and has maintained certain connections with the Establishment, business circles. Robert Kocharyan will choose the candidate for the second place, he may announce himself, he may announce Oskanian or Tsarukyan or another candidate,” Mr. Aghayan said to www.aravot.am.
In his words, the government has managed to spoil former Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian’s image, “Vartan Oskanian has been used as Kocharyan’s tool. That figure was good for Kocharyan, because he couldn’t attract the opposition – he is not an orator, he is blamed for the events of March 1. And Oskanian with his American image, way of speech, his Civilnet could be considered as a compromise who will be voted for by both the bribed voters of the PAP and the oppositionists who were happy that Civilnet supported the ecological movements or movements related to Vahe Avetyan. The government noticed this and decided to spoil that image. What a national figure you are, if you get a million dollars from a foreign source? Besides, the government showed to Russia ‘look, what a pro-American figure your friend Kocharyan plays with’ and they showed to America that it only seemed to them that Oskanian was their guy, there was Kocharyan behind him. Presenting Oskanian’s character with negative coloring beforehand, they have spoiled many plans.”
Mr. Aghayan didn’t rule out that Oskanian could find a beneficial way out of the persecution of him, if he acted sensibly, “On the other hand, the government maintains the option of very rudely pushing Oskanian out of the game by arresting or in any other way at a pinch. It is a different matter that he is certainly not an oppositionist, because there is no issue regarding the Armenian people’s present or future, on which Oskanian and Serzh Sargsyan have different opinions. Today they think of all issues in the same manner, they have the same position, it is just a fight for power. People are out of the game, they want to return to it and there is a lack of seats. I repeat the main confrontation of today is between the former
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and current governments, as always. It is just that now Levon Ter-Petrossian is not playing the role of a former ruler, Robert Kocharyan is.”
Arpine SIMONYAN
