Eduard Sharmazanov thinks that it would have been strange, if the Sparapet’s brother had supported another candidate
Yesterday Armen Sargsyan, Vazgen Sargsyan’s brother, stated in the town of Ararat that he would support Serzh Sargsyan, the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) candidate, in the upcoming presidential election. As it was expected, as early as yesterday members of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) gave him a piece of their mind. In particular, talking about Armen Sargsyan’s statement during a conversation with www.aravot.am, Gurgen Yeghiazaryan, a former head of 7th criminal investigation department, Ministry of the Interior, and a member of the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party (SDHP), recalled the charges of arranging Tigran Naghdalyan’s murder laid against him and drew a conclusion: “Vazgen Sargsyan’s brother proved with his actions and statements that I was wrong at the time, he arranged the murder, otherwise, after condemning a man incorrectly, he cannot come forward and endorse, then explain.” Talking about all this at the request of Aravot, Eduard Sharmazanov, the press secretary of the RPA and the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, said: “I don’t comment on legal issues. Knowing Armen Sargsyan very well, I don’t believe that he arranged the murder.”
In response to a question whether the RPA had been surprised at Armen Sargsyan’s statement, or it had been expectable, our interlocutor said: “It is quite normal that the Sparapet’s brother, Armen Sargsyan, supports his elder brother’s friend, supports his family’s friend, and as any citizen, Armen Zaven Sargsyan has a right to speak up about whom he supports. And it is a fact that Vazgen Sargsyan and Serzh Sargsyan were not only battle comrades, but also adherents to the same ideology. I don’t know what is surprising here. People shouldn’t sling mud at Armen Sargsyan after so many years because of a change in the political situation. He is a member of the Sparapet’s family, and we must treat the Sparapet’s family with respect, because Sparapets are born once in a hundred years.” In response to a
question whether Armen Sargsyan might just express his gratitude to Serzh Sargsyan with his statement about endorsing his candidacy, Sharmazanov said: “In his interview, Armen Sargsyan explained very clearly why he supported Serzh Sargsyan. I expected that Armen Sargsyan would support Serzh Sargsyan. Moreover, it would have been strange, if Armen Sargsyan had supported another candidate in this particular case.” We reminded Mr. Sharmazanov that another member of the Sparapet’s family, the other brother of Vazgen Sargsyan, Aram Sargsyan, the leader of the Republic Party, had made rather strong statements about the current government and the electoral processes under way. According to Aram Sargsyan, this election is like “playing house.” Eduard Sharmazanov responded: “That is Aram Sargsyan’s right. As opposed to Armen Sargsyan, Aram Sargsyan is a politician, and it is his right, as a politician or a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, to express his viewpoint, his opinion on the political processes in Armenia. I don’t see any problem here.”
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NELLY GRIGORYAN
