According to Gurgen Yeghiazaryan, Raffi Hovhannisyan is not opposition
Talking about the internal political processes during a conversation with Aravot, Gurgen Yeghiazaryan, a member of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) and the coordinator of the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party (SDHP), considered the situation in the context of the meeting between Raffi Hovhannisyan, in the first place. He drew attention to the following fact, “Serzh Sargsyan offered Raffi Hovhannisyan to be a radical oppositionist, and he flatly refused, and he didn’t even inform his supporters in advance that ‘you know, he offered such a thing to such an honest man as I am.’ After there had been talk, and the issue of recordings had been exploited, he confirmed that such a conversation had taken place,” he stated. G. Yeghiazaryan thinks that the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) will probably make up its mind very quickly. As for the three issues put forward by the representatives of the Heritage Party and the ARF in the National Assembly, which had been discussed in the office of Hovik Abrahamyan, the National Assembly Speaker, our interlocutor noted: “One never asks from the government; the government will never give. One should force the government with one’s steps.” We asked Gurgen Yeghiazaryan how the opposition should “force” the government. “I think that he [he means Raffi Hovhannisyan] is not opposition, otherwise, he would not dash the expectations of so many people. People will be disappointed, discouraged in a week. And we want a change of power in Armenia, in order to stop the emigration as soon as possible, in order that our children don’t leave their fatherland. This situation cannot be changed with two-three cosmetic changes. I suggest that oppositionists praise Raffi Hovhannisyan less; they will regret in a few days that they have done so,” he answered. Talking about the issue of increasing the supervisory leverage of the opposition, G. Yeghiazaryan stated: “As a rule, the opposition has supervisory leverage in democratic countries. In a country like Armenia, where a tyranny rages, the opposition cannot perform supervisory functions; it is absurd.” As for what would generally come of Raffi Hovhannisyan’s tide of rallies, G. Yeghiazaryan reminded a popular saying, “Every man has his price. They will give a few offices, and everything will be over. I ask my fellow countrymen who are among the opposition not to be disappointed because of that deed.”
EMMA GABRIELYAN
Aravot Daily
