“Those forces that have parliamentary groups must vacate their seats, particularly given the fact that they have stated many times that they couldn’t change anything by staying when there was such an overwhelming majority. And I take the liberty of giving such a piece of advice, since I have done so myself,” Aram Sargsyan, the leader of the Republic Party, said in the A1+ studio, stating that parliamentary groups needed to express their support for Raffi Hovhannisyan. Tigran Khzmalyan, a member of the Sardarapat movement, also made such a proposal the other day. He stated in Freedom Square: “If the Heritage Party, the ANC, and the ARF leave the Mickey Mouse assembly called the National Assembly, who will be left? The Mickey Mouse assembly will be left, yes.” https://www.aravot.am/2013/03/10/212977/
www.aravot.am tried to find out what representatives of political forces thought of the proposal to vacate seats and whether it would be possible to solve the fundamental issues as a result of that. Arsen Hambardzumyan, an alternate representative of the ARF Supreme Body, didn’t deem appropriate to comment on those opinions and added: “I think that every political force, every party leader should speak and make judgments about issues that concern them. I don’t think that anyone has the right to show the way to other parties or tell them truths. Many people may say many things, but it doesn’t mean that we should comment on those opinions and think them over. We have our clear perceptions, approaches regarding the movement, and we have presented them both publicly and during meetings with the Heritage Party.” Stepan Safaryan, the secretary of the Heritage Party, thinks that vacating seats will theoretically make a snap election unavoidable. As for whether it was possible in practice and whether there was willingness among political forces to vacate seats and support R. Hovhannisyan’s movement, Mr. Safaryan said: “If I say that political forces
basically show serious support for the popular movement, it won’t be true. Unfortunately, this situation had been there as early as before the presidential election. However, their attitude in the post-election period is the same, whereas after the election it was clear that if they demanded changes, this is one of the best chances to achieve changes in the country.” Gurgen Yeghiazaryan, the coordinator of the central committee of the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party (SDHP), a member of the former ANC coalition, thinks that one shouldn’t vacate seats at the moment and adds: “The political struggle is not in such a state that it will be beneficial. Perhaps the time will be ripe for that in one or two months. Now that step will only cause our friends to vacate their seats and not to be able to use the National Assembly as a platform. As for supporting Raffi, then let me state that he has a great wish to be the leader of the popular movement. However, words are not enough for that. That leader is not there yet; the people themselves will form him when the time comes.” Analyzing R. Hovhannisyan’s steps, G. Yeghiazaryan stated: “Hunger strike is a means to avoid a political stalemate. Raffi had nothing to say to the people gathered in the square, he went on a hunger strike to overcome this situation; only God knows what he will do afterwards. And a corpse is an attribute of the Masonic Lodge, the oath of the first degree starts from a corpse. In this case, it will end in a few portfolios in the Cabinet, and Serzh’s inauguration ceremony will not be on a corpse. Everything will end in ordinary bargaining.”
Tatev HARUTYUNYAN
