We have already informed that R. Hovhannisyan’s swearing-in took place in Freedom Square in parallel with S. Sargsyan’s swearing-in. And in the evening, tensions rose, and there were clashes between the police and representatives of society who had taken to the streets and tried to make their voices of protest heard. www.aravot.am inquired of representatives of different political forces of Armenia whether yesterday’s events had been in line with democracy and the rule of law. Vardan Bostanjyan, a member of the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP), stated: “There is a mass of people in the republic that is discontent with the current government, and it is a fact. On the other hand, there was an election, as a result of which there are winners and those who have won certain positions. The state and the national bodies have acknowledged that. In that case, we had to have an inauguration, which is provided for by the Constitution and has happened. Therefore, I don’t understand the approaches taken by the protesting mass of people after February 18. The protesting mass of people is led very poorly, and in that case, we cannot say that it is a manifestation of democratic approaches. As for the clash, even in the most civilized countries, when public order may be disrupted, competent bodies must prevent that. And the movement tried to take the path of intolerance, and in order that it didn’t turn into a bigger clash and a tragic situation, that minor clash took place. The movement was uncontrolled and in some cases meaningless; a funny swearing-in took place in Freedom Square, after which there was a chaotic movement; why did they go that way and not this way…? Or the people found out that the so-called leader was not there, he had gone and made meaningless statements, was praying.”
In response to our question whether this situation justified clashes and violence, Mr. Bostanjyan said: “I don’t say that it justifies. It is just that in order to prevent a bigger clash and undesirable consequences, that minor clash took place.” Sos Gimishyan, the leader of the Christian Democratic Renaissance Party, thinks it is good that an alternative inauguration took place in Freedom Square and goes into detail: “I was there, and it is good that an oath was taken to struggle. They basically swore to jointly struggle for certain values. I was expecting that they would say in the morning in what way the struggle should continue, in their opinion, but it was postponed till April 12; the rest was not so important for me. I didn’t participate in the events that transpired in the evening. I can just give an assessment that neither the government, nor the opposition has thought-out, longsighted, and rational decisions.” Zoya Tadevosyan, a member of the Armenian National Congress Party (ANCP), in her turn, noted that democracy had stopped being a value in our country long ago and went into detail: “Power robbery has become the main and only possibility to form government, and the people cannot reconcile themselves to that reality, they want to regain their power. Hats off to our people; the future will surely be bright for them. Our people have a future. Yesterday’s events were predictable; this is not something novel. The people have protested after presidential elections, have expressed their disagreement with election results for years, but the power robber remains steadfast. The people are democratic, the government is tyrannical. The people’s actions are in line with democracy, the government’s actions are not.”
Tatev HARUTYUNYAN
