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High-Level Struggle: Clash Of Ex's And Incumbents Possible In Armeni

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  • High-Level Struggle: Clash Of Ex's And Incumbents Possible In Armeni

    HIGH-LEVEL STRUGGLE: CLASH OF EX'S AND INCUMBENTS POSSIBLE IN ARMENIA AS IN RUSSIA
    Naira Hayrumyan

    ArmeniaNow
    Analysis | 30.09.10 | 16:01

    Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov was released of his duties after almost
    two decades of service.

    The way of solving personnel issues in Russia, as well as in
    post-Soviet Armenia, still remains far from democratic. The condition
    was illustrated this week in Moscow with the sacking of Mayor Yuri
    Luzhkov and has been demonstrated in Armenia recently in less dramatic
    but nonetheless effective pressures.

    This week, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev fired the veteran mayor
    because, said the president, Luzhkov had "lost my trust". Luzhkov
    stayed in his office for 18 years and hardly anyone in Russia would
    protest against his departure but for the method of this dismissal.

    Russia's influential Prime Minister Vladimir Putin himself said that
    Luzhkov "did not find a common language" with Medvedev, and that's
    why he was fired. As many as 250 city officials in Moscow have also
    been dismissed and they are now facing criminal cases.

    Politically motivated "personnel pogroms" are typical also for
    Armenia. And because political leaders in Armenia, like in Russia, are
    closely related to business circles -- in other words, are oligarchs --
    authorities "influence" them by putting pressure on their businesses.

    In recent months, tax audits have been conducted at enterprises of
    Parliament Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan, and leader of the pro-government
    Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) Gagik Tsarukyan, both of whom are
    perceived to have stronger ties to former president Robert Kocharyan
    than to President Serzh Sargsyan.

    A campaign against the coalition member party (PAP) has begun
    nearly two years before the scheduled parliamentary election. The
    vice-chairman of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), Razmik
    Zohrabyan, said that his party could weaken PAP at any time, but was
    not yet willing to do that. In addition to economic instruments,
    RPA is using other methods as well. The press writes about likely
    arrests of a number of criminal elements, who are PAP members. Some
    media reported that people have been leaving the PAP ranks en masse
    and joining RPA - hoping to secure protection in the party of Sargsyan.

    Attacks against PAP are explained by the fact that the party tacitly
    supports ex-president Robert Kocharyan. Like in Russia, in Armenia,
    too, there is a hidden competition between the former and incumbent
    presidents. In contrast to Russia, where Medvedev and Putin do not yet
    say who of their tandem will run for president at the next elections,
    the participation of Serge Sargsyan in the next presidential elections
    in Armenia appears to be a foregone conclusion. As to Kocharyan,
    after leaving his office in 2008 he would say that he hated to become
    Armenia's "youngest pensioner".

    The existing trends suggest that the main forces that are going to
    participate in the 2012 parliamentary elections in Armenia will be
    taking their positions in the next few months and joining them will
    be "intermediate" parties, while the main battle, like in Russia,
    will take place between the current and former presidents.




    From: A. Papazian
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