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Armenian president compares opposition rallies to TV soaps

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  • Armenian president compares opposition rallies to TV soaps

    Armenian president compares opposition rallies to TV soaps

    Ayastani Anrapetutyun, Yerevan
    2 Jun 04

    Text of article "Kocharyan: Steps that harm the country's image are -
    if not betrayal - close to it" published by the Armenian newspaper
    Ayastani Anrapetutyun on 2 June:

    Armenian President Robert Kocharyan touched, inter alia, on political
    matters when he gave a news conference in Gyumri. Opposition activity
    was among the issues that came up, and the president said that one of
    the newspapers compared opposition "rallies" to Brazilian soap operas.

    "This is a very exact comparison. I do not watch Brazilian soap operas
    and, as they [the rallies] are similar, I do not have the time or
    the interest to spend on them."

    Kocharyan added that the rallies take place so often that they [the
    slogans] could be mimed to a recording. "If that happened, they would
    be taking care of their health. Maybe they have been doing this for
    a long time and we simply did not think of it."

    Kocharyan was asked: "Mr President, the opposition has refused
    any dialogue. In this situation, do you see a way of resolving the
    domestic political crisis?" Replying, he first emphasized that there
    is no domestic political crisis in Armenia.

    "Crisis means a situation where state bodies cannot implement their
    obligations properly. In our country this could happen when, for
    instance, the coalition had problems in the National Assembly to the
    extent that it was impossible to take decisions. That would really
    be a crisis and our constitution has strictly defined that.

    "We should make a proper assessment about the present situation. Yes,
    we have a conflict between the opposition and the authorities. But
    where is there not such a conflict?

    "Generally, authorities-opposition relations have conflict as their
    basis. The issue is whether this conflict takes place in a civilized
    or non-civilized form. Both the National Assembly and the government
    are working very fruitfully. Evidence of this is that the budget is
    being fulfilled, debts have not accumulated and obligations are being
    implemented, and serious economic growth has happened in the country.

    "In this situation, the opposition can return to the parliament or
    can choose not to. Life and our work will continue. Everything is
    very dynamic. There is a conflict between the authorities and the
    opposition, and one side in that conflict - the opposition - has
    refused to take the civilized option."

    The issue of opposition activity in Strasbourg also came up during
    the news conference.

    "Try and strain your imagination. Can you imagine Karen Demirchyan
    and Vazgen Sarkisyan working against their own country. If somebody is
    able to imagine this, then there is no point in continuing an answer
    to the question. Knowing them, I am sure it is impossible to imagine
    such a thing. Here I mean the scale of a person.

    "If people are very petty in their scale, then they work in such
    a scenario against their own country not only in Strasbourg but
    also elsewhere. Is this betrayal or not? I do not want to use such
    terms. But one thing is evident: any step that harms the image of
    the country, especially abroad, is - if not betrayal - close to it."

    As previously reported, the PACE monitoring group will be in Armenia
    14-17 June to study the implementation of the demands fixed in the
    PACE resolution. Kocharyan said that the purpose of the visit has
    not been assessed correctly.

    "They (the group) will come, have meetings and draw conclusions for
    the Council of Europe."

    However, Kocharyan says that this does not mean that they will come
    and we shall report to them what we have done and how.

    "We should not view international organizations as higher bodies. We
    have already said: we are a member-country of this organization. We
    should try to present the reality: what has happened? What is the
    situation in Armenia today? And the monitors should report back the
    results of their investigation to the Council of Europe. If we have
    shortcomings in some areas, we should try to correct them."

    The president stressed that in such matters it is necessary to use
    other formulations: "We are an independent country and we should
    work with our people in such a way so as not to damage the values
    of independence."

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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