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WAR OF WORDS: FORMER ALLIES IN VERBAL DUEL OVER "CORRUPTION" COMMENTS
By NAIRA HAYRUMYAN
ArmeniaNow
07.12.12 | 13:27
Eduard Sharmazanov, Tigran Urikhanyan
taining to the topic or containing slander or offensive language will
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The spokespersons of two former coalition partners, Republican Party
of Armenia (RPA) and Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) measured their
tongues in a verbal duel Thursday in what may turn into an open
inter-party confrontation ahead of next year's presidential election.
The trigger was the comments made by PAP leader Gagik Tsarukyan on
a recent visit to Brussels in which he in fact accused the current
leadership of Armenia of being corrupt.
"It is impossible to wage a struggle against corruption in a country
where this struggle is led by corrupt individuals," said Tsarukyan,
according to the party's press office, after a meeting with a senior
European Parliament official on Wednesday.
The remarks drew some angry responses from the ruling Armenian party,
RPA. Head of the RPA's parliamentary faction Galust Sahakyan said he
could not believe Tsarukyan may have said that. And RPA spokesman,
Deputy Speaker of Parliament Eduard Sharmazanov rejected the comments
as "a theatrical performance" meant for the domestic audience. He
also attacked PAP, claiming that some European deputies view this
Armenian party as an "artificial force" and that they also deem the
PAP leader has "very scant knowledge of international politics and
current political affairs in general."
PAP press secretary Tigran Urikhanyan described Sharmazanov's comments
as "impolite".
"Anyone who dares throw the gauntlet to PAP must know that PAP presents
the approaches and interests not only of one person, one team or
event one party followers, but 99.99 percent of the population of
Armenia. And fighting against PAP means fighting against millions of
people," the PAP spokesman stressed.
Remarkably, earlier this week PAP also voted "against" next year's
state budget, which was passed due to the RPA majority. Urikhanyan said
the party did not expect any qualitative changes based on this budget.
Tsarukyan stepped up his criticism of the government's economic
policies in recent months. In particular, PAP directed its main
criticism against Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, considering that
he should resign. And before the passage of this year's budget PAP
even presented its Top 10 "most ridiculous" budgetary items suggesting
that removing them from the expenditure pattern will save millions of
dollars that could be used for tackling more pressing social problems.
Experts say it is the appointed to the prime minister post that
has long been a subject of bargaining between PAP and RPA. They do
not rule out that Tsarukyan may support President Serzh Sargsyan's
reelection bid in exchange for the offer of the prime minister's
office to his party. So far Sargsyan has apparently been reluctant
to agree to such terms.
Meanwhile, the stage of nominations in the February 2013 presidential
election is getting closer and Tsarukyan's decision is awaited not
only by his party, but also other political forces, including in the
opposition camp. The Brussels statement by Tsarukyan was regarded by
many as a bid to contest the election on a platform focusing on an
anti-corruption drive. Yet, there is also a sizable body of opinion
that tycoon Tsarukyan is unlikely to be successful in his new image
of a guy fighting corruption since he himself has enjoyed preferential
treatment from the government in recent years.
From: Baghdasarian
By NAIRA HAYRUMYAN
ArmeniaNow
07.12.12 | 13:27
Eduard Sharmazanov, Tigran Urikhanyan
taining to the topic or containing slander or offensive language will
be deleted. You have to be registered to be able leave your comment.
Sign in or Register now for free.
The spokespersons of two former coalition partners, Republican Party
of Armenia (RPA) and Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) measured their
tongues in a verbal duel Thursday in what may turn into an open
inter-party confrontation ahead of next year's presidential election.
The trigger was the comments made by PAP leader Gagik Tsarukyan on
a recent visit to Brussels in which he in fact accused the current
leadership of Armenia of being corrupt.
"It is impossible to wage a struggle against corruption in a country
where this struggle is led by corrupt individuals," said Tsarukyan,
according to the party's press office, after a meeting with a senior
European Parliament official on Wednesday.
The remarks drew some angry responses from the ruling Armenian party,
RPA. Head of the RPA's parliamentary faction Galust Sahakyan said he
could not believe Tsarukyan may have said that. And RPA spokesman,
Deputy Speaker of Parliament Eduard Sharmazanov rejected the comments
as "a theatrical performance" meant for the domestic audience. He
also attacked PAP, claiming that some European deputies view this
Armenian party as an "artificial force" and that they also deem the
PAP leader has "very scant knowledge of international politics and
current political affairs in general."
PAP press secretary Tigran Urikhanyan described Sharmazanov's comments
as "impolite".
"Anyone who dares throw the gauntlet to PAP must know that PAP presents
the approaches and interests not only of one person, one team or
event one party followers, but 99.99 percent of the population of
Armenia. And fighting against PAP means fighting against millions of
people," the PAP spokesman stressed.
Remarkably, earlier this week PAP also voted "against" next year's
state budget, which was passed due to the RPA majority. Urikhanyan said
the party did not expect any qualitative changes based on this budget.
Tsarukyan stepped up his criticism of the government's economic
policies in recent months. In particular, PAP directed its main
criticism against Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, considering that
he should resign. And before the passage of this year's budget PAP
even presented its Top 10 "most ridiculous" budgetary items suggesting
that removing them from the expenditure pattern will save millions of
dollars that could be used for tackling more pressing social problems.
Experts say it is the appointed to the prime minister post that
has long been a subject of bargaining between PAP and RPA. They do
not rule out that Tsarukyan may support President Serzh Sargsyan's
reelection bid in exchange for the offer of the prime minister's
office to his party. So far Sargsyan has apparently been reluctant
to agree to such terms.
Meanwhile, the stage of nominations in the February 2013 presidential
election is getting closer and Tsarukyan's decision is awaited not
only by his party, but also other political forces, including in the
opposition camp. The Brussels statement by Tsarukyan was regarded by
many as a bid to contest the election on a platform focusing on an
anti-corruption drive. Yet, there is also a sizable body of opinion
that tycoon Tsarukyan is unlikely to be successful in his new image
of a guy fighting corruption since he himself has enjoyed preferential
treatment from the government in recent years.
From: Baghdasarian