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168 Zham, Armenia
June 19 2012
The Republican Party of Armenia sees Kocharyan behind Oskanyan's back
There are numerous aspects to political motives behind the launching
of criminal proceedings [on money-laundering charges] against [Vardan]
Oskanyan, former Armenian foreign minister and MP from the Prosperous
Armenia [PA] party. However, there is no doubt that the launch of the
criminal case has a political context.
Criminal proceedings target PA
It is simply interesting what the reason is [for the criminal
proceedings to have been launched]. Opinions on this issue are divided
into two groups. The first opinions voiced immediately after the
launch of the criminal case were that with this move the authorities
started to exert pressure on the PA for not having joined the
coalition, especially considering the fact that the National Security
Service launched the criminal case on 25 May after the PA leader,
Gagik Tsarukyan, made a statement saying he was not joining the
[ruling] coalition. This circumstance produced comments in the
political field that the authorities had started exerting pressure on
Tsarukyan the next day after he made the statement. Certainly, it
cannot be ruled out that the criminal case launched against Oskanyan
may be targeting the PA to some extent as well, but it does not seem
to be the main reason behind it. In any case, considering the
political developments, there is no sense to trigger a new
confrontation between the Republican Party of Armenia and the PA. Yes,
the PA has not joined the coalition but, according to rumours,
[Armenian] President Serzh Sargsyan and Tsarukyan reached an agreement
during negotiations over the issue of coalition. This means that the
PA's not joining the coalition is the result of mutual agreement.
Also, if the authorities wanted to put pressure on the PA, they would
hardly choose Oskanyan as the target. The authorities could have done
it by looking into the business operations of Tsarukyan or other MPs
who are members of his party.
[Passage omitted: the report says that Oskanyan's strong criticism of
the current authorities differs from the PA's "rather mild" position
on the policies of the authorities, and thus it would be wrong to
suggest that the criminal case against Oskanyan is a means of pressure
on the PA.]
Criminal proceedings target Oskanyan and former President Kocharyan
There is also an opposite opinion, according to which developments
surrounding Oskanyan and the Civilitas Foundation established by him
target him and former President Robert Kocharyan. Oskanyan is
considered to be a figure close to the former president [Kocharyan].
His presence in the PA is connected with Kocharyan's striving for
stepping up his influence on the PA, which may not be liked by PA
leaders. Besides, it is still unclear if Kocharyan or Oskanyan will
run in the 2013 presidential election. It is clear that if Oskanyan
runs in the election, he will do so under Kocharyan's protection. None
of them gives a definite answer regarding this issue. As for the
current authorities, headed by Sargsyan, it is clear that they must
ensure themselves against the imminent threat.
So do the incidents connected with Oskanyan have such motives? Are the
authorities trying to diminish Kocharyan and Oskanyan's wish to run in
the presidential election? Rumours have been put into circulation to
this end saying that Oskanyan has been stripped of his impunity [as
MP].
[Passage omitted: PA spokesperson Tigran Urikhanyan has refused to
comment on a possible link between the criminal proceedings against
Oskanyan and the presidential election in 2013. An MP from the
opposition Heritage party, Stepan Safaryan, believes that the
proceedings will be stopped if Oskanyan announces that he will not run
in the forthcoming election.]
[translated from Armenian]
June 19 2012
The Republican Party of Armenia sees Kocharyan behind Oskanyan's back
There are numerous aspects to political motives behind the launching
of criminal proceedings [on money-laundering charges] against [Vardan]
Oskanyan, former Armenian foreign minister and MP from the Prosperous
Armenia [PA] party. However, there is no doubt that the launch of the
criminal case has a political context.
Criminal proceedings target PA
It is simply interesting what the reason is [for the criminal
proceedings to have been launched]. Opinions on this issue are divided
into two groups. The first opinions voiced immediately after the
launch of the criminal case were that with this move the authorities
started to exert pressure on the PA for not having joined the
coalition, especially considering the fact that the National Security
Service launched the criminal case on 25 May after the PA leader,
Gagik Tsarukyan, made a statement saying he was not joining the
[ruling] coalition. This circumstance produced comments in the
political field that the authorities had started exerting pressure on
Tsarukyan the next day after he made the statement. Certainly, it
cannot be ruled out that the criminal case launched against Oskanyan
may be targeting the PA to some extent as well, but it does not seem
to be the main reason behind it. In any case, considering the
political developments, there is no sense to trigger a new
confrontation between the Republican Party of Armenia and the PA. Yes,
the PA has not joined the coalition but, according to rumours,
[Armenian] President Serzh Sargsyan and Tsarukyan reached an agreement
during negotiations over the issue of coalition. This means that the
PA's not joining the coalition is the result of mutual agreement.
Also, if the authorities wanted to put pressure on the PA, they would
hardly choose Oskanyan as the target. The authorities could have done
it by looking into the business operations of Tsarukyan or other MPs
who are members of his party.
[Passage omitted: the report says that Oskanyan's strong criticism of
the current authorities differs from the PA's "rather mild" position
on the policies of the authorities, and thus it would be wrong to
suggest that the criminal case against Oskanyan is a means of pressure
on the PA.]
Criminal proceedings target Oskanyan and former President Kocharyan
There is also an opposite opinion, according to which developments
surrounding Oskanyan and the Civilitas Foundation established by him
target him and former President Robert Kocharyan. Oskanyan is
considered to be a figure close to the former president [Kocharyan].
His presence in the PA is connected with Kocharyan's striving for
stepping up his influence on the PA, which may not be liked by PA
leaders. Besides, it is still unclear if Kocharyan or Oskanyan will
run in the 2013 presidential election. It is clear that if Oskanyan
runs in the election, he will do so under Kocharyan's protection. None
of them gives a definite answer regarding this issue. As for the
current authorities, headed by Sargsyan, it is clear that they must
ensure themselves against the imminent threat.
So do the incidents connected with Oskanyan have such motives? Are the
authorities trying to diminish Kocharyan and Oskanyan's wish to run in
the presidential election? Rumours have been put into circulation to
this end saying that Oskanyan has been stripped of his impunity [as
MP].
[Passage omitted: PA spokesperson Tigran Urikhanyan has refused to
comment on a possible link between the criminal proceedings against
Oskanyan and the presidential election in 2013. An MP from the
opposition Heritage party, Stepan Safaryan, believes that the
proceedings will be stopped if Oskanyan announces that he will not run
in the forthcoming election.]
[translated from Armenian]