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THERE IS NO ADEQUATE BALANCE
Siranuysh Papyan
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/engsrc/interview26711.html
Published: 15:21:21 - 29/06/2012
Interview with Boris Navasardyan, president of Yerevan Press Club
Mr. Navasardyan, the program of government was criticized by the
National Assembly and described as failure while Armen Ashotyan thinks
it is human-centered. Which point of view do you support?
If we evaluate the declarative content of the program, the
human-centered approach is obvious but declarative programs are
never implemented or declaration sometimes coincides with objective
developments and the program is automatically implemented. Generally,
I cannot understand what is considered as program of the government
of Armenia because the program of the government must be a plan
of specific steps and reforms based on serious studies because our
economy has no future without reforms. But up-to-date private interests
have such big influence on the state policy that the program of the
government cannot predetermine anything or it is almost impossible
to design something. This is the reason why we do not have and we
cannot have a serious attitude to the program of government because
regardless of study of the objective situation, objective processes
and necessities, every step will be unrealistic without adjustment to
powerful private interests. And as soon as you start agreeing actions
with the interests of several families and clans, it stops being a
program. Therefore, the discussions of programs of the government
are usually non-practical and merely reflect the political conjuncture.
Mr. Navasardyan, this time more members of the National Assembly
posture as opposition. Is it possible to have an alternative to Serzh
Sargsyan in 2013 to win the election? If this is the case, will it
end the criminal and oligarchic rule, does a change of government
mean pulling down this pyramid?
Theoretically it is possible to have a powerful alternative because
the greater part of the electorate is prone to vote for alternative
candidates. If the will of this greater part is reflected in the
election return, a serious alternative may appear on the political
stage. However, it would be too ingenuous to assume a few months
before the parliamentary election that we will have a practically
different electoral process. Today I can't see developments that would
reject the technology applied to the election of May 6. Ostensibly,
the government will use the administrative resource but as of now there
is no adequate balance to this use of resource. The reason is that the
oppositional political field has been destroyed through years. Today
all the forces in the opposition need serious transformation since
the opposition (and now only) lack a political force which could be
described as well-established, with clear priorities and principles,
a program of party building.
Is the PAP convinced about its being opposition or not?
PAP is a party which has been set up to balance matters inside the
ruling elite. Now it needs fundamental internal reforms to transform
from an establishment party to a genuine opposition party. It will take
change of persons, establishment of internal democratic mechanisms. If
these are not in place, everything will depend on one or at best two
or three persons it cannot be an effective opposition.
An Armenian opposition party needs leaders who are ready to fight,
who are against unprincipled deals and conformist decisions. The PAP
is not such a party yet and it will not become one by the presidential
election, even if it wants to.
Mr. Navasardyan, why did the opposition which we thought to be a
political force with a different quality in 2007-2008 vanish?
If we mean the ANC in 2007-2008, everyone, including the ANC must
be honest and confess that it was the political force of one person
which had several effective supporters. In other words, if you removed
Levon Ter-Petrosyan from the ANC, no other person of this political
force would succeed, and the alliance would not have been formed.
Consequently, with the relatively high results in the local
elections in Yerevan and the presidential elections, it will be his
last election. We see in his speeches that he is prone to leave,
and perhaps prefers science, writing books, he is not tempted by
political contacts. Hence, the ANC needs an identical important
leader. However, in a short period of time it is difficult to prove
that the new leader has the same charisma as Levon Ter-Petrosyan to be
able to bring people and different groups together. The second option
for the ANC could be an organization based on democratic principles
which will take more time than to find a new leader.
Mr. Navasardyan, you said in the previous elections we made a
commitment to the West to hold better elections. Do you happen to
know what commitments were made before the presidential election?
The latest parliamentary elections differ from the previous ones. The
results were the same in terms of freedom but differed by the
mechanisms used. If no real alternative candidate is nominated in the
presidential election of 2013, the mechanisms of falsification will be
used less frequently than in the parliamentary elections of 2012. For
this purpose the authorities tend to form a political sphere which
ensures diversity, not serious opponents. A few months are left till
the election but we don't know who the candidates of the Heritage,
ARF and ANC will be. We don't know whether the PAP will support Serzh
Sargsyan or run their candidate. In this uncertainty it is difficult
to raise candidate who would have serious ambitions.
Do you think Vartan Oskanian's scandal is related to his being a
possible alternative candidate in the presidential elections?
I tend to think that this step is against the PAP, not Vartan Oskanian,
to make this party think that it should not be an alternative and
it is better to join and support the president and return to the
coalition government after the presidential election.
They have said since the PAP was established that it is Robert
Kocharyan's party. In your opinion, will this factor prevent it from
being a serious oppositional pole?
This factor rules out the prospect of the PAP to be real opposition.
With its present status it can be one of the poles of fight among
clans. On the whole, I believe we need an early parliamentary election
because our political field is largely exhausted and to some extent
satisfied with what it has. The best means of waking it up, pushing
them to fight for their place under the sun, discovering new political
actors is elections. Especially that in today's social and political
conditions new elections may generate vibrant social and democratic
processes.
Siranuysh Papyan
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/engsrc/interview26711.html
Published: 15:21:21 - 29/06/2012
Interview with Boris Navasardyan, president of Yerevan Press Club
Mr. Navasardyan, the program of government was criticized by the
National Assembly and described as failure while Armen Ashotyan thinks
it is human-centered. Which point of view do you support?
If we evaluate the declarative content of the program, the
human-centered approach is obvious but declarative programs are
never implemented or declaration sometimes coincides with objective
developments and the program is automatically implemented. Generally,
I cannot understand what is considered as program of the government
of Armenia because the program of the government must be a plan
of specific steps and reforms based on serious studies because our
economy has no future without reforms. But up-to-date private interests
have such big influence on the state policy that the program of the
government cannot predetermine anything or it is almost impossible
to design something. This is the reason why we do not have and we
cannot have a serious attitude to the program of government because
regardless of study of the objective situation, objective processes
and necessities, every step will be unrealistic without adjustment to
powerful private interests. And as soon as you start agreeing actions
with the interests of several families and clans, it stops being a
program. Therefore, the discussions of programs of the government
are usually non-practical and merely reflect the political conjuncture.
Mr. Navasardyan, this time more members of the National Assembly
posture as opposition. Is it possible to have an alternative to Serzh
Sargsyan in 2013 to win the election? If this is the case, will it
end the criminal and oligarchic rule, does a change of government
mean pulling down this pyramid?
Theoretically it is possible to have a powerful alternative because
the greater part of the electorate is prone to vote for alternative
candidates. If the will of this greater part is reflected in the
election return, a serious alternative may appear on the political
stage. However, it would be too ingenuous to assume a few months
before the parliamentary election that we will have a practically
different electoral process. Today I can't see developments that would
reject the technology applied to the election of May 6. Ostensibly,
the government will use the administrative resource but as of now there
is no adequate balance to this use of resource. The reason is that the
oppositional political field has been destroyed through years. Today
all the forces in the opposition need serious transformation since
the opposition (and now only) lack a political force which could be
described as well-established, with clear priorities and principles,
a program of party building.
Is the PAP convinced about its being opposition or not?
PAP is a party which has been set up to balance matters inside the
ruling elite. Now it needs fundamental internal reforms to transform
from an establishment party to a genuine opposition party. It will take
change of persons, establishment of internal democratic mechanisms. If
these are not in place, everything will depend on one or at best two
or three persons it cannot be an effective opposition.
An Armenian opposition party needs leaders who are ready to fight,
who are against unprincipled deals and conformist decisions. The PAP
is not such a party yet and it will not become one by the presidential
election, even if it wants to.
Mr. Navasardyan, why did the opposition which we thought to be a
political force with a different quality in 2007-2008 vanish?
If we mean the ANC in 2007-2008, everyone, including the ANC must
be honest and confess that it was the political force of one person
which had several effective supporters. In other words, if you removed
Levon Ter-Petrosyan from the ANC, no other person of this political
force would succeed, and the alliance would not have been formed.
Consequently, with the relatively high results in the local
elections in Yerevan and the presidential elections, it will be his
last election. We see in his speeches that he is prone to leave,
and perhaps prefers science, writing books, he is not tempted by
political contacts. Hence, the ANC needs an identical important
leader. However, in a short period of time it is difficult to prove
that the new leader has the same charisma as Levon Ter-Petrosyan to be
able to bring people and different groups together. The second option
for the ANC could be an organization based on democratic principles
which will take more time than to find a new leader.
Mr. Navasardyan, you said in the previous elections we made a
commitment to the West to hold better elections. Do you happen to
know what commitments were made before the presidential election?
The latest parliamentary elections differ from the previous ones. The
results were the same in terms of freedom but differed by the
mechanisms used. If no real alternative candidate is nominated in the
presidential election of 2013, the mechanisms of falsification will be
used less frequently than in the parliamentary elections of 2012. For
this purpose the authorities tend to form a political sphere which
ensures diversity, not serious opponents. A few months are left till
the election but we don't know who the candidates of the Heritage,
ARF and ANC will be. We don't know whether the PAP will support Serzh
Sargsyan or run their candidate. In this uncertainty it is difficult
to raise candidate who would have serious ambitions.
Do you think Vartan Oskanian's scandal is related to his being a
possible alternative candidate in the presidential elections?
I tend to think that this step is against the PAP, not Vartan Oskanian,
to make this party think that it should not be an alternative and
it is better to join and support the president and return to the
coalition government after the presidential election.
They have said since the PAP was established that it is Robert
Kocharyan's party. In your opinion, will this factor prevent it from
being a serious oppositional pole?
This factor rules out the prospect of the PAP to be real opposition.
With its present status it can be one of the poles of fight among
clans. On the whole, I believe we need an early parliamentary election
because our political field is largely exhausted and to some extent
satisfied with what it has. The best means of waking it up, pushing
them to fight for their place under the sun, discovering new political
actors is elections. Especially that in today's social and political
conditions new elections may generate vibrant social and democratic
processes.