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Oskanian Predicts Fallout For Armenia From 'Political Order' Against

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  • Oskanian Predicts Fallout For Armenia From 'Political Order' Against

    OSKANIAN PREDICTS FALLOUT FOR ARMENIA FROM 'POLITICAL ORDER' AGAINST HIM

    http://www.armenianow.com/news/politics/40193/armenia_vartan_oskanian_civilitas
    Politics | 02.10.12 | 10:49

    Member of Parliament and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Vartan
    Oskanian regrets the "miscalculation" of the authorities in trying
    to prosecute him without any legal grounds that he says will only
    damage Armenia's interests in international affairs and affect the
    country's image.

    Speaking on a prime time talk show on Kentron TV Monday night Oskanian
    said that the authorities are executing "a political order" against
    him by trying to strip him of parliamentary immunity and prosecute
    in connection with an embezzlement of funds that he said had never
    taken place.

    "We should understand how all this is going to be seen from the
    Diaspora and what attitude our citizens will have towards the whole
    thing. We should also understand that we have the Karabakh issue,
    for which we need confidence of the Diaspora," said the Syria-born
    politician, who served as Armenia's foreign minister in 1998-2008
    and participated then in internationally mediated negotiations with
    Azerbaijan over the Karabakh conflict on behalf of the Armenian
    leadership.

    "Now the world will wonder: 'Did we work for 10 years with a person
    who has been engaged in money laundering?' The government can't see
    the broader picture," he charged.

    Oskanian, who is a senior member of the Prosperous Armenia Party
    (PAP) today, also suggested that the developments around his persona
    as well as the party that now faces a government backlash will also
    harm Armenia's democratic credentials, in particular may result in
    Armenia appearing in the list of countries with authoritarian regimes
    in the annual reports of Freedom House, a legal global watchdog.

    The PAP lawmaker said the outcome of the vote on stripping him of his
    parliamentary immunity planned for Tuesday was a 'foregone conclusion'
    considering the majority that the ruling Republican Party today
    enjoys in the National Assembly. He stressed that it is against this
    "political monopoly" that he has been fighting ever since he joined
    the PAP early this year.

    The 57-year-old diplomat-turned-politician, who is regarded by many as
    a plausible candidate to challenge incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan
    in next February's election, stressed that he wouldn't give up and
    was going to fight to the end even if it meant being jailed.

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