Tweet
OPPOSING THE TROIKA: THREE NON-GOVERNING PARTIES CRITICIZED BY RULING PARTY MEMBERS, OUTSIDERS
POLITICS | 14.10.14 | 12:45
http://armenianow.com/news/politics/57593/armenia_opposition_rally_troika
By SARA KHOJOYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter
While the three non-governing parliamentary parties are preparing for
their second autumn rally, the Civil Contract public-political union
considers their tactic unacceptable. The group led by outspoken
oppositionist Nikol Pashinyan has spoken out against both the
government and the troika of opposition forces, speaking in favor of
forming a "public agenda".
Since in their public statements representatives of the ruling
Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) have so far ruled out that the
government would conduct negotiations with the non-governing forces,
political analysts have different assessments as to how effective
the troika's process on "power change" will be.
On Monday, the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP), the Armenian National
Congress (ANC) and Heritage announced their decision to schedule
the next rally for October 24. They did not say when they'd hold
their next gathering at the Friday rally in Yerevan that attracted
thousands of people.
It is remarkable that ANC leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan described the
"Now", "Now" calls for immediate action heard from the crowd of
supporters in Liberty Square on October 10 as "wrong" and urged
supporters to obey the decisions and the timetable of action of
the leaders of the struggle. At the same time, he said that fresh
parliamentary and presidential elections were needed to save the
country from a disaster.
"Our plans and objectives are clear, so proposals on dialogue and
compromise solutions should come from the government. If these
proposals are reasonable, it is possible that we will meet them
halfway," Ter-Petrosyan said in his speech.
Meanwhile, Parliament Speaker Galust Sahakyan, who represents the RPA,
on Monday said there was no need for negotiations with the troika.
"We need to understand what to offer - whether they want posts, so
we can give them posts, or they want a coalition so that we offer
them to form a coalition. What is it that they propose? Can anyone
formulate that?" Sahakyan challenged reporters during a press briefing
in Tsaghkadzor.
Meanwhile, Pashinyan, who fell out with Ter-Petrosyan in 2012 over
the latter's decision to engage in cooperation with the PAP, believes
that what the troika proposes is a power-sharing deal, something that
he said disregards the people's opinion.
"They choose a tactic that rules out that someone else makes moves
in the political field. Thus, they keep the entire field," Pashinyan
said at a press conference on Monday.
Still, the troika appears to continue to remain the key format that
keeps up people's opposition sentiments. According to political
analyst Armen Grigoryan, the three forces combine large capital and
public support.
"A rally that gathers 40,000 people during a non-electoral stage shows
that they are very strong," Grigoryan told ArmeniaNow, stressing that
the process is the only hope for people who want to see changes.
(Other observers estimated the turnout at the October 10 rally at
between 10,000 to 15,000 people).
"One of the most important things [for the opposition] is to
ensure that the constitutional amendments are not passed, because
constitutional amendments are the greatest threat to political
parties. Everyone understands that if it happens, [President] Serzh
Sargsyan will rule for his lifetime in Armenia, and that's why it
becomes the most important political factor," said the political
analyst.
However, according to expert on political and electoral technologies
Armen Badalyan, in Armenia the potential of political forces is not
as important as the potential of society.
"There were 40,000-45,000 people at the Friday rally, but if we compare
that to the number of people who live in poor conditions and seek
justice in Armenia, it appears to be a very low figure. If half of
the workers of Armenian markets came, if half of those who complain
about the red-line parking rules came, there would have been four or
five times more people," Badalyan told ArmeniaNow.
POLITICS | 14.10.14 | 12:45
http://armenianow.com/news/politics/57593/armenia_opposition_rally_troika
By SARA KHOJOYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter
While the three non-governing parliamentary parties are preparing for
their second autumn rally, the Civil Contract public-political union
considers their tactic unacceptable. The group led by outspoken
oppositionist Nikol Pashinyan has spoken out against both the
government and the troika of opposition forces, speaking in favor of
forming a "public agenda".
Since in their public statements representatives of the ruling
Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) have so far ruled out that the
government would conduct negotiations with the non-governing forces,
political analysts have different assessments as to how effective
the troika's process on "power change" will be.
On Monday, the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP), the Armenian National
Congress (ANC) and Heritage announced their decision to schedule
the next rally for October 24. They did not say when they'd hold
their next gathering at the Friday rally in Yerevan that attracted
thousands of people.
It is remarkable that ANC leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan described the
"Now", "Now" calls for immediate action heard from the crowd of
supporters in Liberty Square on October 10 as "wrong" and urged
supporters to obey the decisions and the timetable of action of
the leaders of the struggle. At the same time, he said that fresh
parliamentary and presidential elections were needed to save the
country from a disaster.
"Our plans and objectives are clear, so proposals on dialogue and
compromise solutions should come from the government. If these
proposals are reasonable, it is possible that we will meet them
halfway," Ter-Petrosyan said in his speech.
Meanwhile, Parliament Speaker Galust Sahakyan, who represents the RPA,
on Monday said there was no need for negotiations with the troika.
"We need to understand what to offer - whether they want posts, so
we can give them posts, or they want a coalition so that we offer
them to form a coalition. What is it that they propose? Can anyone
formulate that?" Sahakyan challenged reporters during a press briefing
in Tsaghkadzor.
Meanwhile, Pashinyan, who fell out with Ter-Petrosyan in 2012 over
the latter's decision to engage in cooperation with the PAP, believes
that what the troika proposes is a power-sharing deal, something that
he said disregards the people's opinion.
"They choose a tactic that rules out that someone else makes moves
in the political field. Thus, they keep the entire field," Pashinyan
said at a press conference on Monday.
Still, the troika appears to continue to remain the key format that
keeps up people's opposition sentiments. According to political
analyst Armen Grigoryan, the three forces combine large capital and
public support.
"A rally that gathers 40,000 people during a non-electoral stage shows
that they are very strong," Grigoryan told ArmeniaNow, stressing that
the process is the only hope for people who want to see changes.
(Other observers estimated the turnout at the October 10 rally at
between 10,000 to 15,000 people).
"One of the most important things [for the opposition] is to
ensure that the constitutional amendments are not passed, because
constitutional amendments are the greatest threat to political
parties. Everyone understands that if it happens, [President] Serzh
Sargsyan will rule for his lifetime in Armenia, and that's why it
becomes the most important political factor," said the political
analyst.
However, according to expert on political and electoral technologies
Armen Badalyan, in Armenia the potential of political forces is not
as important as the potential of society.
"There were 40,000-45,000 people at the Friday rally, but if we compare
that to the number of people who live in poor conditions and seek
justice in Armenia, it appears to be a very low figure. If half of
the workers of Armenian markets came, if half of those who complain
about the red-line parking rules came, there would have been four or
five times more people," Badalyan told ArmeniaNow.