Opposition Accused Of ‘Tempting’ Armenia’s Foes
By Hrach Melkumian 19/12/2004 08:54
Radio Free Europe, Czech Rep.
Dec 19 2004
Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian accused the opposition on Friday
of risking a military aggression against Armenia by portraying its
government as weak and illegitimate.
Sarkisian said “unfriendly states,” presumably Azerbaijan in the
first instance, are unaware of the political situation in Armenia
and therefore take seriously regular opposition predictions about
President Robert Kocharian’s imminent downfall.
“We pay a lot of attention to all those people who are trying to
blacken everything. Why am I saying this? Because this is a very
significant circumstance,” he told a round-table discussion of national
security issues in Yerevan.
“The temptation [among Armenia’s foes] is growing so much that they
think they can solve issues tomorrow with the force of weapons. You
see, a temptation is a very bad thing,” he added, apparently referring
to Azerbaijani threats to win back Nagorno-Karabakh by force.
The Armenian opposition, which does not accept the legitimacy of
Kocharian’s disputed reelection last year, tried unsuccessfully to
force him into resignation as recently as last spring. Some opposition
leaders now appear buoyed by the success of anti-government street
protests in Ukraine that are expected to lead to regime change. They
are reportedly regrouping for a fresh push for power.
A leading Azerbaijani newspaper claimed in a front-page article this
week that Armenia will likely become the next former Soviet republic
to have regime change as a result of a Western-backed “revolution.”
Sarkisian, who is widely regarded as the country’s second most powerful
man after Kocharian, also brushed aside the opposition’s pro-democracy
rhetoric, saying that the Armenian authorities are committed to free
elections and human rights. Democracy is vital for national security,
he added.
“We must definitely hold the best elections. We must definitely have
the most sophisticated society. We must be the most democratic and
humane country because the armies of such countries enjoy popular
love and respect. Such countries also have other powerful security
guarantees.”
Opposition leaders have repeatedly accused Sarkisian of being one of
the chief architects of serious fraud reported during last year’s
presidential and parliamentary elections. The defense chief was
Kocharian’s campaign manager at the time, a role which one Western
diplomat described as “at best questionable.”