OSKANIAN CALLS FOR ‘CHANGE,’ DENIES PUSHING KOCHARIAN AGENDA
Irina Hovhannisyan
20.02.2012
Armenia – Former Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian is interviewed by
RFE/RL’s Armenian service in Yerevan, 18Feb2012.xArmenia – Former
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian is interviewed by RFE/RL’s Armenian
service in Yerevan, 18Feb2012.
Former Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian insisted over the weekend
that former President Robert Kocharian was not behind his decision to
join the Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) and thus enter the unfolding
parliamentary race.
Oskanian also said that President Serzh Sarkisian and his Republican
Party of Armenia (HHK) will lose their majority in parliament if
the parliamentary elections slated for May are free and fair. “I am
convinced that if we have normal, fair elections, the situation in the
parliament will definitely change,” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian service
(Azatutyun.am) in an interview.
“In the existing severe socioeconomic situation — and naturally the
ruling party is mainly responsible for that because it controls the
government and has such results — I think it’s not quite realistic
to expect that the people of Armenia will want the same government
or party to continue to govern them,” he said. “In my view, that’s
simply impossible.”
“The people want change. The question is which political forces can
present a convincing alternative to the people.”
Oskanian announced his decision to return to the political arena by
joining the BHK, the HHK’s main partner in the ruling coalition, in
a statement issued last Tuesday. The move fuelled more speculation
that Kocharian is keen to pave the way for his own political comeback.
Oskanian served as foreign minister while BHK leader Gagik
Tsarukian became one of Armenia’s wealthiest businessmen during the
ex-president’s 1998-2008 tenure.
“I made my decision on my own … and Kocharian had no part in this,”
insisted Oskanian. “Our people probably know Kocharian well. I don’t
think he would hide behind anybody’s back … If Kocharian decides
to return to politics I think he won’t need anybody.”
The former minister, who was a U.S. citizen until 1998, did
acknowledge, though, that he keeps in touch with Kocharian. “In the
last four years we have periodically met, talked about the country’s
problems and analyzed the situation,” he said. “And I will continue
meeting him. But we haven’t devised any programs together.”
Membership in the BHK, continued Oskanian, is simply “the most
effective way of returning to politics.” He described Tsarukian’s
party, which has four ministerial portfolios in the Sarkisian
government, as a “platform uniting individuals interested in Armenia’s
development.”
Oskanian further claimed that he is not primarily motivated by a desire
to regain a high-level position in government. “The main objective of
my joining Prosperous Armenia is to contribute to the party’s success
and try to change the situation in the parliament by means of free
and fair elections,” he said, adding that the election outcome will
determine his “role in further developments.”
Senior HHK figures have already made clear that the presidential
party intends to retain its solid majority in the National Assembly.
Opposition leaders portray such statements as a clear indication that
the authorities are not serious about their pledges to ensure the
proper conduct of the vote. Oskanian chided the HHK late last month
for “the utilization of administrative resources this early in the
pre-electoral period.”
The Syrian-born politician sounded more upbeat about the election
conduct in the RFE/RL interview. “I am optimistic or I want to be
optimistic that there will be fewer vote irregularities this time
around,” he said.
In a joint declaration signed in February 2011, Sarkisian and Tsarukian
said their parties will not “strive to increase their political weight
through contesting against each other or changing correlation of forces
within the [governing] Coalition” in the 2012 elections. The two men
last week reportedly agreed to contest the polls in “an atmosphere
of mutual tolerance.”
Still, Oskanian spoke of “real competition” between the HHK and the
BHK. “Each side will be guided by its own interests and will not cede
its positions,” he said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
http://www.azatutyun.am/content/article/24490501.html