HEAVYWEIGHT’S MESSAGE: TSARUKYAN SAYS PETTY POLITICAL TRADE NOT FOR HIM
POLITICS | 12.09.14 | 11:32
By SARA KHOJOYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter
Activation in Armenia’s internal political life in the wake of the
meeting earlier this week of two leaders of non-governing parties
Levon Ter-Petrosyan and Gagik Tsarukyan continued as the latter gave
an interview to a local news website in which he, among other things,
sought to emphasize again the political weight of his party.
Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) leader Tsarukyan said the format of the
four parliamentary parties is good for discussing the issues present
in the country and for making joint compromise-based decisions. But
talking to Zham.am, he added that even in the absence of this informal
coalition there would be “no tragedy.”
“In that case the PAP will work with political forces using the
mechanism of bilateral relations,” Tsarukyan said.
“As much as I value relations with political forces, above all I
attach importance to raising the profile and raiting of the PAP,
to strengthening the Party. There are internal decisions, there are
instructions in that direction, there is a developed plan by which
we are going to move forward, and that will further strengthen the
Party,” he added.
The leader of the PAP that has the second largest faction in the
Armenian parliament stressed that he has never entered, nor will
ever enter any political relations that “sometimes are very petty
and sometimes are more reminiscent of ordinary trade.”
“It is not for me. I know very well the rules of the game of Armenia’s
political field, the rules that are, to put it mildly, not so fair.
This is something that is alien and uninteresting to me.”
Like in his every political speech, Tsarukyan emphasized that he is not
guided by personal interests in politics: “I could have an easy life
only for myself, my family and friends. Nothing prevented me from doing
that. But seeing serious problems in our country, seeing that people
live in bad conditions, seeing that they have to leave their homes and
go abroad, seeing that despair and injustice loom large in the country,
I could not remain indifferent. I did not want to step aside and live
just for myself. This is my only motivation to be in politics.”
However, observers say that there are also constraining factors
for Tsarukyan as he is also a large businessman and according
to representatives of his own party the last time when he made a
statement critical of the authorities he was subjected to pressures
in the economic sphere of activities, in particular, water supply to
his cement factory in the town of Ararat was stopped.
“And perhaps the most important thing – I have no personal interest. I
do not want power to make money or put my friends in governing
positions,” Tsarukyan underlined.
“I am very well aware of our country’s problems, I know our economy
well. I have a very good idea about the main problems of our people.
Finally, I have the idea of how to solve many of these problems step
by step. I know well the business potentialities of the Diaspora
and I know how to use it for the benefit of our country. I know how
to bring large foreign investments to Armenia and create new jobs,
new opportunities in the country.”
It is remarkable that the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA)
did not leave Tsarukyan’s statements unnoticed. Deputy parliament
speaker, RPA spokesman Eduard Sharmazanov, for example, on Thursday
commented that no politician openly declares that he is engaged in
politics for personal gain.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
