“The ARF is going to have active participation in the development of the government agenda because it’s not only for the coming 8-9 months, but for a more long-term period,” deputy-chair of the National Assembly, Vahan Hovhannisyan, stated yesterday. He also added that the new government after the presidential elections will hardly feel the need to develop a new agenda.
Hovhannisyan argued that Dashnaktsutyun has policy differences with the Republican Party (RPA) of Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan, President Robert Kocharyan’s most likely successor. He also claimed that his party’s independent involvement in the presidential race is essential for strengthening democracy in the country. “Safeguards already exist against Armenia’s slide into dictatorship,” said Hovhannisyan. “But in my opinion, those safeguards are not that strong, and I think the Dashnaktsutyun candidate will be best placed to strengthen them.” Dashnaktsutyun leaders have repeatedly stated over the past year that they will not back Sargsyan for the Armenian presidency and will field their own candidate instead. Sargsyan reportedly tried to get them to reconsider this stance during power-sharing negotiations that followed the RPA’s landslide victory in the May 12 parliamentary elections. But he eventually agreed to give Dashnaktsutyun three ministerial posts in his new cabinet without securing its commitment to endorsing his presidential bid. “Whoever runs for president, we are not an enemy of the Republican Party,” Hovhannisyan told reporters. “We are longtime partners. We just have our own approaches to many issues. We see different solutions to those issues.” He did not specify what those differences are. Under the June 6 power-sharing agreement signed with the RPA and the pro-Kocharyan Prosperous Armenia Party, Dashnaktsutyun will bear responsibility only for the policies and actions of the three government ministers affiliated with it. This allowed the nationalist party to further distance itself from Sargsyan’s government while retaining most of its power levers. U.S. Charge d’Affaires Anthony Godfrey had stated on June 15 that the United States is worried about the promotion of the Armenian and Iranian relations and has conveyed its concern to the Armenian government. Of Armenian officials, the deputy speaker of the National Assembly was the first to respond to Godfrey’s statement. Hovhannisyan commented on this statement on June 18 at the National Press Club. According to Hovhannisyan, Godfrey’s statement refers to Iran rather than Armenia. Hovhannisyan reminds that America and the EU have always understood the Armenian-Iranian relationship; they understand that our country was in a blockade.
“Second, the international accusations against Iran have not been confirmed. Otherwise, the great powers would not be debate their attitude towards Iran. I think Armenia must continue to display an independent stance because it is in our national interests. Besides, the same representatives of the United States said they find the relationship normal, explicable, and justified in the sphere of energy,” Hovhannisyan says. He certainly says Armenia will never collaborate with any country involved in the creation of a weapon of mass destruction. At the same time, if the Americans are pushing Armenia to break relations with Iran, I think Armenia should act independently, the deputy speaker of the National Assembly thinks. “I think any government seeks to reproduce itself. It is an axiom; I did not invent it. It is another problem whether it is good or bad, but let us take into account that if the government wants to reproduce and improve, it is not bad, if at the same time the security, prosperity, and growth of the people is sustained,” Hovhannisyan says. Ostensibly, Bako Sahakyan is “good reproduction” for the ARF Dashnaktsutyun, otherwise the decision to support Sahakyan made by the ARF Dashnaktsutyun in Karabakh, which is allegedly the opposition, would be illogical. The stance of this organization is the stance of the party, which was spelled out, and Vahan Hovhannisyan has nothing to add. Nevertheless, the logic of the decision of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun’s Karabakh organization and generally ARF Dashnaktsutyun’s stance on the presidential election of Karabakh is not distinct. The point is that ARF Dashnaktsutyun insists on naming the president of Armenia, meanwhile in Karabakh it did not name a president; it supports the government’s candidate. In answer to a question by reporters, Hovhannisyan said Armenia and Karabakh are different. “I think the importance of the Armenian presidential election and the Karabakh presidential election cannot be compared. For the ARF Dashnaktsutyun, it is highly important to remain independent in this stage. This is the reason we insisted on this decision,” Hovhannisyan says. In this case, isn’t the independence of the Karabakh organization important to the ARF Dashnaktsutyun’s leadership, which tolerates the decision of this organization to support the candidate of the government? “Look, I repeat, the conditions are different in Karabakh. And if some people make the Karabakh presidential election a political event of global importance, we think the security of Karabakh does not depend on the personality and approaches of the president of Karabakh only. It is fought for and prepared here as well. Finally, a clash in the presidential election in Nagorno-Karabakh is not justified, because the final result is then not justified. We had such an experience when we had our president in Karabakh who was opposed to the Armenian government. We know how difficult it was to prevent the reality that posed a threat to Karabakh. It is hard work, and in political calculations the parties should first take national interests into consideration. We think the national interests require a quiet, swift change of government in Karabakh and a clash of ideas, opinions, and approaches in Armenia. This is what the necessity for development requires,” the member of the ARF Bureau member thinks. By saying that Dashnaktsutyun had its president in Karabakh, Hovhannisyan means that before the presidential government the parliament of Karabakh had two leaders from the ARF Dashnaktsutyun, Arthur Mkrtichyan and Georgy Petrosyan, who now is the foreign minister of Karabakh. “We were strong at that time, but the political opponents were also strong, and relied on the Armenian government,” Hovhannisyan says. And by saying political opponents he means the wing which brought Robert Kocharyan to power in Karabakh.