– Different promises are given during campaigns. For example, the Legal State promises to give 400 thousand drams to the parents of new born babies. The Marxist Party recently promised to put 3 million drams in the cradle of each baby. How realistic are these promises?
– If the process of decrease of birth rates continues, those promises will become very realistic. The country is in deep crisis. The steps of attracting people through populism are not acceptable. We, as a political party, don’t accept that.
– It seems that the campaigns of political parties are built on the thesis of who can gain more votes through lying to people. Don’t you think that people gained certain experience from previous elections and they don’t believe in such populism?
– There is a part of the people who really still believes those, but in fact we haven’t had more than 30% turnout in our past elections. That’s why the majority neither gets bribed, nor participates, nor follows popular announcements.
– The opposition hopes for the support of international monitors. However, recently Alexey Borodavkin, Russian representative in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, has blamed the OSCE ODIHR for their subjective reports, which are based on sympathies to “this or that political party.” He said that the monitors go to that country knowing in advance what they are going to write about. Does NDP hope for the support of those monitors?
– I have personally been a member of an international monitoring mission accredited by the Council of Europe. We have worked with both OSCE and ODIHR. I haven’t ever witnessed such a thing. Of course the monitors have always restrained the government from making obvious violations but the priority is not the work of monitors on election day but the change of the situation. The level of freedom of the government to reproduce the government doing whatever it takes has decreased. It’s not an accident that Kocharyan is not taking a third term. It means that Armenia cannot follow Lukashenko. Secondly, it’s pretty evident for me that the government won’t ever use tanks to maintain its power. And third, I am sure that no turnout numbers are going to be written ahead in the CEC. Every voter is going to see the turnout on TV. CEC is only going to add those. The same can be said about TECs. Whatever happens is going to take place in PECs. Moreover, if a good turnout is registered, people’s free volition will be considered. I think the best way of avoiding violations is a good turnout.
– What is your optimism regarding TEC and CEC stipulated by?
– I don’t express my trust in CEC. I just state the reality. There is a certain program, mechanism, based on which the CEC must draw the conclusions. It is a very simple and transparent mechanism. It means that CEC won’t be able to write its own numbers.
– On the first days of the campaign certain conspicuous cases were registered – gunshots, arson, kidnapping, etc. Doesn’t this already prompt us as to what the reports of the monitors are going to look like?
– Of course pre-election violations also affect the real election. But first of all the reports must correspond to the will and opinion of the nation as well. Of course if NDP gets more airtime on TV we will have more success during elections.
– Does the opposition have any plans to undertake certain united steps during elections?
– The opposition must cooperate in at least in one area -following the electoral procedures. We are ready for any kind of cooperation. The fact is, the government is trying to criticize the opposition by saying that the opposition was not able to unite, and therefore is already defeated. But didn’t they fail to unite? Why is it that after governing over 5 years they still fail to go to the elections with just one list?
– They have governmental resources.
– If they think that they can win separately they are mistaken. The government can be reproduced only in one case. It can happen only in the event of a low turnout. That’s where the whole state advocacy is directed. They are saying that the results of elections are pre-determined in order to provide for a low turnout.
– It’s not only the number of governmental party members that is high. The Legal State has also recently announced that it had over 100 thousand members.
– Artur Baghdasaryan’s case is different. He has only recently become opposition, and works in the same style as the government. That’s why I don’t see an essential difference.
– What do you mean?
– I mean that he works in the same style as the government. He publicizes great numbers just like the governmental parties.
– Many people thought that Artur Baghdasaryan was the Man of Europe. But recently Ria Novosti named you the Man of Europe in Armenia.
– First we never disguised the fact that Armenia should move towards Europe. That’s where the democratic future of Armenia is. We shouldn’t ever lean towards Europe by ignoring our national values. For example, in order to compliment Russia we shouldn’t adopt a bill in the Parliament making Russian the second official language of Armenia. Or, if necessary to compliment the West, we shouldn’t say we’ll compromise Karabagh, as Baghdasaryan was doing. We are against going towards Europe with such approaches. Many people haven’t yet understood that Europe is not only democracy but also the maintenance of cultural diversity. We envision this route.
– Excuse me, do you consider Baghdasaryan an oppositionist?
– Based on his background and past I think he opposes himself.
– Only your party, out of other splintered parties of NDU, is participating in the elections. As an NDP founder, don’t you blame yourself for that?
– For me it’s really hard. Yes, I was one of the founders of NDU. A substantial part of the people really used to believe in NDU. It’s only enough to remember 1996. Now as well there is a great part of the people who still believes in NDU values. But it turned out that the main founder of NDU (Vazgen Manukyan) got off the train. The other took the train car, which goes to Russia-Belarus. The other wagon goes far from Russia. In other words, he took the train, which doesn’t go anywhere (speaking about Arshak Sadoyan). The third one has already gotten used to the soft chair of the government (Seyran Avagyan). Yes, unfortunately it turned out that only we stayed on the same track, follow the main ideology and don’t give up.
– Vazgen Manukyan is the only one who has already announced that he will be nominated during presidential elections in 2008. If the choice was between Serge Sargsyan and Vazgen Manukyan, whom would you support?
– If we don’t nominate our candidate I will definitively support Manukyan.
– As you mentioned, his train has gone long ago.
– I mean the alternative. When there is no other choice I will vote for Manukyan. Manukyan used to be one of the most in-demand politicians in Armenia. And I think after a long pause this demand will be revived during the presidential elections.