Leaders of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) appeared to have failed to agree to the terms for their party’s continued presence in Armenia’s government, during nearly two hours of negotiations with President Robert Kocharyan on Wednesday.
The meeting between Kocharyan and two top Dashnaktsutyun leaders, Armen Rustamyan and Hrant Margaryan, was part of ongoing talks over the make-up of a new coalition cabinet which Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan is trying to form as a result of the May 12 parliamentary elections. “Negotiations are continuing, and we have not yet reached agreement on a number of issues,” Rustamyan told reporters after emerging from the presidential palace in Yerevan. Rustamyan refused to give details, saying only that the disagreements do not center on the ministerial positions offered to Dashnaktsutyun. At issue are the center-left nationalist party’s “new proposals and approaches” on how the new government should function, he said. In a Tuesday interview, Margaryan indicated that Dashnaktsutyun is seeking a greater say in the formulation of key government policies and does not want to be an “appendage” of Sargsyan and the Republican Party (HHK), the election winner. Rustamyan claimed that he and Margarian did not discuss with Kocharyan the possibility of Dashnaktsutyun’s support for Sargsyan’s participation in next year’s presidential election. “Discussions have not yet reached that point,” he said. “There are very serious issues relating to general issues, principles.” Local observers have speculated that Sargsyan, whose party won an outright majority in parliament, is ready to share power with Dashnaktsutyun only on the condition that the latter commits itself to endorsing his 2008 presidential bid. Rustamyan said in that regard that his party stands by its earlier statements that it will not back Sargsyan for the presidency and will nominate its own presidential candidate instead. “That also means retaining our political independence,” he said. “That is the most important thing for any political force.” The parliament majority has become a major challenge for the Republican Party, stated Manvel Sargsyan, expert for the Caucasus Analytical Center, who was hosted on May 31 by the Radio Remix program initiated by the Center for Political and International Studies. “I think the Republicans are facing a problem of responsibility. This majority has brought about new problems. Look, the two pro-government parties, Prosperous Armenia and the ARF Dashnaktsutyun, which got considerable seats in the parliament, have appeared in a queer political state. They have enough seats but no rights,” he says. According to him, the post-electoral process should be viewed in the context of the presidential election. The expert thinks Serge Sargsyan’s bid for the presidency has a problem of creating a coalition of supporters. “The problem is that the Republican majority is trying now to create a political coalition rather than a coalition government, which must agree to support Serge Sargsyan in the presidential election. I think this is the main problem. And the other problems stem from it. Due to this problem, Dashnaktsutyun has appeared in quite a complicated situation, therefore it seems reluctant to carry out the main condition. In other words, they want the portfolios but they do not want to support Serge Sargsyan,” he said. According to him, Serge Sargsyan acknowledges that with 50 percent and more it has earned as many opponents in the pro-government Prosperous Armenia Party and the ARF Dashnaktsutyun. “Therefore it is necessary to distribute the posts they have accumulated in their warehouse to make new friends,” the expert says. By the way, Robert Kocharyan did not rule out running for a third term, who says in answer to similar questions that “nothing is impossible in this country.” At the same time, he says the impression that Robert Kocharyan has retreated is not true. In answer to the question if Robert Kocharyan also intends to provide political support for Serge Sargsyan when he endorses a coalition government, Manvel Sargsyan says the coalition government enables the president to hold control. “I think this is the reason. Many thought the Republicans hold the majority, the president became weak, the government changed. But you saw that in two weeks everything became clear. And the Republicans need to beg President Kocharyan to persuade the other forces to talk to them.” According to him, soon an important question will occur as to what the problem of the government camp and the opposition will be. According to him, the Republican Party wants to restrict the range of the opposition, including many oppositionists in the formation of the government. And he thinks the opposition should not go on protest, which is ineffective and moot as a means of political struggle, but the opposition should create an alternative to the system. In other words, an alternative should be created to the system which set up the government. As to the question if there is an opposition candidate who can defeat Serge Sargsyan, the expert says if the Republican Party fails to create a political coalition, the other candidates will defeat the Republican candidate.
P.S. Yesterday at 3:00 PM representatives of ARF Dashnaksutyun, Hrant Margaryan and Armen Rustamyan, entered the president’s residence. The meeting took place in the trilateral format. President Kocharyan wanted answers as to why Dashnaksutyun is taking so long to make up their mind, as their limits have already been spelled out. According to our sources, Kocharyan warned Dashnaktsutyun to curb their appetite, to not expect anything extra. Dashnaktsutyun promised to give a final decision within a day or two.