– ANC leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan a day ago announced that based on the fact of fulfilling ANC demands they are already ready to formally, that is through a delegation, start a dialog with the government. What steps is the government going to take in this regard?
– The government has taken the steps of the dialog long ago, right after 2008 elections when the political situation in the country was quite tense and after the undesirable and tragic events of March 1. The president of the country has offered to destroy the wall of separation and animosity. But it became possible to dismantle this wall only after the opposition itself realized its necessity and need and they became willing to accept concession. And currently we have what we have.
– But ANC has always announced that it will start a dialog only when their friends will be released from jails. And now after the release the opposition says that they are willing to negotiate about the dialog.
– What will be the basis of this dialog?
– According to ANC the priority for them is early parliamentary and presidential elections.
– I am aware of these approaches via media. I know that ANC claims that they will start an actual dialog when “political prisoners are released and early elections are held.” We may assume that the government has been suggesting the opposition that we should negotiate around early elections but the opposition would refuse to do so. And now when the preconditions were fulfilled they are ready for a dialog. But I think that the agenda that ANC wishes for or at least makes it public can never become a subject for dialog between the government and opposition. And it’s great that the leader of ANC very well understands that and realizes that they perhaps need to take into account the opinion of the government as well.
– At any rate, is the government ready to go to a dialog with the opposition with its agenda?
– There has been dialog between the opposition and government perhaps not institutionally before the recent events. The government has taken certain steps to fulfill those demands of the government, which matched the national and state interest of the country and its people. If there are more suggestions and recommendations on part of the opposition we will sit down and discuss those.
– The opposition says that the fight against oligopolies, corruption and barriers of social-economic developments is not well done by the incumbent government. They demand that a number of high-profile officials are fired from their current posts. A day ago, Ter-Petrosyan even stated that there will be several high-level and big resonance resignations. Will the government take such steps?
– The government is not willing to fire officials by the demands of the opposition. It cannot even happen. It would mean that the government grants a higher status to the opposition and a supervisory function. The government knows that we have many issues in the country including the ones connected with bad staffers or personnel. And we have also witnessed numerous cases of dismissal of officials. And theoretically it is possible that the opinions of the opposition and the government in relation to the dismissal of this or other official might match but the Armenian government will never fire any official based on the demand of the opposition.
– Ter-Petrosyan stated that they would establish a delegation of 5 to negotiate with the government. What steps does the government take in that regard?
– The opposition may establish a structure through which to deliver its viewpoints. But the government is already an institutional structure and doesn’t have the need to form a similar group in order to communicate with the government. That is my personal opinion. The government has institutes of state management, which in the case of need may meet with the president and exchange opinions. We have witnessed this at different points and so now the same thing might happen during the communication with the opposition.
– What institute would you mention as an example?
– For example, the Prime Minister accepted the representatives of Dashnaktsutyun party and discussed with the social-economic situation of the country and some other matters.
– How accurate is the information, according to which CC chair Gagik Harutyunyan is the solicitor between the government and the opposition?
– I don’t agree with the concept of solicitation for the start of a dialog. When the opposition expresses its opinion to thousands of people and the media write about that for the whole world to know than there can be no need for solicitation. Up until now these demands and communication has been very public and there has always been a natural desire for understanding each other’s attitudes and views.
– But the government doesn’t only imply state bodies. The government is also comprised by coalition parties. In your opinion, how should these parties be included in the formal dialog between the opposition and the government?
– The coalition itself has built these institutes. The state governance system consists of members of these coalition parties. And so the government will develop its approaches in the face of the coalition. It is clear that each political force has its role in the coalition.