– Mr. Abrahamyan, the Armenian Republican Party lost many votes during the recent local government elections. On the contrary, “Popular MP” won most of them. Don’t you think that the authorities are now trying to form a majority for the next elections?
– What you know does not correspond to reality-the Armenian Republican Party is still the leading political force in the elections and it received many votes. As for forming a majority for the next elections, the authorities are not the ones that are going to do that but rather, the people by voting for the political forces during the next elections. Basically, we will know which political force will form a majority only after the results of the 2007 parliamentary elections. Of course, we can foresee some things judging from the reputation of this or that political force and the activities that each one carries out, however, there is still some time before the next elections. So, let’s not get ahead of ourselves and predict things.
– As coordinating minister for the constitutional amendments “yes” campaign, what have you assigned the Marz chiefs and the fields which you command to do? Are the rumors flying around that you have threatened to punish them in case the constitutional amendments do not pass accurate?
– I don’t threaten anyone. That is not my method of working. As for any warnings, the only thing that I have done has been to work with the people and explain to them what the citizen will get out of the proposed constitutional amendments, what the citizen will lose if these constitutional amendments do not pass. If the proposed constitutional amendments booklets are accessible to the people, I am certain that the people will not go against their own instincts because, I repeat, this is not a question of the authorities or the opposition; this regards the state and the outlook for the future and that must be clearly explained to the people. This is what I have assigned the coordinating fields to do.
– Do you think that the authorities will be able to carry out the “yes” campaign for the constitutional amendments?
– The “yes” for the constitutional amendments does not depend on the authorities, but on the people. As for the authorities, who are interested in keeping the referendum fair, are only required to do one thing: organize the referendum legally and that is exactly what they are doing. The people understand that these amendments are not for the authorities. If the president of Armenia were to be deprived of his presidential powers, as the opposition likes to present him, then he would not be interested in the positive outcome of the referendum. The rumors flying around that international structures will punish the authorities if the constitutional amendments don’t pass are false. If the people go and freely vote “no” for the constitutional amendments, the only thing that international structures can do is to claim that Armenian society participated in the democratic elections and voted “no” for the proposed democratic amendments-something we saw happen in some European countries during the European Council’s Constitutional referendum. Of course, I am not hiding the fact that if this happens it could put down Armenia’s reputation in the world; however, nothing will really happen to the authorities. We will continue to go along with the existing Constitution as we have gone along for years.
– Galust Sahakyan announced that dual citizenship will not function in Armenia if it is passed. As for the president, he announced in Athens that the political figures that don’t treat this matter seriously are not serious political figures.
– Dual citizenship is really a major issue; meanwhile the opposition is trying to move that to a whole new playing field-scaring the people by claiming that the millions of Armenians living in Moscow or California are going to vote for the next president of Armenia. The only thing that the proposed constitutional amendments have taken out is the ban on dual citizenship; the law will take care of the rights and responsibilities of dual citizens. I can assure you that the Armenians living in Armenia will be the ones to vote for the authorities.
– The president said that he is both for “yes” and “no”. So, why are you wasting all your resources for carrying out the “yes” campaign?
– What? Would you like the president to say that he is in favor of only “yes”? I think the president has given a dignified response and he is going to accept either the “yes” or “no” voted by the people in a free and fair referendum. As for wasting resources, the authorities waste as much resources for the “yes” campaign as the opposition does for the “no” campaign, which fits in with the “Law about referendum”.
– Tigran Torosyan said that you have no job position in the Armenian Republican Party. What can you say about that? How are you working alongside the Republican Party’s administrative chief if you have no role to play in the party?
– I am the fourth in the list of members of the Republican Party and I think that all judgments can be put aside. As far as I know, Tigran Torosyan has clarified his announcements and how he made them in the press. As for working alongside the Republican Party’s administrative chief, no matter how much people try to make up contradictions about Hovik Abrahamyan, there are no such contradictions and can not be for that matter.
– How do you look at the fact that Samvel Babayan has returned to the political field?
– Each person decides what to do for himself.
– The opposition has planned on turning the constitutional amendments referendum to a referendum for the authorities’ trust. Do you think it is possible that the “no” at the referendum will bring change of power?
– I don’t know what the opposition plans on doing. That is their problem and I don’t wish to comment on that. However, I have said once that it is clear what we are going to do on November 27: we are either going to say yes or no to the constitutional amendments. There is no other issue here. If we see that the people voted “no” the constitutional amendments after the referendum, we will simply state that the people said “no” to the constitutional amendments. Then we can conclude that the Republic of Armenia will continue with the Constitution passed on July 5, 1995. The vote for “no”, despite what the opposition plans on doing, can not bring any other consequences.
– If the opposition starts mass activities, will the authorities apply force-just like that took place on April 12, 2004?
– The authorities did not apply force on April 12, but rather they did what they had to do by law when a group of people had closed a street and turned it into a dancing square. If the opposition plans on doing the same thing on November 27 and violate the laws, then the authorities will have the right to intervene as stated by law. If applying the law means applying force for the opposition, then I leave that up to the oppositionists’ interpretation.
– Do you think that the authorities and the opposition both have equal opportunities for propagandizing the constitutional amendments?
– As far as I know, there are some international monitoring organizations and I am certain that they will confirm the results and claim that each side propagandizing either “yes” or “no” has equal opportunities. Nobody can claim that any oppositionist force has wished to meet with the people and has not been granted permission to do that or has not been provided with a hall for gathering. There is no such thing. The opposition’s car parade goes around the whole republic and it has not had any problem in propagandizing its point of view. As to how many people we see come to the meetings and the reputation of the opposition, that is a different story. This period of propaganda for the constitutional amendments showed us that the people are tired of hearing lame speeches. Big speeches can be effective for a short period of time, but when the same speech is heard like a phonogram, the same speakers, the people get tired and don’t pay attention to what any political leader has to say. As for providing television airtime, some opposition leaders are sometimes invited to television debates. It is a different story when those opposition leaders demand to debate either with the president of the country or do a monologue. An ultimatum exists in any law and the authorities are not responsible for making the opposition’s ultimatums a reality in the political field.
– What can you say about the opposition finally uniting as one and making a decision as a whole to boycott the constitutional amendments referendum?
– Judging from the opposition’s activities, there is no guarantee that the opposition will not make a wrong decision in the near future. It is enough for the people to realize who they are dealing with when the opposition leaders convince the people to say “no” to the referendum for one month and then call on the people to boycott the whole thing days before the referendum. Changing the rules in the middle of the game is a sign of a quick reaction and a sign of loss.