Epress.am News from Armenia
In vice chair of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) Galust Sahakyan’s opinion, there’s some stalling going on in the dialogue between the ruling authorities and the opposition bloc the Armenian National Congress (HAK). Sahakyan conveyed this news himself while meeting with journalists in Yerevan Tuesday, on Armenia’s Constitution Day.
According to the HHK deputy, HAK’s demand — pre-term elections — is bad for any country.
“Moreover, let me say that if the problems of pre-term [elections] didn’t arise in 1996, our country would’ve gotten quite ahead; that is, if HAK representatives today would’ve been able to use the state tool in such a way that there wouldn’t be a question of early elections [note: early presidential elections in Armenia took place in 1998, after HAK leader and first president of the Republic of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrossian resigned from office], we would’ve moved forward,” he said.
Asked for his comments regarding HAK’s deadline for dialogue heard at the last opposition rally, Sahakyan said:
“Frightened, we are silent, thinking they’re going to come and I don’t know, what they are going to do. It’s the third year: they’re constantly putting forth preconditions; they say, here we come, we are going to accept [the president’s] resignation. And we say, be patient a little longer; we will be good; don’t ask for resignation. It’s ridiculous.”
“They can come to dialogue, but we, all the same, are going to dialogue. If they want, we’ll go dialogue in Azdak club; if they want, I don’t know, in the Opera yard; if they want, in Ojakh [a restaurant complex]; if they behave, we’ll greet them with bread and salt. A new, free-of-charge beach has opened up at [Lake] Sevan, this too [is an option],” he said.
The HHK vice chair noted that HAK supporters are reducing in number: that not only the people, but also those among the HAK leadership (the “heads”) are leaving the Armenian National Congress.
“Though what head? HAK only has a leader. There are no 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 10th figures. They used the word ‘dismantle’ so much that now they’re in that state,” he said.
Asked by Epress.am who he refers to when he says “those among the HAK leadership,” Sahakyan did not respond directly, advising our correspondent to “flip through the pages of newspapers.”
“I don’t comment on HAK’s internal party issues — I am simply describing [the situation] and giving assessments,” he said.