Epress.am News from Armenia
The resignation of Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia (RA) Tigran Sargsyan was the first stage of regime change and the only agenda for future actions and events becomes the task of achieving Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan's resignation through nationwide rallies, head of the Armenian National Congress (HAK) parliamentary faction, Levon Zurabyan, told iLur.am [AM].
Zurabyan recalled that the four non-ruling parties (HAK, Armenian Revolutionary Federation, Heritage Party, and Prosperous Armenia Party) have organized a non-stop rally on April 28, demanding the resignation of the government.
According to the MP, this is why Serzh Sargsyan forced Tigran Sargsyan to submit his resignation. With this move, Zurabyan said, Serzh Sargsyan is trying to soften the nationwide revolt and prevent the formation of unprecedented rallies.
"The ruling authorities have never been this weak, and since all four political parties are in favor of complete regime change, it's impossible to imagine a more opportune moment to turn this into reality," he said.
Heritage Party spokesperson Hovsep Khurshudyan did not wish to comment on the prime minister's resignation. In conversation with Aravot.am [AM], he said he considers it wrong to make assumptions: "We will comment after possessing more comprehensive information."
As for the opposition's next move, Khurshudyan said that the Heritage Party has always been consistent and stated its position: complete regime change up to and including snap presidential and parliamentary elections.
"That is, we agreed to the demand for the government's resignation, purely as a technical stage, not wanting to enter into disagreement with our colleagues who believed this should be the first step. But in no way can this be considered a complete solution to the issue," he said.
Armenian Revolutionary Federation faction secretary Aghvan Vardanyan did not wish to comment on Tigran Sargsyan's resignation. He only said, "For me, it was not a surprise."
Prosperous Armenia Party faction member Mikael Melkumyan, in conversation with Aravot.am [AM], likewise said he wasn't surprised by the PM's resignation.
"We were expecting the resignation; yes, because all the programs had failed. It wasn't for no reason that we were constantly saying there's no economic growth, all the indicators are poor, and so on…We now find that the primary [goal] is not to change the person — what's important now is for processes to take place around a new program, new reforms, which will lead the country out of this bleak situation. That is, there can be no question about replacing one person with another. It is imperative that there be a turnaround in course," he said.