No Hidden Deal Between HAK and Authorities, Says Harutyunyan

Recently, the Armenian National Congress, step by step, has achieved some successes; the authorities, on the other hand, have suffered losses during this struggle, said human rights campaigner Vardan Harutyunyan, speaking to journalists in Yerevan today.

According to him, that the authorities have been forced to fulfill the opposition’s three demands testifies to the opposition’s victory.

“I think that this so-called dialogue that is supposed to take place will become a ladder on which the opposition will stand to make its next move. I realize that these people have action plans which they will execute in stages. As for how quickly the authorities will make concessions and how easily the [Armenian National] Congress will achieve execution of its plans, I cannot say. But the keen eye can’t not notice the sequence of successful steps,” he said.

Asked whether the human rights campaigner’s keen eye doesn’t notice a hidden deal between the government and opposition, Harutyunyan said: “My keen eye doesn’t see hidden internal actions, but sees overt acts. In history, there are many instances of dialogue between the authorities and opposition, but as a rule, they are hidden — that’s what we all fear. But I don’t see this here. I more so see public actions.”