From: Justin Burke (JBurke@sorosny.org)
Date: Thu Apr 17 2003 - 17:06:09 EDT
Excerpt from M. Azatyan report by Armenian newspaper Orran on 16 April
"Grigor Arutyunyan: The Justice bloc will win the majority in the
National Assembly, if..."
An interview with the head of [People's Party leader] Stepan
Demirchyan's headquarters, Grigor Arutyunyan.
[Orran correspondent] Were you satisfied with the hearings on Stepan
Demirchyan's case [appeal to deem the latest presidential elections in
Armenia invalid] at the Constitutional Court?
[Grigor Arutyunyan] Yes, I was, for we had an opportunity to present our
position in detail. We were not pleased with the position of the
authorities and lack of public discussions. Even in this case they were
using black PR - they claimed that we were artificially delaying the
hearings in order to gain time. Whereas we have always been ready to
work. We have presented so many facts that several elections can be
deemed invalid on their basis.
[Correspondent] Did the respondent refute the facts presented by you?
[Arutyunyan] No, it did not. If the Constitutional Court rules against
the appeal, then this will mean the final establishment of a
dictatorship. In that case we shall probably think about proclaiming
Robert Kocharyan lifetime president, though we have recently been
witness to the destiny of dictators.
[Correspondent] Will the Constitutional Court decision affect the [25
May] parliamentary elections?
[Arutyunyan] Naturally, it will. If the Constitutional Court deems the
results of the presidential elections invalid, in that case we can speak
about an oasis of democracy in the Caucasus.
[Passage omitted: chides some opposition leaders for attending the
president's inauguration ceremony]
[Correspondent] What does the bloc Justice [Armenian opposition's
election alliance] expect from the upcoming parliamentary elections?
[Arutyunyan] Public opinion polls show that today the great majority of
people back the Justice bloc. When the election campaign kicks off, we
will have more opportunities to meet people. I am sure that the Justice
bloc will occupy a particular place in the National Assembly, i.e. it
will win the majority, if pro-government parties listen to the position
of the world community, which is more of an ultimatum, and do not commit
violations.
[Correspondent] How are you going to organize your election campaign?
[Arutyunyan] The same way as during the presidential elections. We will
be meeting people. We do not have any other opportunity because of the
information blockade.
[Correspondent] If the elections are held in accordance with the known
scenario, what consequences will they have for Armenia?
[Arutyunyan] Let me give you an example. Today, the International
Monetary Fund demands that the Armenian authorities repay a 34m-dollar
debt to Turkmenistan. This was something new for me, this was kept
secret until now. As far as I remember, before Kocharyan came to power,
Armenia had repaid its debt to Turkmenistan. This means that those 34m
dollars were accumulated during the past five years. It appears that we
owe 40m dollars for the nuclear power plant, of which 25m dollars have
been repaid and 15m dollars remain to be settled. Where does the money
go? Probably it is spent on the elections. Aid provided to our
government has been reduced. A democratic state is never given aid. I
suppose that the USA gave 1m dollars to Armenia for holding the
presidential elections, and I do not think that they will provide any
aid for the parliamentary elections.
[Passage omitted: about the president's inauguration ceremony]
[Correspondent] How do you treat the authorities' calls for cooperation?
[Arutyunyan] Who should we cooperate with? Where? Let us cooperate, deem
the elections invalid, hold normal elections and we shall cooperate. Let
us fight violations together. This is cooperation, this is the future.
They want the opposition to enter into a dialogue and they say - keep
silent and we shall give you many seats in the National Assembly. We do
not need such a dialogue.
Source: Orran, Yerevan, in Armenian 16 Apr 03 p 3
BBC Mon TCU 160403 sa/ah
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