Armenia: now a “two-president country”?

Former Armenian president Robert Kocharyan gave an interview to the ‘MediaMax’ press-agency, stating that the tragic events of March 1, 2008, were a provocation designed to benefit the opposition forces, who now blame the government for it. The ex-President said that no order was given to open fire on civilians and those 10 people died not during the rally, but during uncontrolled street riots. According to Mr Kocharyan that was either a tragic accident or a conscious provocation aimed at compromising the government.

The Armenian opposition party National Congress blames those deaths on Robert  Kocharyan, acting President at that moment. According to the Congress, Kocharyan’s victory in the 2008 elections was a fraud and the use of military force to stop a peaceful civil demonstration was unconstitutional.

Usually the opposition doesn’t react to any of Kocharyan’s statements since his retirement, but this one was commented on by its leaders in a sarcastic way. Levon Zubaryan, the Congress’ coordinator, pointed out that in a way it’s a positive statement, as it demonstrates that Mr Kocharyan realizes that the events of the 1st March are not forgotten by Armenians or by European human rights protection organizations and that is why he’s trying to deny his obvious responsibility.

The current authorities’ representative, however, responded that it is unlikely that Robert Kocharyan is trying to deny his responsibility, as everything that happens in a country at such a level is without doubt the president’s responsibility.

Experts also indicate that this statement of Robert Kocharyan is unlikely to cause any political changes within the country. Some of the experts, however, indicate that this might be yet another attempt by Kocharyan to return to big politics.

True or not, this doesn’t explain why Kocharyan returned to this painful topic aftet three years of silence. There could be several reasons: firstly, Kocharyan might be troubled by Sarkosyan’s decision to review the materials of the March 1 case. Secondly, he might be under the influence of the recent documentary by Shirinyan about the event. Of course, the interview can’t be explained just by Kocharyan's emotional state: some of its phrases could be possibly considered as certain massages to the current government.

For example, Kocharyan implied that he consulted Sarksyan, the current President, who was Armenian PM back then, on the measures necessary to stop the riots. So maybe Kocharyan is trying to blackmail the President?..

According to experts, the government’s response to such a threat can be seen in the wide media-broadcasting of the interview: the emphasis in these broadcasts was put on Kocharyan denying his responsibility for the events of 2008, and that is certain to cause public irritation. Kocharyan’s recent actions didn’t work out well for him: they caused the opposition Congress and the government to open up a dialogue, thus reducing Kocharyan’s influence over politics. Some experts say that Armenia is slowly turning into a ‘two-president country’ (the first President Ter-Petrosyan and Sarksyan), instead of a ‘three-president country’ (this expression implies Kocharyan as well).

Susanna Petrosyan, Yerevan, exclusively to VK.