Radicalization of Armenian opposition

The Armenian National Congress (ANC) - an extra parliamentary opposition political movement - sped up its work with the coming of autumn. Its schedule of future activities was voiced at the rally of September 17: a demonstration on Independence Day, September, 21, a
rally on the 1st of October, the day of the PACE monitoring commission conference and a major demonstration on the 15th of October. Yerevan will host an EU Forum - "In the name of democracy" on October 19-20, and the ANC is also planning to organize demonstrations and rallies during the event.
Aram Manukyan, the leader of the 'Armenian national movement', a major opposition party-member of the ANC, declared that the opposition is not going to give any more breaks or time-outs to the government. Previously the opposition gave the government a free hand in the
issues of Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenian-Turkish relations. However, the demonstration of September 17 showed the radicalization of the ANC's position: ex-president Levon Ter-Petrossian, now the opposition leader, said that any document on the Nagorno-Karabakh problem has no legal power and can not become the final act without the signature of Karabakh representatives. Moreover, the ANC named another condition for opening a dialogue with the government: earlier the opposition demanded only the release of political convicts, but now they also expect an investigation of the killings of March 1.
The readiness of the opposition for decisive actions is also indicated by their intention to win back Liberty Square, which has been considered a symbol of national unity in the struggle for justice, liberty and democracy since 1988. The government tries to prevent any opposition rallies on the square as such an action would give new hope and inspiration for all opposition forces and might be a start for major changes in the composition of the ruling body.
One of the main factors of people's discontent is the grave economical situation, caused not only by the world crisis, but also by the predominance of oligarchic-clan monopolies. This stability is also unattainable due to the ongoing political strive within the country, resulting in major collisions like the events of  the rally on March,1, when at least 10 people were killed and 200 injured. This tragic event triggered the final split between the opposition and the government and didn't leave any space for a 'third party'.
The latest scandals in the Armenian Army add fuel to the fire: 10 non-combat casualties were registered over the last two month.
Apart from the social unrest, there is another factor contributing to the rise of the opposition. The ruling coalition in its turn is also breaking from within by a number of conflicts, weakening the governmental structure. According to non-disclaimed information of the opposition media, the ruling Republican party suspects the leader of 'Prosperous Armenia', oligarch Gagik Tsarukyan, of being over-loyal to the former president, Robert Kocharyan. Mr Tsarukyan in coalition with the Parliament Speaker Ovik Abramyan tried to become an independent
force within the government. In its turn the ruling body has taken measures to prevent it by launching a series of legal checks on the property and enterprises of these politicians.
The third factor of the radicalization of the ANC's position is the influence of external political forces. The opposition claims that the world's governments continue to support the current government of Armenia in their own geo-political interests. Mr Ter-Petrossian pointed out that the USA continues to support Serzh Sargsyan even though it has recognized  the possible illegitimacy of his elections two and a half years ago. Another major factor in Armenian politics is the Russian position. According to Mr Manukyan, Russia is not confident in the current Armenian government.
The ANC believes that right now the government no longer possesses the support of world powers. The Congress is the only political force within the country that strives for early  parliamentary and presidential elections and has a chance of winning them.

Susanna Petrosyan, Yerevan. Exclusively for VK.