Aram Manukyan: "Armenian authorities are in a very unstable position"

A member of the 'Armenian National Congress' parliamentary faction, Aram Manukyan, spoke about how strong the Armenian authorities are, why they are still in power and how the population views them in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza.

- Recently, we can see more anti-presidential and anti-government sentiments, caused by dissatisfaction with the policy pursued by the authorities in Armenia and in the international arena. In your opinion, how strong are the Armenian authorities today?

- Actually, this dissatisfaction did not begin yesterday, it has been accumulating for a long time, but right now it is simply much more noticeable, it has finally come to the surface. Our country has been outraged by the behavior of the authorities for a long time, and now, when the situation is even worse, there is more resentment towards President Serzh Sargsyan and his team, the Republican Party of Armenia. It is understandable why it happened in this way: the current results of the President's his party are absolutely clear – internal political results, economic results, military results – there are only fails in all areas. That is why everyone understands that the Armenian authorities are in a very unstable position right now.

- How does the population view the authorities?

- Extremely negatively. Some people openly fight against them, others just wait, some people hold rallies, but no one among the population supports the Republican Party. There is a negative consensus in all parts of society regarding the current authorities, and no party or public organization supports the policy pursued by the ruling party.

- Why are they still in power?

- They manage to stay in power using the police and other power structures, using corruption and plundering – they protect themselves this way. They have absolutely no moral support, only force and influence, thanks to which they are still in power. But the parliamentary elections are near, there is hope that they will be held normally. In order to do this, it is necessary to make certain changes to the electoral law, a bill is already prepared, and I hope we will have enough time to do this in the parliamentary sessions. We are supported by a huge number of political forces and people in the civic sphere, as well as international organizations, and if the electoral law will be changed, then the conditions will appear for a peaceful change of power, from which all the people will benefit.

- Does that mean that power may change in Armenia?

- I hope so. We will try to turn this hope into reality, I hope we will be able to do it peacefully with the help of elections. Actually, international organizations, public organizations, political circles and civic society – everyone wants to change Armenia for the better. There is a desire, and now we are working to make it come true. A change of the authorities in the country through parliamentary elections would be an ideal option for the country.