David Stepanyan, Yerevan. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
The second President of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, appears to be making traditional comments on major internal and foreign political events related to Armenia in interviews to his own news agency. The ex-president could not pass the presidential elections scheduled for February 18 in silence either. Kocharyan justified his decision not to participate in the elections by citing three main factors. He said that he cannot fight against his long-time collaborator from Karabakh. "I have chosen the current president as my successor on my own some time ago, and his desire to run for a second term is understandable," Kocharyan said.
This position of the former president seems quite logical, given that his successor, Serzh Sargsyan, who was "chosen" by Kocharyan, is the direct successor of his political line. It was Kocharyan who laid the foundation of a criminal-oligarchic system of government in Armenia back in 1998. In the years of Kocharyan's rule this system subjected almost all spheres of social life and the economy of the country to itself. The whole country was conditionally divided into spheres of influence of governors appointed by the President, who was the main oligarch of Armenia. This policy brought convicts, traffickers, rapists and other criminals into the Armenian political and economic establishment. Quite naturally, with the blessing of Kocharyan, Sargsyan who succeeded him in 2008 had no choice but to continue the proud tradition that had been established in 1998. Through electoral technologies and methods of influence on the Armenian electorate, the established system of government became unopposed. Thus, fair elections are directly associated with being at the disposal of oligarchs. So Kocharyan's first explanation is an integral part of the contractual system of the government, and as such is clear.
"The situation in which three presidents are fighting for power being extremely unpleasant and harmful to the country" was named by Kocharyan as his second reason not to run for the presidency. This explanation is quite crafty, given that the first president, 68-year-old Levon Ter-Petrosyan, refused to participate in the elections because he believed they would not be fair. The disappointing inaction of Ter-Petrosian during the tragic events of March 1st 2008 largely diminished his authority. It is known that on the night of March 1, when his supporters marched in the streets challenging the victory of Serzh Sargsyan in the presidential elections, Ter-Petrosyan was sound asleep in his residence. Later, Ter-Petrosyan tried to calm all the protesters urging the "storming of 26 Baghramyan Avenue" [the presidential residence - VC]. By doing so, he transformed the ANC into a non-radical party and discredited himself in the eyes of the people. At the same time, only a very ignorant person can consider an open confrontation between Sargsyan and Kocharyan possible.
The turning of the search for a political compromise in Armenia into small-scale political bargaining was named by Kocharyan as the third reason not to run. He said that political competition does not exist among Armenian politicians and contributes to popular apathy. "We know that without competition authority can sleep soundly, but people tend to live poorly." It should be noted that society became inactive with the help of Levon Ter-Petrosyan and Kocharyan himself, as well as Gagik Tsarukyan, an oligarch who is considered to be fully under the influence of Kocharyan. When they refused to participate in the upcoming presidential elections, the elections themselves, even despite the participation of eight candidates, turned into a farce. As a result of these events, only one actual candidate remained - Serzh Sargsyan.
However, Kocharyan mentioned that the above given three factors are not of a fundamental nature, but substantial enough from an emotional and ethical point of view. According to Kocharyan, the fundamental factors still do not add optimism. He talked about emigration and the low birth rate. Commenting on the growth of the economy in 2012, he questioned the sustainability of this growth by mentioning the decrease in investment and the increase in the debt. Kocharyan said that even with the expected GDP growth of 7% in 2012, Armenia will not be able to reach the level of 2008.
The Vice-Speaker, Republican Edward Sharmazanov, as a representative of the authorities reacted to Kocharyan's interview with extreme caution. He told VK that "the ex-president has the right to express his opinions, agree and disagree with the political line of the current authorities."At the same time he stressed that Kocharyan's opinion was not new, since he had voiced it periodically in recent years.
However, commenting on the reasons that forced Kocharyan to withdraw from the upcoming presidential election, Sharmazanov said that he is used to evaluating a more actual political situation. Finally, he stated that the only front-runner in the elections has been and will be Sergzh Sargsyan. Raffi Hovannisyan, on the other hand, the secretary general of the Heritage party Stepan Safarian, said that Kocharyan's interview can be regarded as a political gesture demonstrating his will to become Prime Minister and to return to politics.
