Garik Avagyan, the chairman of the “Justice and Democracy’ public organization, tells VK about the main events of social and political life in Armenia and about possible trends in these fields for 2012.
- What were, in your opinion, the most important political events of the passing year in Armenia?
- I believe that the most important thing is the 2011 is the year of civic society formation in Armenia. newly formed civic society manifested itself in numerous protest actions and social initiatives, such as “We won’t be silent”, “Killer-free army” and so on. Governmental structures can’t pass everything with silence anymore; they have to give accounts to the public. Some youth eco-oriented initiatives that helped, for example, save the Trchkan waterfall from hydro plant construction plans. The number of action group is few for now, but it grows. Their influence on public opinion and home politics is also growing.
- What is the final score in the 2011 conflict between power and opposition?
- The conflict carries on. The number of opposition supporters is growing due to adverse socio-economic conditions. And it made the authorities turn from brutal force to dialog with opposition. However, there is no guarantee that they won’t turn back to brutal methods.
- How would you characterize the situation in the opposition camp? You said that its position consolidated due to the increase of protest mood among general population.
- Current deplorable level of socio-economic development is Armenia plays in the hands of the opposition. The scale of public protest is growing. The sense of fear created by the events of March, 1, 2008 has faded away, and that also helps the opposition to gather rallies. The opposition is also better organized now: those who didn’t entirely agree with Armenian National Congress’ leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan formed a new party – the “Free democrats” party. So the ANC is left with most loyal followers. This process is only natural: each opposition movement at first gathers all people who don’t agree with official policies but in fact have different political sympathies, and then they part their ways.
- And what can you say about the situation within the ruling coalition?
- First of all, the “Lawful State” party drained all its potential and will have to leave the coalition. As for the ruling Republican Party of Armenia and its coalition partner “Prosperous Armenia”, some say that there is an ongoing rivalry between them. However, if the “Prosperous Armenia” tries to play on its own, it will be crushed by its powerful rival. In fact, “Prosperous Armenia” has only one actual role in the Parliament – to create an impression that there is a multi-party system in Armenia.
- What was the role of recent governmental reshuffles?
- It didn’t change anything; it was not a systematic change. Those who were fired were guilty of nothing but lack of personal loyalty to Serge Sargsyan. The president also is pressured by external forces, such as the US, to get rid of criminal elements within the state machine. But the real struggle against crime is substituted by mere imitation.
- So how could you characterize the political year of 2011 in general?
- There were no interesting political events, as far as the official government is concerned, it was stagnant.
- What are the top priorities of 2012?
- Our main tasks are to prevent the criminal structures from merging with administrative structures. We also have to fight monopolies that rob our people. Unfortunately, we can’t hope for the good-will cooperation of the ruling party, but I hope that the public society will be able to influence the government. It is possible that the next year will be the year of civic consolidation.
Interview by Susanna Petrosyan, Yerevan. Exclusively to VK
