Ex-president of Armenia Robert Kocharyan has announced that he plans to establish a new political party and go into opposition.
He said the name of the party is not a principle issue. "The approaches are principle. I can see a significant vacuum in the opposition field and I believe it has to be filled for the benefit of the country," Kocharyan said in the interview to RIA Novosti, noting that he has no wish to get a high post.
Speaking of his unwillingness to take part in the upcoming early parliamentary elections, the former president explained he simply had no time to prepare for it.
"I have to form a party from scratch, not restore what existed once. Additionally, I would like to participate in the elections with a new, refreshed team. What do you usually do first when you want to gather a team? You look at the people you know and worked with," Kocharyan explained.
He believes that in the current situation he needs to involve new people, young, talented and energetic. "Of course I have to invite some members of my old team, whom I know well. But I also have to rely on the new generation,and it requires times," Kocharyan added.
Ex-mayor of Yerevan Vahagn Khachatryan, speaking with Vestnik Kavkaza, noted that Robert Kocharyan is thus trying to protect himself from the prosecution of March 1, 2008 events. "All his latest statements that he is returning to politics and plans to create a new party are made only for protection from investigators, because Kocharyan understands well that he is responsible for the March 1, 2008 events in the first place. He wants to make himself look persecuted for political beliefs. Meanwhile, this criminal case has no political motive. Kocharyan knew what was happening in Yerevan in those days, and if not himself, then he gave orders to shoot people," he stressed.
Kocharyan does not care that his party will not have support from the population. "Apparently, he counts on his money, although Kocharyan’s personality is not perceived positively either in the political environment or among the population. I don’t know how he will build a policy when he has to participate in events, meet people - he never engaged in open politics, always being in the shadows. Now, when there is an open political struggle and public political life in Armenia, Kocharyan will achieve no profit with his image and habits," Vahagn Khachatryan concluded.
