“It would be a good idea if one of the intelligence officers resigned”
Interview with Lyudmila Harutyunyan
– After the extradition of Ramil Safarov, who axed an Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan many options of Armenia’s response have been discussed. In your opinion what steps should Armenia undertake to resolve the problem?
– Armenia received a new and weighty argument, which can be used by us. Now we are functioning under affect and offense. Everybody wants to join the process and blame the culprits of this hideous criminal case. But one of the threats of this situation is that the amount of limits might be exceeded. If we lose the control over the situation we will lose the weighty argument as well and the new lever of moral pressure. In order to avoid that, the Armenian society must judge with cool nerves and emotions. We should undertake only balanced and effective steps. We should restrain the need of being partisans or “tough guys.” What happened is not our fault. This is a result of insatiable adventurousness of the leader of Azerbaijan, the unsuccessful decision of the Hungarian premier and the government and the result of discrimination. But we enjoy this result because we have reached this at the expense of the life of the Armenian officer and thus turned into an innocent victim. The Armenian society once again felt like a victim and according to enrooted stereotypes it blames the criminals and demands punishment. But in the 21st century time flies very fast. Not much time will pass until the international community will get bored of our accusations and that’s when it will start to say what it really thinks about us. In that case, our speeches will become more material and substantial and will bring the desired results.
– How can the current situation affect the negotiation process of NKR conflict and does it stem from Armenia’s interests?
– Armenia acquired the opportunity to make moral pressure not only on Hungary but also the countries involved in the negotiation process. Fertile conditions were created to transmit positive impulses in the negotiations proceeding within the Minsk Group, which have entered a deadlock. A new situation is created, which will definitely have its decisive influence on the negotiation process if the Armenian government uses the right tactics in it. The thesis that we use during the negotiation process, by which we claim that we cannot live next to Azerbaijan within one state, received extra proofs. Besides that, to me I think it becomes groundless to discuss the return of refugees to their former lands of residence. Now it’s clear that the return of Armenian refugees is principally impossible. They cannot return to a place where there is a big threat for their lives. Therefore, it becomes senseless and immoral to speak about the return of Azerbaijani refugees to Karabakh.
– Taking into account the fact that in the future we have presidential elections, to what extent will these developments affect on Serzh Sargsyan’s rating?
– Armenia failed because of its state body not the President. The failure of the Armenian side is hidden within the National Security Service and Intelligence Service of Armenia. So it wouldn’t be a good idea if one of the intelligence officers of Armenia resigned. I think that the officer of Armenian-Hungarian relations in the diplomatic corps of Armenia should have resigned as well.
– How would you comment on the statement of Serzh Sargsyan that Samvel Balasanyan was nominated a Gyumri mayor by his advice and support and that the Prosperous Armenia is not an enemy party for them?
– Under the current circumstances we should only commend his statement, which was definitely done on behalf of the PAP candidate Samvel Balasanyan. But so far we are talking only about nomination because it is up to the suffered resident of Gyumri to decide who they want to see as mayor of their city. In the meantime, we can also discuss the effects of this statement on the political situation of Armenia. Of course, it causes trouble for the ones, who attempt to present the PAP as an opposition and they would benefit from the collision between the PAP and RPA.
– Do you find it possible for the PAP to join the RPA-Legal State coalition?
– No I don’t see any grounds for such rapid changes. The social base of PAP is quite big and I see the need for the PAP to maneuver as well.
– Will it be beneficial for the opposition to nominate a joint candidate?
– It depends on the strategy formed by the opposition. The opposition parties themselves should decide and calculate which strategy is the most beneficial for them. Let’s not give them any advice and let them decide on their own what’s best for them.
– Do you see any leader within the opposition, who’d be able to unite all the other parties and represent the whole opposition during the presidential elections?
– Unfortunately not. Today Armenia is in anomia, which has drastically hit its reputation, legality and trust. I don’t see the chance of victory of small leaders. But it doesn’t reduce the number of opposition candidates to be running during the presidential race. It is natural for our country where the matter of status is so highlighted. I think we won’t be having a lack of nominated candidates. Some people consider their participation already a victory for them. But I think that small caliber leaders shouldn’t be running in these important elections. It will devalue the process. The high-level elections like this should proceed with big elephants. I don’t exclude this possibility. The moment and time will create such leaders. It is quite possible that political parties may come to an agreement together to endorse a single candidate. But this candidate should be charismatic by all means and speak to the issues of constituencies.
– Does this mean that at this point you don’t see that charismatic leader?
– Unfortunately I don’t because the time of that leader to come up is not mature yet. We still have time to push a leader forward. But time is limited an external powers will ultimately understand that these people cannot come to an agreement and they will pitch their own candidate. At that time we will have to choose between their candidates, and it means their interests as well. In other words, we don’t have much time and we should not lose time.
– What qualifications shall the opposition’s joint candidate have?
– This is a different issue and it should be supported with statistics on preferences of the Armenian voters.
– Do you think that the society wants the opposition to unite?
– Our society likes to see strong powers united. But unfortunately the results of all local level elections are directed not by voters but bribed voters and corrupt electoral system.
– What will be the impact of local government elections on presidential election?
– Local government elections have minor impact on presidential election. Communities are torn away from each other, so there cannot be good elections. Elections are won by representatives of larger clans. One should be naïve to believe that honesty and the society can play a role in local government elections. Here it is more about the government and adjacent clans, their financial power. Anyway, small community heads have great influence on presidential elections. The winning clan may recruit them in their team and change their mind to support their candidate. The winning clan can also pay all expenses. This is the reason why the clans that lose local government elections, usually lose presidential election as well.
– What is the reason of the opposition’s passive role in the local government elections?
– They know the reality well. The winning clans in communities are standing behind the community leaders. People that are not in their groups have no chances to win and the opposition knows this very well. The authorities are working very well in small communities and community heads depend on their wish. Even if a villager is with the opposition, he cannot dare to speak about it loudly. This is the main reason why opposition powers do not rely on community heads.
