While some MPs of the “Armenia” faction give up their parliamentary mandate without any understandable explanation and announce the decision to stop their political activities as a sign of protest,
while others find some excuses-explanations for keeping their mandate and others, the question is whether, in the end, what happens in that faction remains open. In May, when the opposition initiated the Resistance movement, it simultaneously boycotted the NA sessions and promised to return to the parliament only with its own agenda, presumably to initiate the dismissal of Nikol Pashinyan. Meanwhile, two weeks ago, the opposition returned to the parliament, which was incomprehensible to a significant section of society, and unacceptable to some members of the “Armenia” faction.
The only logical explanation for the return of the Armenia faction to the parliament is the conclusion of some kind of agreement between the government and the opposition, more specifically, Nikol Pashinyan and Robert Kocharyan. And what could be the subject of the agreement and what should have forced the parties to reach such an agreement?
Nikol Pashinyan and his team, who constantly declare that Armenia is a bastion of democracy, faced a situation that disproved that claim every day. The Armenian parliament had turned into a one-party body, where laws are passed just like in North Korea, without any discussion or disagreement. Even in the Russian parliament, which has an authoritarian government system, there is a so-called “systemic opposition” that disagrees with or criticizes the government on some issues, creating an apparent plurality.
No matter how much the countries and institutions promoting the values of Western democracy turn a blind eye to the various manifestations of Pashinyan’s dictatorship, they still demanded that Pashinyan return the opposition to the parliament, especially since the threat of depriving the opposition of its mandates or opening a criminal case against all oppositionists and sending them all to prisons was not international support. gets Pashinyan needed to return the opposition to the parliament and restore the democratic order in the country, and he actually achieved what he wanted. And what did the opposition get?
After the appointment of businessman Ruben Vardanyan as Minister of State of Artsakh, information spread that Vardan Oskanyan, who held the position of Foreign Minister of Armenia during the 10 years of Robert Kocharian’s presidency and is now one of the representatives of Kocharian’s team, may be appointed Artsakh’s Foreign Minister. It is possible that the Pashinyan-Kocharian agreement may refer to Artsakh itself. Kocharyan refuses to actively fight against Pashinyan’s rule in Armenia and returns the “Hayastan” faction to the parliament, instead Pashinyan will not mind if some representatives of Kocharyan’s team get positions in Artsakh.
Those arrangements can also affect individual deputies of the “Armenia” faction. The authorities have initiated criminal cases against various MPs of the opposition and are threatening them with criminal prosecution. Some of them are threatened with expropriation, declaring their property illegal. It is natural that there will be some mitigations as a result of these agreements. criminal prosecutions will be stopped, illegal property will be legalized.
The Pashinyan-Kocharian agreement has not only internal, but also external beneficiaries, and there may be external mediators and guarantors in the matter of making these agreements. In particular, Moscow and Paris may be interested in making these agreements. The French Senate, with its decision and President Macron’s statements, helped abort the Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiations under the auspices of the EU, which Russian President Putin called the “Washington option” on October 27. In fact, now the “Russian version” remains on the agenda, which implies the freezing of the settlement of the Artsakh problem with the preservation of the current status quo. With Ruben Vardanyan becoming the Minister of State and the possible appointment of Vardan Oskanyan as Foreign Minister, the freezing of the Artsakh issue becomes more realistic.
It is natural that there would be MPs within the “Armenia” faction, for whom it is unacceptable to make even situational agreements with Pashinyan’s government, to refuse the public promise to free Armenia from that government at any cost, or even to postpone it temporarily. They are the ones who will announce the decision to give up the mandate. The others will comfort themselves with the formula “politics is the art of the possible” and will continue their activities within the framework of that principle, continuing to criticize the government on various issues and ensuring pluralism in the parliament.
Meanwhile, the fact that the part of the society with opposition sentiments will no longer have any expectations or expectations from the active opposition is now a reality. Deputies of the “Hayastan” faction also admit that they need their mandate only to protect the interests of Artsakh and prevent the current government from making anti-Armenian decisions regarding Artsakh. A very important and necessary approach.
Avetis Babajanyan
Ամբողջական հոդվածը կարող եք կարդալ այս հասցեով՝ : https://hraparak-am.translate.goog/post/0b8e9aeca85a23967ca4c372d93b8283?_x_tr_sl=hy&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=nui,sc
© 2008 – 2021 «Հրապարակ օրաթերթ»