“A list of promises or a program?”: what does the Armenian opposition offer to society
Opposition program and proposals
The opposition of Armenia continues street actions demanding the resignation of the prime minister and, finally, announced its program – what it intends to do after the change of power. In particular, the opposition considers it necessary to form a transitional government, which will work for only 1.5 years, after which “free and independent parliamentary elections will be held.”
The provisional government’s priorities are to ensure the security of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, “containment of the Azerbaijani-Turkish aggression”, and the return of Armenian prisoners from Azerbaijan.
The active phase of the opposition’s struggle for a change of power began on May 1, when they had already taken their supporters to the streets. The demand for the resignation of the prime minister is connected with Nikol Pashinyan’s statement that the international community expects the Armenian side to “lower the bar on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh”. The opposition regarded it as the consent of the Armenian authorities to the status of NK within Azerbaijan.
After that, the prime minister announced that no “secret” plan could be discussed at the negotiating table, it could not be implemented “behind the backs” of the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh. But this did not stop the movement of the opposition.
The struggle is led by two opposition parliamentary factions – Hayastan (Armenia) and I Have the Honor. Behind both are the former presidents of Armenia, known for their pro-Russian orientation. Hayastan is associated with Robert Kocharyan. The I Have the Honor bloc also includes the Republican Party of Armenia, whose leader is Serzh Sargsyan. Experts believe that the opposition movement is not gaining a critical number of supporters precisely because society rejects the return of the “former”, despite dissatisfaction with the policies of the current authorities.
- Protests in Armenia continue – what will happen next?
- “Peace agenda is not an agenda of defeat” – position of Armenian authorities on status of NK
- Protesters in Armenia up pressure for PM Pashinyan’s resignation. Video
Bet on “clean professionals”
The opposition announced its program of action during a regular rally at the France Square, where supporters of the movement have been living in tents since the night of May 1. The plans of the opposition after the change of power were announced by the vice-speaker of the parliament, representative of the Hayastan faction Ishkhan Saghatelyan:
“Artsakh, and the independence of Armenia are under threat because of the anti-national, failed government. We must correct this situation. Is it possible? Yes. How? The way out is to build a strong Armenia along the progressive chain of security, solidarity, and stability. To build a strong Armenia, we must first eliminate these.”
After the resignation of the current prime minister, the opposition intends to “form a government that
- will ensure the deterrence of the Turkish-Azerbaijani aggression,
- modernizes the joint security system of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh,
- will ensure security with the involvement of strategic partner countries in this process and thanks to international diplomacy of a new quality,
- restore the Armenian armed forces,
- ensure the return of Armenian prisoners of war, hostages and other detainees from Azerbaijan,
- reaffirm the commitment of the Republic of Armenia to guarantee the security and the right of the people of Artsakh to self-determination,
- exclude any status of Artsakh within Azerbaijan,
- exclude the provision of a corridor to a hostile country [Azerbaijan] under the guise of unblocking communications at the expense of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Armenia,
- rule out any agreement that would cast doubt on the fact of the Armenian genocide in Ottoman Turkey.”
After Pashinyan’s resignation, according to the opposition’s program, a government of national accord should be formed, where there will be no “people whom society does not accept.”
Only after the change of power, the opposition is ready to publish the names of 250 specialists who will help “lead Armenia out of the crisis.” The opposition also promises that the interim government will also form a group of professionals for negotiations with Azerbaijan and Turkey.
Expert commentary
According to political scientist Suren Surenyants, the opposition presented the people with a list of wishes and promises rather than a program. As an example, he cites the paragraph on “the exclusion of any status of Artsakh within Azerbaijan”:
“Well said, but the programmers obviously forgot about the 44-day war of 2020, its consequences, the November 9 statement [a document signed by the Prime Minister of Armenia and the presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia on the cessation of hostilities in Karabakh]. The imperative “to exclude any status of Artsakh within Azerbaijan” will make any Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations impossible, because there is no other topic for discussion.”
The political scientist says that he has many questions for the opposition, in particular, how they intend to achieve their unrealistic goals, and which of the international partners will support their agenda.
“The opposition did not bother to think about these issues, or they thought Armenian society was so primitive that it could be fed with the thesis: the removal of Pashinyan is enough to achieve the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh”, Suren Surenyants told JAMnews.
According to the political scientist, there is no real agenda at the heart of the opposition’s theses, the declared action plan does not represent a political program:
“A politician differs from a romantic in that he must base everything he says on an effective mechanism. I didn’t see it.”
As for the involvement of 250 professionals in the process of “saving the motherland”, which was announced on the square by one of the leaders of the movement, Ishkhan Saghatelyan, the expert says:
“Hiding their names is like mocking society. There are two options. Either there are “rejected characters” on this list, and the opposition is afraid that the publication of their names will reduce the number of people gathered in the square, or, which I consider very likely, there is such a squabble in the opposition elite that they cannot come to any consensus “.
Opposition program and proposals
