Could be fatal for Armenia
Leader of the "Heritage" party Raffi Hovhannisyan is going to follow-up very closely on the upcoming Yerevan city council elections, including the speeches and approaches of opposition and pro-government candidates. Raffi Hovhannisyan will make a selection with conscience and under guidance of the «Heritage» party's exhort.
"A1+" asked Hovhannisyan if the "Heritage" is going to take part in the campaign of the opposition, that is, the Armenian National Congress. In response to that, Hovhannisyan said that the party administration has not made such a decision, yet party members are free to decide for themselves.
Why doesn't "Heritage" trust its seats in the electoral commission to the ANC? In response, Hovhannisyan said:
"We value the importance of the democratic electoral process and must respond to the imperative for public control. We are also part of the opposition and are not the only one. We will fulfill our civil duty in terms of securing the control by calling on the public to support the opposition on May 31," said the party leader.
Hovhannisyan weighed in on the the Turkish-Armenian "football diplomacy" and drew comparisons with the Chinese-American "ping-pong" diplomacy.
"This is the continuation of the Chinese-American precedent. The only difference is that it was symmetrical, but the Turkish-Armenian diplomacy is asymmetrical. One side has lost its lands, while the other continues its disavowal. I don't know what the Armenian authorities are putting on the agenda, but we have to make it symmetrical again," said Hovhannisyan.
He stated that the signing of a document with Turkey may be fatal for Armenia and called on Armenian authorities to understand the gravity of the situation.
"I think that the time is near. The prime minister of our neighboring country has made a statement and Armenia must try to keep its balance. It is clear for everyone that we can do that in the case of having legitimate authorities whom the people trust," said Raffi Hovhannisyan.
The restoration of faith and trust is needed in order to establish democracy, release political prisoners and secure freedom of speech in the country.
Will U.S. President Barack Obama say the word "genocide" in his April 24 address? Raffi Hovhannisyan had this to say to that:
"We lost a homeland, an entire civilization. It would be nice if the U.S. President used the term. But who am I to ask, beg or threaten him to use it. It is up to him to decide as a representative of American integrity. I think that he should also think about that," said Raffi Hovhannisyan.
