“The authorities are ready for dialogue”
Speaker of the Republican Party of Armenia Eduard Sharmazanov doesn't share the ANC's view that Serzh Sargsyan fulfilled one of Levon Ter-Petrosyan's 3 demands when he spoke about the events of 1 March 2008 and the revelation of the 10 murders.
"It is clear that the ANC had to put it that way. In general, the political opposition's objective is to criticize the authorities or raise its reputation among the society. The fact remains that the tragic events of March 1 and other events taking place in the judicial system have been in the center of Serzh Sargsyan's attention ever since he took office as RA President on April 9, 2008," Republican Party speaker Eduard Sharmazanov told "A1+".
He doesn't accept that Serzh Sargsyan's consultation was a confession that the events of March 1 remain unrevealed, but proof that Serzh Sargsyan is concerned with the issue.
As far as Levon Ter-Petrosyan's three primary demands are concerned, Sharmazanov mentioned that the Republican Party of Armenia has always supported civilized dialogue and solutions to issues through cooperation. "We have always been against force because dialogue is the best version of democracy. We perceive Levon Ter-Petrosyan's statement that the ANC rejects kickboxing and accepts chess as his approval of Serzh Sargsyan's calls for dialogue for the past three years," said Eduard Sharmazanov.
Speaking on behalf of the party, Eduard Sharmazanov stressed once again that the Republican Party of Armenia is ready for dialogue. As for the fact that the authorities have not fully fulfilled two of Ter-Petrosyan's three demands, that is, the release of all political prisoners and reinstatement of the right to holding rallies at Freedom Square, Eduard Sharmazanov said that one of the most important issues on the Armenian authorities' political agenda is democratic reforms that must have their logical end.
Touching upon ANC representative Gagik Jhangiryan's statement according to which the only topic for the ANC and the authorities to discuss is special presidential and parliamentary elections, Eduard Sharmazanov said that there is no issue of special elections on the political agenda.
"I don't think there is any reason or prerequisite for holding special elections in the country. If we followed that logic, we would have seen several special elections in Armenia after the events of March 1. We will move toward the subsequent elections."
