Armenian rulers may need helmet, shield soon

/By AzerNews/

By Mushvig Mehdiyev

The Armenian authorities may need to wear helmets and take shields in a very near future given the opposition leader's solemn pledge to scourge them.

Opposition forces and ruling elite in the post-Soviet country have pushed all limits to put behind their positions and clash in an open battlefield. Gagik Tsarukyan, one of the three influential opposition leaders, earlier hinted to the fierce political atmosphere in Armenia.

Tsarukyan, the Prosperous Armenia party's foregoer, convened a large meeting in Yerevan to discuss the existing problems in Armenia.

The meeting discussed a plea by Tsarukyan, who promised to arrange unprecedented protest rallies in the capital city Yerevan and all districts of the country very soon.

He recalled 12 demands that have been submitted to the government last year.

"Why 12 demands? Our country has 112 problems today and we tried to put forward only 12 of the worst ones. Any delay in resolving the problems risks a fraught social explosion," Tsarukyan said.

Opposition troika of the Prosperous Armenia, Heritage and Armenian National Congress parties have earlier delivered a list of 12 demands to the government, urging it to review and fulfill all of them.

The demands included the calls on the government to cut taxes for small businesses, considerably increase subsidies to farmers, avoid rise in public transport fares, eliminate economic monopolies and etc.

“If the government denies public sufferings, the public has just one thing left to do - demand new presidential and parliamentary elections. People must remember that no position is forever, and if the country’s development and the country’s security needs a power change, it must take place,” Tsarukyan said.

Tsarukyan believes that the Gyumri incident, border tension, unbearable inflation, instability of the financial market have brought the society on the verge of huge breakdowns. He said it was time for a new leadership in Armenia.

"The country needs new rulers with higher knowledge. I don't want to exchange the same people. Educated and literate citizens should not leave our country, but become a driving force," he said.

Disillusionment with the existing government is on the rise in Armenia. The Founding Parliament, an opposition movement, has organized a large rally to seek a power change in the country just few days ago.

The dissent accuse the country's leadership of sacrificing Armenia's sovereignty for their own interests, exampling their bow to join the Russia-led Eurasian Economic union following a steady pressures from Russia. Moreover, the incumbent regime is a target of criticism because of its revulsion in regard to European integration.