Sarsgyan declares war on opposition

/By AzerNews/

By Mushvig Mehdiyev

Political tension in Armenia is now on the verge of flaring into an open fight amidst the boiling confrontation between the ruling and opposition forces.

Popular opposition leader Gagik Tsarukyan's threats against the government are gaining momentum on these days, facing a counterattack from the rulers.

At the meeting of the council of the ruling Republican Party on February 12, President Serzh Sargsyan ordered to dismiss oppositional Prosperous Armenia Party's foregoer Tsarukyan from the National Security Council.

"As a political figure, Tsarukyan is an evil for Armenia and he has vicious political ambitions. It is a tragedy," Sargsyan slammed the opposition leader.

Tsarukyan's party represents itself as an alternative political force in Armenia, which seeks a nationwide unanimity to urge the incumbent regime to reckon with the public opinion in the country and to recognize its obligations before the people.

It even hints to early parliamentary and presidential elections, sending shivers down the government's spine.

National Security Council is not a cinema hall depending on personal desire, Sargsyan warned Tsarukyan of his responsibilities as a member of the NSC.

"Tsarukyan attended only four meetings out of NSC's 145 gatherings in 2013 and 2014."

Sargsyan claimed that he has nothing to do with Tsarukyan as a citizen and a businessman of Armenia. "My words concern only with political or pseudo-political appearance of Gagik Tsarukyan."

Meanwhile, following Tsarukyan's recent visit to Moscow and his presence at a major gathering earlier this month, PAP issued a statement on the outcomes of these two events. It blamed the authorities for the current dangerous disorder in Armenia.

Prosperous Armenia Party led by Tsarukyan is the second major political faction in the Armenian parliament with 36 seats out of 131.

The party was part of the ruling coalition in Armenia from 2007 to 2012. But now, given the deteriorating political and economic atmosphere in the post-Soviet country, Tsarukyan has introduced his party as a main alternative political force that defies the ruling regime.

The incumbent authorities is too clever by half, having a critical reputation among the local political and social circles. Sargsyan's skills as a political leader have been questioned by many Armenians following his participation in the Eurasian Economic Union's summit in Moscow last December, where he avoided to defend Armenia's interests.

Unlike Sargsyan, Tsarukyan is doing more to gain the trust of people in Armenia.

In addition to his political aspirations to lead a nationwide movement, he provides financial aid to people mainly in rural regions of the country in an effort to achieve a social support for his moves.

Tsarukyan is also in an intensive touch with Armenia's former president Robert Kocharyan, whom he met recently in Moscow. Some experts believe that he is going to make a good ground for Kocharyan with his political and business relations to help the latter realize his reported comeback to power in Armenia.