ArmInfo.In an interview with ArmInfo, Hovik Aghazaryan of the Civil Contract parliamentary faction said that by trying to emulate their tactics in the protests aimed at changing power in Armenia in the spring of 2018, the opposition forces are committing a blunder.
"Similar results cannot be achieved through imitating others' actions. The 2018 march from Gyumri to Yerevan was organized to inform our society of the problems in our country. Only after the public heard their opinion, were actions taken in Yerevan aimed at changing power. But what is the opposition informing the public about now? About the Artsakh problem remaining unsettled? It is common knowledge. So the opposition has to broaden its agenda, with others issues on it beside Artsakh," he said.
No doubt, some people are sincere, convinced that the authorities are committing blunders. However, given the immense fortunes amassed by the movement leaders Artur Vanetsyan, Serzh Sargsyan and Robert Kocharyan, the sincerity and honesty of the protest movement is generally highly questionable.
The opposition erroneously believes that in 2018 Nikol Pashinyan and his supporters succeeded in changing power in Armenia by employing certain techniques alone, and similar results can be achieve by merely emulating it. "But the point is that it was not a mere technique. Rather, it was just one of our coordinated steps. In 2018, we did not give our supporters money to pay even their fares while we offered them to come to Yerevan if they wished to participate in the nationwide movement. And the fact of the opposition forces giving out money to protesters now is at least evidence of their not understanding the real situation now," Mr Aghazaryan said.
"I do not think employing such methods could cause our team to be removed from power. The ruling party is in fact strong and cohesive. And such a team is hard to break. As regards public sentiments, many citizens, no doubt, do not share our political views and other beliefs. Many of them believe our foreign policy steps are wrong. And it is only natural. But the society is generally supportive of our policies, and we could see it from the early parliamentary elections last summer," Mr Aghazaryan said.