HAK representative Levon Zurabyan answered reporters’ questions at a press conference held today. Here’s a sampling of what he said.

If war breaks out, will you call on the people to participate or will you continue to make demands of the government?

We are a responsible force and national interests are of paramount importance. We will participate in the war effort. In such an event, regardless of what criminal is heading the government, all arguments are unacceptable. Naturally, after the war, our issues will be placed back on the table.

Do you see the possibility that a settlement to the Karabakh conflict will exit the jurisdiction of the OSCE Minsk Group?

This can be considered a possible scenario. The military-political balance is tilting in the favour of Azerbaijan and tensions leading to a military resolution are rising. Again, I view this as a consequence of the present government’s actions.

You always assert that a majority of the people support HAK (Armenian National Congress). Didn’t voter participation in the District 10 parliamentary by-election prove the opposite?

Actually, just the opposite is true if we analyze the situation. Officially, 24% of the electorate voted. Our campaign workers went house to house in the district and found that some 30-40% of residents weren’t in Armenia. Taking the country’s population into account, this means a 35% turnout. They illegally scheduled the election for January 10, so that the last fifteen days of the campaign would clash with the holiday season. Then we have the situation where the press was absent and Armenian TV boycotted election developments. Against this backdrop, I would say that a 35% turnout was a miracle.

Do you think it likely that former RoA President Robert Kocharyan will return to active politics?

No, I don’t see that as likely. He’s committed so many crimes and there’s too much hate directed against him.

Who is the number two person in HAK?

Everyone in HAK is a soldier, starting from Levon Ter-Petrosyan down to the person distributing leaflets. We find ourselves in the middle of a dictatorship, in which the regime is waging war against the people and political opposition. In this war, we all must be soldiers.

How long will HAK remain on the sidelines regarding the Turkish-Armenian Protocols? Who must fight to put an end to this process that is now faltering?

You said it yourself. The process is grinding to a halt on its own. A situation had been created when it was necessary to show international public opinion that the nationalist forces had come out against the Protocols. This is exactly what they did. HAK has never remained on the sidelines. HAK continues to carry out its mission as opposition force. That is, to expose all the defects of this regime and to criticize it on all fronts.