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Armen Arakelyan

Voluntary Victims of Piety and Political Calculation

Opposition Seems Content to Battle It Out For Crumbs Levon Ter-Petrosyan conveyed a political lining to his March 17th snub of Raffi Hovannisian, on hunger strike in Freedom Square. Moreover, he did it in a very unique way; by calling forth the Bible and accusing Raffi Hovannisian of false piety and theatrics. The HAK leader simply forget about the other, no less important, teachings of the Gospel, in particular the one that says it is prohibited to speak the name of God in a reckless manner. However, all of this is beyond the realm of true Christian morals. Ter-Petrosyan was well aware that the “fast” undertaken by the Heritage Party leader, regardless of its name, was a purely political, more correctly, civil action,  because the demands made were political ones, even though infused with the ornate touches of Raffi Hovannisian’s particular mental realm of the abstract. Thus, not only was Ter-Petrosyan’s behavior extremely repulsive and offensive, but also provocative. It was provocative not due to the fact that he didn’t approach Hovannisian but because of his subsequent justification, which showed just how intolerant he is to all political forces in general who are outside the HHZh and alternative means of struggle not under the rule of the HAK. All this shows that he is the same Levon Ter-Petrosyan of old, when he served as president; intolerant of all dissidents, free thinkers and free speech. Logic would dictate that LTP should welcome someone who starts to struggle, in whatever manner, for such demands and ideas, rather than to attempt to morally destroy and defame. In this context, Ter-Petrosyan’s explanations and behavior are no different, and have the same effect, as the attitude by the police towards Raffi Hovannisian. The authorities want to quell this action physically. HAK wants to crush it morally. However, going off on his own, LTP actually has given the protest actions launched by Heritage an even bigger sounding board. Furthermore, Ter-Petrosyan has literally crowned Raffi Hovannisian with the halo of the “persecuted” and has imparted a political and pan-social content to the actions of the Heritage leader that were initially seen as muddled and illogical steps. HAK and LTP personally, have conveyed Raffi Hovannisian with the mantle of being a real alternative to the regime and the radical opposition; a place that Heritage has long desired. The on-going LTP-Raffi Hovannisian tit for tat debate, unfolding in the press, and the overall HAK-Heritage silent confrontation, is a direct result of the February 17 coalition contract signed in the Presidential Palace. This memorandum brought forth a whole new set of game rules in the political arena, and the opposition – HAK, ARF, and Heritage – accepted these rules. Now, whether willingly or not, they are going forth according to the logic inherent in the memo. And the logic is clear. The regime has shown what the limits are to the opposition’s ambitions regarding the upcoming elections and representation in parliament. And the opposition, admitting to the restricted role it has been allotted, is now launching a struggle for the parliamentary seats reserved for the minority. In other words, all three opposition parties have accepted their defeat a full year before the elections. Out of this capitulation, the best they can strive for is to at least be represented in the National Assembly. Had the opposition not thrown up its hands in defeat so prematurely, instead of ripping at each other’s throats, they could have worked towards devising an overall agenda to launch a general front. After the ruling coalition signed its contract, HAK and Heritage both adopted the tactic of taking control of the growing social discontent in the country. They wanted to be masters of the “street”. But since HAK had much greater potential and experience, and mastered the subtle techniques of manipulation, it launched efforts to consolidate the process very quickly. Thus, despite the efforts of Heritage, HAK was able to take the initiative. There was nothing left for Heritage but to take an alternative, and more drastic approach. Heritage had to be one step ahead of HAK; to present itself as being more principled and consistent. Then again, the party had to push for turning Raffi Hovannisian into a leader for all the people. The first step in this campaign were the confrontations in front of the Government Building in early March, the staged exit of Heritage MP’s from the parliament, and lastly Raffi Hovannisian’s hunger strike. Such actions taken by Heritage, fairly rudimentary and spur of the moment really didn’t bother HAK so much as the public reaction and interest that surrounded them. While such actions showed that Heritage wasn’t able to compete with the institutional “chess” strategy of HAK, nevertheless, the value of Heritage was bumped up. The ARF, in contrast to the other two, adopted a much more long-term strategy regarding the union of the opposition.  The party, by raising the issue of defending the franchise right, was creating the prerequisites for consolidation of the opposition and widening the sphere of cooperation. The problem with the ARF is that it doesn’t want to leave the cozy confines of the conference room and the office, to boldly go into the street and meet with the average voters; to make itself more understandable to both the electorate and the other political forces. The ARF has become a mere spectator to the ongoing war of words between HAK and Heritage and their battle for position. Perhaps, the ARF believe it can serve as an arbitrator, but no one needs them. If the ARF continues down this road of self-imposed isolation, it can really find itself on the political fringes. Thus, from a tactical viewpoint, the regime’s operation to guarantee itself seven more years in the driver’s seat has been justified. The regime now longer faces the prospect of campaigning against the opposition.  Such a battle was wiped from the slate with a few strokes of the pen. The regime has no need to expend money and energy in this regard. The opposition seems quite content to do the dirty work themselves – by going at each other’s throat and damn the consequences.

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