By Karine Kalantarian
A senior member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation --Dashnaktsutiun (HHD) has admitted that the three-party ruling coalition in Armenia is little more than a formality at the present time, and he pledged his party's efforts to revitalize it. HHD Bureau Representative Hrant Markarian told RFE/RL that he does not exclude the possibility that the HHD might find itself in opposition in Armenia, as happened in Nagorno-Karabakh in the run up to the 18 June parliamentary vote. He added that in Karabakh it was the government that pushed the Dashnaktsutiun into opposition.
The HHD is participating in the Karabakh parliamentary elections as part of the opposition Movement 88 bloc. The differences arose between the HHD and the Karabakh authorities a few months ago when the HHD, according to
Markarian, tried to tackle problems existing in the unrecognized republic jointly with the government, "but had a different view of how to solve domestic social, economic and administration issues."
But Markarian insists that this opposition in Karabakh is characterized by competition rather than confrontation.
"There is a group of people who say: 'The situation in Karabakh is good but
we must make it better.' We say that it is not good and we must improve it
by all [available] means. So there is quite a big difference, and this difference is essential," said Markarian.
The HHD, one of the two junior members of the three-party ruling coalition
in Armenia along with Orinats Yerkir and the Republican Party of Armenia, is known to have differences with its coalition partners pertaining to some foreign policy, economic and social issues.
In Markarian's evaluation, the coalition's existence is ineffective in
Armenia today, as it is a "formality," in his definition.
"Let no one cheat anyone else. It is the reality of this country. We must look
at this reality with open eyes, with courage, and be able to find
solutions. Our new approach is that we will make every effort for the
coalition to start working soon," Markarian concluded.