Gagik Tsarukian’s Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) remained reluctant to clarify its political status on Wednesday, saying that it will not demand President Serzh Sarkisian’s resignation despite criticizing his policies.
“I can’t say with a single word whether or not we want it,” Mikael Melkumian, a senior party member, told journalists when asked whether the BHK supports “regime change” championed by the country’s main opposition parties.
Melkumian said the BHK, which has the second largest faction in parliament, stands instead for unspecified government policy changes and a “broad-based public and political consolidation.” “Today we are not calling for regime change,” he added. “What we are saying is that we should work towards that consolidation step by step.”
Naira Zohrabian, a more influential BHK figure, similarly stated on Monday that regime change is “not on the party’s agenda.” Zohrabian responded to claims by the opposition Armenian National Congress (HAK) that it is increasingly cooperating with two other major opposition parties and the BHK in an effort to unseat Sarkisian.
The BHK’s status has been ambiguous ever since it pulled out of Armenia’s governing coalition in May 2012. Tsarukian declared last year that his party is not in opposition to the Sarkisian government.
“I can’t say with a single word whether or not we want it,” Mikael Melkumian, a senior party member, told journalists when asked whether the BHK supports “regime change” championed by the country’s main opposition parties.
Melkumian said the BHK, which has the second largest faction in parliament, stands instead for unspecified government policy changes and a “broad-based public and political consolidation.” “Today we are not calling for regime change,” he added. “What we are saying is that we should work towards that consolidation step by step.”
Naira Zohrabian, a more influential BHK figure, similarly stated on Monday that regime change is “not on the party’s agenda.” Zohrabian responded to claims by the opposition Armenian National Congress (HAK) that it is increasingly cooperating with two other major opposition parties and the BHK in an effort to unseat Sarkisian.
The BHK’s status has been ambiguous ever since it pulled out of Armenia’s governing coalition in May 2012. Tsarukian declared last year that his party is not in opposition to the Sarkisian government.