Opinion
Don't old friends betray? Or why does the ARF avoid mentioning Kocharyan's name?
The ARF intends to participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections as part of an alliance. The ARF Supreme Assembly made such a decision.
Ishkhan Saghatelyan, the representative of the party's supreme body in Armenia, also informed that the assembly authorized the Supreme Body "to conduct active pre-election negotiations on the format of a possible alliance, ensuring the ARF's significant role and the reflection of approaches on the most important issues."
Saghatelyan immediately added that they would begin discussions to determine the alliance's final format. "Naturally, we, appreciating the activities of the "Armenia" alliance, will begin primary discussions with our partners. Our attitude is as follows: we have the desire, the opportunity, and, why not, the ambition, to preserve, expand, and make the alliance a more influential unit."
This, of course, sounds good, very influential, even principled and ideological. After all, it was the ARF's pre-election slogan years ago. "Old friends do not betray." And now, the ARF is no longer betraying the old friends of the "Armenia" bloc.
But there is a slightly unclear moment here: what is the "Armenia" bloc, and who are the ARF's partners in the "Armenia" bloc?
If you haven't forgotten, in the 2021 NA elections, the ARF and the "Reviving Armenia" parties signed a tripartite agreement with Robert Kocharyan on forming that bloc.
But sometime after entering parliament, in November 2022, "Reviving Armenia" abruptly left the bloc, announcing it was suspending the party's activities in the NA. They even noted in the statement that members of their party on the electoral list would not take their mandates, and that anyone who went to parliament would have to leave the ranks. "We have repeatedly stated that parliamentary activity and parliamentary mandates are not an end in themselves for us," their statement said, alluding to their partner, the ARF Dashnaktsutyun.
The other party to the "Armenia" alliance has long since abandoned them, and they have not been active in the political arena since. It is difficult to remember which event in these years the "Reviving Armenia" or its leader, Vahe Hakobyan, expressed any opinion on, issued a statement about, or took any noticeable step (at most, they participated in the rallies of Archbishop Bagrat's "Sacred Movement," and that too in the initial period).
It is unclear who the ARF means when it says it is starting discussions with its partners in the "Armenia" alliance.
Or maybe the second president, Robert Kocharyan, who headed that alliance, and several non-partisan deputies who entered parliament under his quota, including the younger Kocharyan. But Robert Kocharyan, in this case, is a person with a team of loyal comrades-in-arms, not a party. A coalition is formed by parties, not by a party and a person with their team.
Nothing would have prevented Ishkhan Saghatelyan from being more transparent and direct about it.
But, let's see, to the question of who will lead the alliance, whether it will be Robert Kocharyan, Ishkhan Saghatelyan noted: "There is no decision on that. The ARF has decided to participate in the alliance format. Now discussions, consultations, and negotiations must take place so that we can conclude."
Really? Are you serious? It's kind of unbelievable. It is clear that if the ARF Dashnaktsutyun announces its intention to ally and, first of all, discusses it with its partner, then there were negotiations on this issue beforehand, including with Robert Kocharyan himself. Robert Kocharyan repeatedly states his intention to run in the next elections during his press conferences. During the last press conference, it became clear that not only did he "not want to listen" to advice about leaving politics, but he also transparently hinted that he himself would head the list: "If someone appears in our team who, according to sociology, can collect more votes, I will only be happy."
And so, why does the ARF Dashnaktsutyun avoid talking directly about such issues, why does it try to come "from afar", create an imitation of negotiations, etc., etc?
Is this done solely for propaganda purposes, to make every step a subject of discussion in the public, political arena, or are they still avoiding being associated with Kocharyan, but since they have no alternative, they are trying to come from afar and announce the decision little by little? Especially when they have not justified the expectations of the citizens who voted for them in these years. After all, in the 2021 elections, they promised to "fight until the last drop" and "fight" these authorities. But after the hassles, fights in the NA hall, and several months of a boycott, they returned to parliament and continued to work smart, travel, and enjoy the benefits of being deputies.
Indeed, why does the ARF avoid mentioning Robert Kocharyan directly and immediately talk about cooperation with him?
Arman Galoyan
