He isn’t the first and will not be the last – Armenian politicians on activist’s revolution plan

Tert.am has talked to politicians from government-run and opposition parties and civil society representatives for opinions on Armenian activist Shant Harutyunyan’s plan to stage a revolution in the country.

Harutyunyan, who heads the political party Tseghakron (Race religion), said in earlier comments to Tert.am that he sees revolution the only way of achieving serious reforms in Armenia. He had set a deadline until December 2 to realize his plan.

“He is neither the first nor the last.” Eduard Sharmazanov, a spokesperson for the ruling Republican Party of Armenia said, noting that history has seen many revolutionists over the course of time.

Sharmazanov said that their party, as a governing political force, does not have time to react to such kind of statements as their objective is to solve the existing problems through gradual reforms.

“It doesn’t matter at all who does what. What matters is that everything be done within the law. As for the calls, take a simplistic view on them as he isn’t the first and nor will be the last. Democratic countries would naturally have civil society representative and opposition figures periodically making such calls,” he noted.

Lyudmila Sargsyan, an opposition MP from the Armenian National Congress, also didn’t treat the statement very seriously seriously. She said anyone can now speak of whatever comes to mind, without having a serious intention or resources to realize all the ideas.

“I don’t think it is serious to speak of a man who is unable to ever take a serious action. So we have to treat him in a more unserious way because a revolution does not admit of specific timeframes. A revolution is a process that matures in the course of time until it happens or doesn’t happen. It is more than unserious to point out to timeframes when speaking of a revolution,” she added.

Preparliament activist Tigran Khzmalyan said in later comments he finds it very difficult to set symbolic deadlines. “Perhaps Shant knows something which I don’t. We want our children to hold back from leaving the country and our elderly people to never see poverty,” he said, adding that they act in a completely different manner, despite having respect for the idea. “Our opinion is that it is necessary to lead a systemic, not an individual struggle against the regime.”

Expressing support to the activist’s plan and sharing all his concerns, Khzmalyan said they cannot be next to him at the present moment. “We prefer to be physically present where we see a political and class struggle at the given moment,” he added.