Armenian opposition leader elaborates on his plans
26.04.2018,
15:46
The protest movement in Armenia is not conditioned by geopolitics, opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan said in an interview with Russian RBC television channel.
YEREVAN, April 26. /ARKA/. The protest movement in Armenia is not conditioned by geopolitics, opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan said in an interview with Russian RBC television channel.
"I want to state clearly that the movement has no geopolitical context: this movement is neither against Russia, nor against the United States, the European Union, Iran or any other country. This movement is against corruption, ineffective governance, it is a purely Armenian domestic political movement," said Pashinyan.
He said the protests in Armenia should not be compared with what had happened in Ukraine. He said he personally initiated a meeting with the Russian ambassador to Armenia to discuss the situation in the country and the perception of political changes in Armenia by Russia, as well as the future of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).
He said meetings were also held with diplomats from the EU and the US. He noted that on the opposition’s agenda there are no such issues as the withdrawal of Armenia from the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).
He said Armenia, Russia and other members of the CSTO are strategic partners and therefore, Armenia needs to clarify their obligations towards Armenia and vice versa as there is a lot of confusion in this area. He said problems arising from Armenia’s membership in EEU should be discussed as well.
He stressed that the movement is ready for a dialogue with various representatives of the Republican Party of Armenia to ensure the peaceful transfer of power and ensure democratic reforms. He ruled out categorically the possibility of declaring an emergency situation in the country by the Republican Party and bringing troops to suppress the protests.
Speaking about early parliamentary elections, Pashinyan noted that the goal of the party he leads (Civil Contract) is to hold fair and legitimate elections, ‘and we will guarantee conduct of fair elections, regardless of whether we win or lose," Pashinyan said.
According to him, the guarantee of holding fair elections and excluding election fraud is the use of fingerprints at polling stations through the introduction of a special electronic database.
Pashinyan said he was ready to continue protest actions, until the authorities agree to all their conditions.
‘Not me, but the people who take to streets to protest against the ruling regime will not allow acting differently. The people decided to nominate me as a candidate for prime ministers, ‘Pashinyan said.
Regarding the economic development of the country after the change of power, Pashinyan said that the first steps would be the abolition of all monopolies.
"Some 20,000 items of goods are imported by a narrow circle of businessmen. It is necessary to liberalize the market and reform the trading system so as to completely eradicate the shadow economy," Pashinyan said.
According to him, the budget can be replenished by 30% within a year by the introduction of a unified system of bonus cards for any purchases and payments, a certain percentage of which will be refunded by the end of the year.
"The idea is that every buyer should be interested in registering transactions that will be monitored by the tax service, eradicating the shadow economy," Pashinyan said. -0-
"I want to state clearly that the movement has no geopolitical context: this movement is neither against Russia, nor against the United States, the European Union, Iran or any other country. This movement is against corruption, ineffective governance, it is a purely Armenian domestic political movement," said Pashinyan.
He said the protests in Armenia should not be compared with what had happened in Ukraine. He said he personally initiated a meeting with the Russian ambassador to Armenia to discuss the situation in the country and the perception of political changes in Armenia by Russia, as well as the future of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).
He said meetings were also held with diplomats from the EU and the US. He noted that on the opposition’s agenda there are no such issues as the withdrawal of Armenia from the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).
He said Armenia, Russia and other members of the CSTO are strategic partners and therefore, Armenia needs to clarify their obligations towards Armenia and vice versa as there is a lot of confusion in this area. He said problems arising from Armenia’s membership in EEU should be discussed as well.
He stressed that the movement is ready for a dialogue with various representatives of the Republican Party of Armenia to ensure the peaceful transfer of power and ensure democratic reforms. He ruled out categorically the possibility of declaring an emergency situation in the country by the Republican Party and bringing troops to suppress the protests.
Speaking about early parliamentary elections, Pashinyan noted that the goal of the party he leads (Civil Contract) is to hold fair and legitimate elections, ‘and we will guarantee conduct of fair elections, regardless of whether we win or lose," Pashinyan said.
According to him, the guarantee of holding fair elections and excluding election fraud is the use of fingerprints at polling stations through the introduction of a special electronic database.
Pashinyan said he was ready to continue protest actions, until the authorities agree to all their conditions.
‘Not me, but the people who take to streets to protest against the ruling regime will not allow acting differently. The people decided to nominate me as a candidate for prime ministers, ‘Pashinyan said.
Regarding the economic development of the country after the change of power, Pashinyan said that the first steps would be the abolition of all monopolies.
"Some 20,000 items of goods are imported by a narrow circle of businessmen. It is necessary to liberalize the market and reform the trading system so as to completely eradicate the shadow economy," Pashinyan said.
According to him, the budget can be replenished by 30% within a year by the introduction of a unified system of bonus cards for any purchases and payments, a certain percentage of which will be refunded by the end of the year.
"The idea is that every buyer should be interested in registering transactions that will be monitored by the tax service, eradicating the shadow economy," Pashinyan said. -0-
