Sksel a — It’s Started
No, not the youth initiative of the same name that might be now finding itself on the wrong side of the authorities, but something else. Today is the official start of the election campaign period, although you might not have guessed it from walking the streets. For some parties, especially Prosperous Armenia and the Republican Party, campaigning started long ago. Ironically, even though the game is officially now on, there is little visible sign in my part of town of anyone else launching their campaigns save for the Armenian Revolutionary Federation — Dashnaksutiun.
Of course, it’s also Easter Sunday so that’s probably why everything looks set to start tomorrow instead. Indeed, in what can perhaps be considered the Church interfering in politics, E-channel reports that Prosperous Armenia’s campaign will be “blessed” by the Catholicos. This won’t be the first time Prosperous Armenia’s Tsarukian has worked with the Catholicos, although the party says that it doesn’t know if he will bless other parties. Somehow, however, I think we can assume that he won’t, especially as it looks like Tsarukian is disbursing “charitable assistance” to Etchmiadzin as well.
The PA electoral headquarters will be run by the deputy chairman Vardan Vardanyan. However, according to Baghdasar Mheryan, the most noteworthy moment will be the beginning of the campaign: His Holiness will bless the party campaign. When we asked whether he would bless only PA or the other parties, he answered: “I don’t know what is happening in other parties, I am talking only about our party.”
As for the other parties, for example, National Unity had never thought of applying to His Holiness to get blessing. The party leader Artashes Geghamyan explained that His Holiness belongs to the whole Armenian nation, and he should not be related to any specific party. Then he told the story of The Parable of the Prodigal Son, commenting that maybe His Holiness is happy about the return of the prodigal son and thinks he should bless him.
Still, you’ve got to hand it to them. Whoever is masterminding Prosperous Armenia’s campaign is not stupid. Indeed, I daresay the campaign so far is the most professional of them all, even if it undoubtedly cost more money than they’ve declared so far. Certainly, in addition to having the largest posters, their web site has got to be the most professionally built by any party, and really looks as though it was constructed with representing the party in mind.
Apart from the report of the odd skirmish or problem with the ruling Republican Party, there seems to be no stopping Tsarukian Prosperous Armenia. Even the slip of a mother’s tongue, as recently reported by RFE/RL’s Press Review, is likely to win them more supporters than not. While some might take her words as an appalling confession, your general everyday folk here would instead undoubtedly feel the same and agree.
“Zhamanak Yerevan” quotes Gagik Tsarukian’s mother Roza as rejecting suggestions that the businessman’s Prosperous Armenia Party would fall apart the moment President Robert Kocharian stops supporting it. “Robert Kocharian doesn’t love Gagik Tsarukian,” she claims. “Gagik Tsarukian is loved by 400,000 people.” Roza Tsarukian goes on to describe her son as the “number one man in the republic” and does not deny that he is evading taxes. “Should we pay taxes so that they go and play in [a casino in] Monte Carlo?” she asks angrily. “I’m sorry, but I give [money] to poor people, kindergartens, hospitals. What I’ve given to the state is enough.”
Regardless, tomorrow is when it all well and truly begins. Nobody really knows what will happen ,and I think we can say that this might turn out to be the most memorable parliamentary election in Armenia since 1999. In the meantime, our “Old Friends,” the Dashnaks are busy putting up posters in my neighborhood, and I’ve got three campaign offices on my block alone so it’s going to be impossible to ignore this vote even if I wanted to.
Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian, Oneworld Multimedia 2007
Hovik, you mean the HHK/BHK rivalry and occasional clashes?
From RFE/RL’s Press Review:
The clash in Erebuni:
About the BHK allegations of HHK vote-rigging:
Comment by Onnik — April 8, 2007 @ 8:28 pm
Hovik, serious question for you. If tensions between the two parties are real and actually escalate, which party would you support over the other? Already we’re seeing some problems emerge and it remains to be seen if this competition can be kept under control and non-violent.
Comment by Onnik — April 8, 2007 @ 10:18 pm
Strangely this blessing affairs reminds me of the Mayor of Gyumri, Vardan Ghukasyan, who got elected the first time as Mayor of Gyumri mostly on the portfolio of being highly religious and getting the blessing from the Ajapahyan, the head of Armenian Apostolic church in Shirak region. I mean - the guy literally prayed throughout all his pre-election campaign on TV!!!
Comment by Observer — April 8, 2007 @ 10:34 pm
…my biggest worry about Tsarukyan is the rumor about his mania to be called “The King of Armenians”!!!
Comment by Observer — April 8, 2007 @ 10:38 pm
Talking of election ads, Zarchka at Life Around Me has made a post on the same subject:
Comment by Onnik — April 8, 2007 @ 10:48 pm
Simon over at Blogian also weighs in with his take on the news as reported by E-channel that it looks as though the Catholicos will “bless” the start of the official BHK campaign.
Comment by Onnik — April 8, 2007 @ 11:05 pm
This so called “political” struggle between HHK and BHK is itself a major embarrassment for any self-respecting Armenian. Two so called parties that don’t have anything “political” in a conventional meaning of the word but just want to become THE “party of power” to get MORE, compared with the other, lucrative government positions to milk in a criminal fashion. This can elicit only nausea.
This and the womanizer foul-mouthed businessman who was “elected” through arm twisting and intimidation in 1999 into the position of Catholicos…
Comment by Artashes — April 9, 2007 @ 9:20 am
Comment by Onnik — April 9, 2007 @ 4:05 pm