With the help of the constitutional reforms Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan is trying to cause a split among the four opposition forces, the first President of Armenia, the leader of the Armenian National Congress Levon Ter- Petrosyan said in an interview to ilur.am.
In Ter-Petrosyan's opinion, Sargsyan's arguments that the reforms will promote economic growth, democracy and prosperity are not logical. "Does he mean that the current Constitution prevents the ruling regime from developing the economy or helps it to rob its people, to rig elections, to send to jail political rivals and to force thousands of citizens to leave their country? Of course, it doesn't. So, who can guarantee that this situation will not continue after the reforms?" Ter-Petrosyan said.
He does not believe Sargsyan when he says that he is not going to run for one more term as President. "I am against the idea to turn Armenia into a parliamentary republic. I am sure that Sargsyan will take up the post of Speaker of the Parliament and will continue ruling the country as the 'secretary general' of the ruling Republican Party," Ter- Petrosyan said.
One more reason why Sargsyan has started the constitutional reforms is his wish to distract the political and public forces from the key problems of their country. "Sargsyan has tried to cause a split among the four opposition forces by suggesting the idea of a bipolar political system. It was a hint for Prosperous Armenia Party that if they took his side, he would share the parliament with them. But the opposition forces have proved to be wiser and have appeared with a joint agenda," Ter-Petrosyan said.