Gagik Tsarukian, the founder and former leader of the Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK), has refused to commit himself to returning to active politics after an appeal from hundreds of supporters rallying outside his private house.
The tycoon reportedly had his security officials deliver his message to the sympathetic crowd in Abovian, a town some 20 kilometers to the northeast of capital Yerevan, where he resides in a sprawling mansion.
Vahe Enfiajian, a member of the BHK parliamentary faction, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service (Azatutyun.am) that more than a thousand people from virtually all provinces of Armenia had gathered in Abovian for the rally.
He said they handed in a letter addressed to Tsarukian, in which they urged the former BHK chairman to lead the county’s second largest parliamentary force during next year’s elections considering “the current alarming socio-economic and political situation in the country.”
Tsarukian, who even now has a seat in the outgoing parliament, was effectively ousted from politics by President Serzh Sarkisian and his ruling Republican Party in February 2015 after trying to scuttle a controversial constitutional reform initiated by the current administration through a campaign of street protests planned jointly with several opposition groups.
Sarkisian then harshly criticized the influential tycoon and threatened to prosecute him for alleged tax evasion. Tsarukian initially responded by calling for Sarkisian’s ouster but eventually caved in, resigning as BHK leader and quitting politics altogether. The two men subsequently made peace, repeatedly making joint public appearances.
Calls for Tsarukian’s political comeback ahead of parliamentary elections due in April were first made a few weeks ago and even current BHK leader Naira Zohrabian described them as a “public demand”.
Tsarukian’s spokeswoman Iveta Tonoyan, however, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service (Azatutyun.am) today that the rally outside the tycoon’s house came as a surprise to them. She said Tsarukian told people through security officials that he did not consider a political comeback yet and that he would personally announce his return to politics, should he have such plans. He also reportedly called on his supporters not to gather near his house with such an appeal anymore, after which the crowd dispersed.
Facebook Forum