More on Baghdasarian Alleged Death Threats

RFE/RL has more on what presidential candidate Artur Baghdasarian claims are death threats made last week. Mentioning them a number of times at Sunday’s rally in Yerevan’s Liberty Square, Baghdasarian has so far not presented any evidence or further information regarding the alleged threats, but does point the finger firmly at the prime minister and the government.

Former parliament speaker Artur Baghdasarian insisted on Tuesday that the Armenian authorities threatened to kill him and condemned Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian for laughing off the allegations.

Speaking to RFE/RL on Monday, Sarkisian dismissed them as a “pre-election trick” designed to earn Baghdasarian more votes in the upcoming presidential election. He argued that the opposition presidential candidate did not turn to law-enforcement authorities for help.

Baghdasarian rounded on the prime minister as he held a campaign meeting in Hrazdan, a town in central Armenia. “No threat, no cheap speculation can worry us,” he told about 300 supporters who gathered in a freezing conference hall there. “Serzh Sarkisian spoke yesterday of a pre-election trick. It is his statement which was a pre-election trick.”

Somewhat vaguely, the issue of a possible unification between Baghdasarian, Ter-Petrosian and Raffi Hovannisian has once again been mentioned by the former parliamentary speaker. Many observers anticipate further clarification or even confirmation of such a possibility this coming Saturday at a Ter-Petrossian rally due to be staged in Liberty Square.

In his speech, the leader of the Orinats Yerkir Party again stated that he is “actively” discussing with other opposition figures, notably former President Levon Ter-Petrosian, the possibility of forming an electoral alliance. “We are in the process of active negotiations centering on a number of principles,” he said. “We will certainly inform the public soon about the results of the negotiations going on in the political scene.”

“There is no question that more and more people and forces understand the need to effect systemic changes in Armenia,” he added without elaborating.

Baghdasarian refused to take questions from journalists after the speech, and it remained unclear if he is ready to drop out of the race in Ter-Petrosian’s favor. He did not rule out such possibility on Sunday, while hinting that Ter-Petrosian should also consider withdrawing his candidacy.