Levon Ter-Petrossian's zugzwang October 3, 2011 - 11:39 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - During the September 30 rally, leader of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) Levon Ter-Petrossian announced the start of round-the-clock rallies and a sit-down strike in Liberty Square, measures many of Congress supporters demanded back in spring. The fact that it was a well-thought decision doesn't not arouse doubts, as the tents in Liberty Square could not appear from nowhere, following the wish of the crowd. It's also obvious that the decision was conditioned by the desperate situation the ANC leaders have found themselves in. Agreeing to the dialogue with the authorities, Levon Ter-Petrossian, who used to compare political struggle with a game of chess, was trapped by President Serzh Sargsyan, who is, ironically, the President of the Chess Federation of Armenia as well. Having lost his main tool in the struggle against the leadership - rallies that gathered many thousands of people - ANC has finally lost the support of the West, which seems quite satisfied with the current President and the domestic situation. Besides, the approaches the former and the incumbent presidents apply towards the two vital issues - the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations are somehow similar. The youth wing of ANC has also contributed to the situation in August, when the dialogue between the Congress and ruling coalition was suspended over arrest of young ANC supporters. Under the circumstances, Ter-Petrossian faces zugzwang. On the one hand, passivity of ANC and refusal from tough struggle against the authorities will result in disappointment of the supporters. On the other hand, ANC lacks real power for a real struggle, as several thousands of people are not enough not only to make a revolution but also just to frighten the country's rulers. This zugzwang is aggravated by the time trouble, as regular elections are impending and possibility of snap elections - ANC's main demand - becomes more and more vague. Hayk Khalatyan / PanARMENIAN News Zugzwang Zugzwang is a situation in chess where one player is put at a disadvantage because he has to make a move when he would prefer to pass and make no move. The fact that the player must make a move means that his position will be significantly weaker than the hypothetical one in which it was his opponent's turn to move. Top stories The Cabinet of Ministers decided on Thursday, November 9 to allocated AMD 120 million to arrange the gathering. Michael Roth believes sanctions must be put on the table after Baku‘s ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Yerevan City Council has elected Tigran Avniyan from the ruling Civil Contract as the mayor of the Armenian capital. The Armenian Parliament on Tuesday, October 3 voted to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Partner news | U.S. reacts to Russia’s criticism of upcoming Armenia-EU-U.S. meeting Matthew Miller has weighed in on Russia’s criticism of an upcoming Armenia-EU-U.S. meeting. Lavrov sees ‘collapse’ of Russia’s ties with Armenia Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has underscored heightened tensions between Russia and Armenia. Russia clarifying reports on Baku’s alleged arms supply to Ukraine Russia says is carefully working to verify reports about alleged arms supplies from Azerbaijan to Ukraine Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. |