OPPOSITION DEFECTOR MAKES IT OFFICIAL

UNCLAS YEREVAN 001082 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/CARC E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL AM SUBJECT: OPPOSITION DEFECTOR MAKES IT OFFICIAL REF: YEREVAN 280 (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Please protect accordingly. ¶1. (SBU) Justice Bloc secretary Viktor Dallakian submitted his long-anticipated resignation from the bloc August 5. Dallakian told us earlier this year that he planned to accept business tycoon Gagik Tsarukyan's offer to lead Tsarukyan's Prosperous Armenia party (reftel). Dallakian has not yet publicly disclosed his intention to join Prosperous Armenia, however, press articles discussed it as fact. ¶2. (U) According to press reports, Justice Bloc members were careful not to condemn Dallakian's exit, which is likely to speed up the bloc's ongoing disintegration. The bloc's leader, Stepan Demirchyan, did not exclude the possibility of future cooperation with Dallakyan if he remains loyal to "opposition values." ¶3. (SBU) COMMENT: Prosperous Armenia, which is not represented in the National Assembly, is in no way an opposition party; it is well-known to be a pro-government party. Should Dallakian take up his expected post with Prosperous Armenia, Demirchian and his opposition colleagues will almost certainly soon question Dallakian's "opposition values." END COMMENT EVANS