Armenian National Congress (ANC) leader Levon Ter-Petrossian must publicly apologize to Orinats Yerkir party leader Arthur Baghdasaryan, according to Heritage party deputy chairman.

At news conference in Yerevan, Ruben Hakobyan accused the ANC leader of having struck a secret deal with the authorities. “Baghdasaryan, however, never concealed his making an agreement with the authorities for which he was slammed by ANC representatives.”

“Ter-Petrossian, who shows concern over the possibility of a new war in Azerbaijan in case of Armenia’s political instability, never showed any in February 2008; however, as an experienced politician, he could have predicted that the accumulated aggression could not but lead to a clash. Baghdasaryan, as opposed to ANC leader, is not responsible for March 1, 2008 victims,” he said.

Hakobyan went on to characterize ANC as an egocentric structure, guided by totalitarian principles. “If earlier, the Congress terrorized political forces for supporting a dialogue with the authorities, currently it terrorizes those who speak against ANC dialogue with the authorities.”

Hakobyan stressed the necessity of creating an opposition force to counterpoise the ANC, noting that Heritage is negotiating this possibility with a number of political forces.