YEREVAN. – Why is it that political thinking does not form in Armenia? When the matter becomes personal, everyone becomes extremely cautious and ordinary, Hraparak daily reports.   

“Why is Armenia’s former FM [and The Civilitas Foundation founder and Prosperous Armenia Party MP Vartan Oskanian], who is a diplomat by profession, [who] has been in the authorities for a long time and seen and experienced many things, behaves like a rank-and-file citizen who is afraid to lose his own little welfare? Don’t these people know that political struggle assumes severe tribulations and non-ordinary approach?    

Yes, Vartan Oskanian’s demeanor at the National Assembly deserved humanly compassion. But this was not the demeanor of a politician, a representative of a political force that considers itself an opposition. [It seemed] The man is scared and has virtually regretted having entered into politics.   

In the meantime, a true politician perhaps would have ‘become happy’ by this timely opportunity, which could have had a crucial importance for his political career and become a beginning for a new life,” Hraparak writes.     

As Armenian News-NEWS.am informed earlier, the National Assembly on Tuesday voted—by 64 ballots for, six against, and with one invalid vote—in favor of Prosecutor General’s petition to include Vartan Oskanian as a defendant in a criminal lawsuit. A total of 71 MPs participated in the voting.

To note, on May 25 the National Security Service (NSS) Department of Investigation filed a criminal lawsuit on charges of money laundering with respect to The Civilitas Foundation.

The NSS Press Center had informed that an investigation is underway in connection with selling the 100-percent shares of the Huntsman Building Products Company for around $2 million, but not informing Armenia’s tax authorities about this business deal; not using for charitable purposes $1,135,000 of that amount envisioned for charity; transferring this amount to the bank accounts opened under the names of the Civilitas Foundation’s founder Vartan Oskanian,  and of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees member Tigran Karapetyan; and using some of this amount for private purposes.

In addition, as per the NSS Press Center, The Civilitas Foundation had not presented a report on the $2 million allocated for charitable purposes. In his turn, Vartan Oskanian considers the charges to be politically motivated.

The Civilitas Foundation was founded in 2008 by Vartan Oskanian. After joining Prosperous Armenia Party ahead of the May 6 parliamentary elections, however, Oskanian gave up his post as the Foundation Chairman.