YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 16, NOYAN TAPAN. The Social Democrat Hunchak Party (SDHP) is against any relations with Turkey until this country recognizes the Armenian Genocide and starts paying compensation. Member of the SDHP Central Board Vahan Shirkhanian once again voiced this position of their party at the November 16 press conference. In his words, the authorities are trying to show that Armenia would benefit from the border's opening. "It is not true. Armenia will not develop in case of opening the border because today Armenia invests 270 million euros in Turkey, whereas Turkey invests only 1 million 700 thousand euros in Armenia, and this proportion will remain the same if the border opens. We will not receive any economic benefit," V. Shirkhanian declared, adding goods will continue to be imported from Istanbul, and not from Kars. According to him, the people is still unable to influence the policy conducted by the authorities, but if the developments "become obviously harmful to Armenia, the people will rise," V. Shirkhanian stated. In his words, "if on September 1-2 the opposition had made a call and had taken the people to the streets and kept them there for a few days, the protocols would not have been signed and it would have been possible to achieve a special election". While considering the ARF's street public events as a corrent move, V. Shirkhanian, however, expressed an opinion that the ARF does not have the status of the Armenian National Congress (ANC). At the same time, V. Shirkhanian believes that the current opposition is unable to achieve a special election. But if the people see a real threat to the country, they will form a new opposition which will carry out a power shift. V. Shirkhanian noted that although the views of SDHP do not coincide with those of ANC, he does not consider it necessary to leave ANC, because "the restoration of the constitutional order remains a task". Vardan Khachatrian - a deputy of the National Assembly, former member of Heritage party, presently a member of the SDHP Political Board - made the possibility of a special election conditional upon the development of Armenian-Turkish and Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, also upon international pressure. He expressed conviction that if the tension grows, some unpredictable developments may occur in society, and neither a special election nor a power shift can be ruled out.

---