Azerbaijan, Baku, April 8 / Trend E. Tariverdiyeva /
Armenia's difficult economic/social conditions are a direct result of its on-going isolation due its closed borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan because of Armenia's continued occupation of Azerbaijani lands, a member of Trend Expert Council, European expert on the South Caucasus, an analyst for the South Caucasus, Turkey and the energy security of the European Policy Centre (Brussels) Amanda Paul told Trend via e-mail.
This has been compounded by the global economic crisis. This has led Armenia to be overly reliant on investment from Russia, remittances from its vase diaspora community and international financial assistance.
Armenia will always "struggle" until it normalizes relations with Baku and Ankara, she said.
The opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC), headed by the first president of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan, will hold the next rally and the march through the main streets of the Armenian capital in central Yerevan on Friday.
During the last ANC meeting on March 17, which was also launched near "Matenadaran", its participants could enter the Freedom Square after the relevant agreement was reached with the police.
The expert doubts very much whether the current discontent in Armenia could lead to an overthrow of the government. Firstly the ANC only have around 10 percent support in Armenia.
Secondly and critically important the opposition is fragmented and not united under a single umbrella which immediately weakens it because it is polarized.
Thirdly, while the economic-social situation is difficult Armenia has faced much worse. In the early 1990's after the war over Karabakh Armenians faced much tougher conditions than now and yet it was not enough to oust the government.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.