ARF Bureau representative Hrant Margarian’s speech at February 8 rally
08.02.2008 19:15
Yerevan (Yerkir) – ARF Bureau representative Hrant Margarian made a
speech at the rally on
February 8 rally.
Below is the text of his speech.
It’s been long since the Freedom Square saw such unification. It’s been
long we joined together for a good cause, for a positive cause that is
giving new hope. We have united today with confidence and decisiveness.
We have united to make a breakthrough in the life of our country. We
have united to set up a new government, a fair government, a government
for people, our government through elections. We are coming on a
positive wave, we are coming by setting up a positive axis and we will
succeed with your help, we will remove hatred, antagonism and violence
from our life. There are two groups at both sides of our positive axis:
the former regime is on the one side, and the current one on the other.
One of them is trying to achieve a regime change by hatred and
opposition; the other one is trying to maintain the current situation
via government leverage and pressures. We are not going to speak about
which of these groups is more negative because the choice should be not
between those groups but between the positive axis and those negative
groups.
Our reality is injured because there are injustice and poverty but it
is hard for me to speak about this today because everybody speaks about
it. The impression is that everybody opposes injustice, everybody wants
the poverty to be eliminated and that nobody’s rights are breached.
They say so, but it is not the aliens who have caused this injustice in
our country: it was you, the former and the current leaders, you are
the reason for this reality, and don’t speak about it so we don’t feel
shame for being like you. Today, your fight is not a fight for essence:
in issues like economy, social relations, democracy, fair elections,
justice you are the same. These people are your victims, the former and
the current regimes are not different when it comes to these issues,
and let nobody deceive us.
What are busy with today? Today, when there is a possibility to make an
aware choice and to form a new and normal political government, you
have spoiled the entire environment, you are threatening people with
each other, you are strengthening on the background of the other being
worse, leaving aside shame and responsibility. You are depriving the
people of making the right choice with a shameless, profanity-like
theater that you are staging. Restrain yourselves, gentlemen, don’t go
to extremes, don’t sacrifice our political stability for your dark and
evil games, we will not allow you to do that .
We believe that a new government should be formed in our homeland
through elections but it is possible through fair elections in healthy
environment, while this environment does not allow for it. It is
impossible to engage in fair election race in this unhealthy
environment and this environment is set up deliberately. The success of
the deception that the former and current regimes are engaged is
possible due to this tense and hostile environment. The former regime
is creating this environment because it helps it to avoid ideological
and political struggle because it is in this environment that they can
veil their real goal: the old regime is coming back because it wants to
change the political course, and the injustice, impunity, the lack of
democracy and liberties, corruption are just excuses for them.
We have to win. We have to win because the blood shed by Armenians in
Artsakh and border regions of Armenia should not be ignored. Forgetting
about the occupied Armenian Shahumian and Getashen, the former and the
current regimes are disputing about conceding territories, they accuse
each other of concessions. What are you conceding? Who has given you
the right to concede homeland? We, the Armenian people, will not allow
you to do so. Forgetting Azerbaijan’s role and positions, forgetting
the guilt of Azerbaijan, the former and current regimes blame each
other before the eyes of the world.
We are far from extremes and adventurism, we believe the Atsakh issue
should be resolved through negotiations and will mutual concessions.
But it is mutual concessions that should happen and not one-sided
concessions. We should not compromise our dignity, our homeland, any
part of the homeland.
The unhealthy environment is created by the current regime too.
We count on our people who is able to tell the truth from the lie.
Stability but not recession. Changes but not turmoil. Let’s not bring
the old back and let’s change the current ones.
When the government is an end in itself and there are no ideological
and political basis for it, and there are no supporters, the government
leans on the state apparatus and "prominent" people. On those, who can
guarantee their reproduction. When this is the reality, oligarchs
become a machine for giving away election bribes, a government
bureaucrat becomes a means for ensuring an army of voters, and then
oligarchs are granted privileges, the free competition is eliminated,
bureaucrat’s illegalities are ignored, the corruption flourishes, and
criminals set up a criminal government.
This exactly why the former and the current regimes are trying to get
to power with former and current oligarchs, criminals, bribe-takers.
We will change the current situation. We will change the unfair current
situation. We will put an end to unfair monopolies, we will bring fuel,
cereals, sugar and medicine monopolies to the formal field. We will do
this with the help of president Vahan Hovhannesian, led by him.
Vahan Hovhannesian, a person that has all the features and
possibilities to set up justice in this country. Our Vahan has the key
feature, courage: only a courageous person can fight the lie and
violence. Vahan’s entire life is a proof of this. He is a person who
does not depend on oligarchs, bureaucrats, and internal and external
secret unions and does not owe to anybody. A person, who had all the
reasons to break and be lured but he has remained as a person of
integrity and independent. He is a person who was able to form his
electorate in a short period of time, he is loved and accepted even by
those who do not know him. Vahan Hovhanesian has the Dashnaktsutyun, a
person who we the members of Dashnaktsutyun will obey as soldiers.