ARMENIA’S FORMER PRESIDENT ATTACKS GOVERNMENT’S POLICY AT OPPOSITION RALLY
A1+
Aug 2 2008
Armenia
Armenia’s former President Levon Ter-Petrosyan, a major rival of
President Serzh Sargsyan in the 19 February presidential election,
has criticized the government’s policy and called for President
Serzh Sargsyan’s resignation. Addressing an opposition rally in
Yerevan on 1 August, he accused Sargsyan of rigging the results
of the presidential elections, usurping power and failing economic
reforms in the country. Ter-Petrosyan announced his decision to set
up an Armenian National Congress, saying that its programme will be
approved at its forthcoming session. He also urged the release of
all political prisoners in Armenia and an independent investigation
into the 1 March riots in Yerevan after the presidential elections
this year. The following is an excerpt from Ter-Petrosyan’s speech
by Armenian website A1+ on 2 August.
[Ter-Petrosyan] Dear compatriots, there is no doubt that the release
of political prisoners and the unmasking of people who are in fact
responsible for the 1 March crime continues to be one of the key
issues that worries the public. However, though these issues are acute
and important, they should not distract our attention from the core
aims of the movement – restoring constitutional order, establishing
full democracy and a law-governed state and creating conditions for
economic development.
[Passage omitted: Ter-Petrosyan says an impartial assessment of the
political situation is needed to achieve these goals]
The assessment of the first 100 days in office of the newly-proclaimed
president and his administration are a convenient occasion to perceive
the existing processes and identify the deep trends of the country’s
development. I believe that a comprehensive idea of the situation can
be obtained only if the post-election activities of the major state
institutions are considered separately.
The parliament
After the 27 October 1999 crime [attack on the parliament] and
after the dismissal of Prime Minister Aram Sargsyan [the brother of
former Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsyan who was killed in the attack
on the parliament in 1999], the parliament stopped being one of the
independent branches of power and became a mere attachment to the
executive authorities, or to put it more correctly, to the president
of the republic – humbly carrying out his orders, unanimously approving
the laws submitted by the government and providing legislative services
to the bandit administration.
[Passage omitted: Ter-Petrosyan cites more examples of the parliament
carrying out the government’s instructions]
Let’s see now what changed in the activities of the parliament after
the presidential election and the 1 March events. Unfortunately,
nothing. However, if anything has changed, then only for the worse. The
parliament’s behaviour became more cynical, groundless and illegal. It
is enough to cite the series of disgraceful laws and decisions it
approved in the recent period.
[Passage omitted: Ter-Petrosyan said that the parliament approved
the decree on the state of emergency in Yerevan, tightened the law
on demonstrations, deprived four MPs accused of involvement in the 1
March riots of their immunity, established a parliamentary commission
to look into the 1 March events and amended the law on the security
of people subject to special state protection. He described them as
restrictions on democratic freedoms and political persecution and
said it is necessary to hold extraordinary parliamentary elections.]
The government
Serzh Sargsyan’s government is no different from [former President]
Robert Kocharyan’s government. This is a government which was
formed by the same coalition principle – apparently not for
economic considerations, but on the basis of pronounced political
convenience. The Republican Party of Armenia, a majority in the
parliament, which did not need to form a coalition at all, took this
step in order to create an illusion of political solidarity in the
country, which was so necessary in order to hide the usurpation of
power by the current president and diminish the monstrosity of the
1 March crime.
[Passage omitted: Ter-Petrosyan described the selection of the prime
minister as a result of political convenience and said that the role
of the prime minister has been lowered to the possible minimum level,
saying that Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan acts on the orders of Deputy
Prime Minister Armen Gevorgyan who Ter-Petrosyan said was Kocharyan’s
"commissioner". Ter-Petrosyan reiterates that the new government’s
activities have yielded no positive results]
The only tangible result of the activities of the new government, as
we could see, is the increasing tax burden on small and medium-sized
businesses, which already threatens the existence of this stratum. And
when we add the unprecedented inflation rate of the recent period – on
essential commodities, clothes, petrol, diesel fuel, transportation –
and the increase in the prices of various other services, then it is
difficult to avoid the temptation to characterize Serzh Sargsyan’s
first days in office as unsatisfactory or even scandalous.
The law-enforcement system
By saying the law-enforcement system, I imply the Police, the National
Security Service, the Justice Ministry and Prosecutor-General’s
Office, the Special Investigation Service and the courts, that is
the power basis of the bandit administration inherited from Robert
Kocharyan. The main work of these entities within the past five months
was not to carry out their direct functions, that’s to say ensure
law and order and fight crime, but to carry out political orders
from Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan, the purpose of which was
to destroy the opposition and cover up the responsibility of those
who organized the 1 March crime.
[Passage omitted: Ter-Petrosyan cites examples of "persecution"
against opposition activists]
One should regard as a tragedy the fact that the current government
has completely spoilt the whole judiciary system in several months in
order to solve its momentary problems – concealing the election fraud
and hindering the solution of the 1 March crime. The courts, which did
not stand out for their independence and impartiality even before,
have now turned into a simple blind tool to hide the crimes of the
governing administration and fabricate a case against the opposition;
this kills event the last expression of public trust in them.
[Passage omitted: Ter-Petrosyan says the courts in Armenia are carrying
out the orders of the government]
While assessing the condition of the judiciary system, I should
note with pain that the Constitutional Court, which according to
its supreme status should have had the absolute authority of the
system, is not up to the mark. By saying this, I do not mean the
decision on the results of the election made by the Constitutional
Court. As a person, I understand that under the state of emergency
and at gunpoint from the National Security Service, it could not
have issued another verdict. The only thing that I am worried about
is that the Constitutional Court, violating the principle of the
judiciary, cowardly avoided making a conclusion on or refuting the two
arguments I had submitted. (Let me remind you that one of those was
that a prime minister [Serzh Sargsyan] registered as a presidential
candidate should have been suspended, and the other one is that
the Constitutional Court could not discuss the issue regarding the
results of the presidential election under a state of emergency). I
would like to inform you that the non-appliance of justice towards
the plaintiff is a sensational fact, which will form the basis of my
application to the European Court.
Local authorities
Besides the elimination of the independence of the legislative and
judiciary powers, the involvement of the local authorities in crimes
– especially of the city municipalities and district administration
of Yerevan, has become one of the phenomena characterizing the past
10 years.
[Passage omitted: Ter-Petrosyan says that the local authorities
are a lever in the hands of the government in the presidential and
parliamentary election]
The situation and the morale in the local authorities have not changed
at all in the first 100 days of Serzh Sargsyan’s "presidency", which
results from the partial elections held in different communities of
the republic. Police and tax terror, discrimination against opposition
candidates, lopsided propaganda and election bribes are continuing
to remain the arsenal of the candidates sponsored by the authorities.
[Passage omitted: Ter-Petrosyan on election violations, in particular
on violations during the election of the Yerevan city mayor]
Serzh Sargsyan’s role
A question arises – is the investigation into the activities of the
main government agencies related to the assessment of [President]
Serzh Sargsyan’s first 100 days in office. Yes, it is. It is related
to Sargsyan’s activities since under Article 49 of the constitution,
"the republic’s president observes the requirements of the constitution
and ensures the normal functioning of the legislative, executive
and judicial branches of power". This means that the president is
personally responsible for the activities of all state institutions,
if, of course, he has read the abovementioned article of the
constitution. But the first steps taken by him show that he has not
done so yet.
The National Assembly, the government, the legislative system and
the local governments, as we can see, are doing anything but their
direct duties, and the result of it is that the implementation of
issues concerning productive legislative activities, economic reforms,
the stimulation of industry and export, improvements in the living
standards of the population, the creation of equal opportunities for
businessmen, the struggle against crime and corruption, the elimination
of state robbery, the application of anti-monopolistic measures,
the ensuring of democratic freedoms, human rights protection and the
development of the culture, education and health spheres have failed.
[Passage omitted: Ter-Petrosyan says that Sargsyan is doing everything
possible to maintain the "criminal system" established by the former
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan]
Sargsyan performed well only one thing during his first 100 days in
office, and the result of it is that democratic freedoms have been
restricted even more and human rights are constantly violated. This
caused an increase in tensions between the authorities and society. A
great talent is needed to set the population against oneself in a
short time. In his recent interview, Sargsyan noted that he has a
problem with the dialogue not with the opposition leader, but also
with the public. Thank God, he understood justice at last. But it is
a pity that he perceives dialogue with society in his own way, namely
by means of using truncheons, dispersing rallies and demonstrations,
as well as through acts of terrorism and mass arrests.
[Passage omitted: Ter-Petrosyan said that Sargsyan has no intention
of releasing political prisoners]
I do not know how the international community will react to Sargsyan’s
own decision, but there is no doubt about Armenian society’s reaction
to this effect. From now on, the main slogan of our movement is to
decisively continue the nationwide struggle and demand Sargsyan’s
resignation, as well as to ensure the holding of an extraordinary
presidential election. [The demand for] Sargsyan’s resignation
is based not only on common assessments, but also on specific
accusations against Sargsyan, including the seizure of power through
election-rigging, crimes committed during the 1 March unrest, creation
of obstacles to the investigation into the March unrest, the setting
up of a criminal system in the country and the involvement of state
agencies in crime.
[Passage omitted: Ter-Petrosyan notes the importance of establishing an
Armenian National Congress in order to continue the struggle against
the authorities]
Declaration on the establishment of the Armenian National Congress
The Armenian Pan-National Movement which was formed as an election
bloc has accomplished its functions in this sphere.
Due to the current circumstances in which power in Armenia was seized
by a gang of robbers and the presidential elections were rigged through
the criminal acts committed against the people; taking into account
that the Republic of Armenia faces thought-provoking challenges and
realizing that there is a need to set up a new organization which would
be able to stand up to these challenges, we, members of member parties
of the movement, decided to establish the Armenian National Congress.
The congress will strive to establish a free, democratic and
legislative constitutional system in the country and to create a
fully-fledged civil society.
The political parties and public organizations which form the congress
maintain their independence and their right to function independently,
including the right to participate in the elections separately. All
political parties and public organizations in Armenia and abroad can
join the congress.
The congress is planning to adopt its action plan at the forthcoming
meeting of the bloc. But prior to this, we think it necessary to
offer our main tasks arising from the tense domestic situation in
the country to Armenian society:
– the release of all political prisoners without any preconditions;
– the ensuring of freedom of speech, media and rallies;
– an independent investigation into the 1 March unrest with the
participation of international experts;
– the holding of a dialogue with the authorities on the development
of democracy in the country after the implementation of the first
provision of this address.
– the holding of extraordinary presidential and parliamentary
elections.
We call on all the forces that are worried about the fate of their
motherland, organizations and citizens to close ranks around the
Armenian National Congress.