OATH TO BE SWORN BY ALL OF US
Lilit Poghosyan
Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on April 10, 2008
For the sake of our country’s future
"I realize that I have assumed a great responsibility. I know that I
will be the person whom you will consider responsible for everything. I
guarantee that I will not avoid such responsibility.
I realized the amount of that responsibility when I joined the
Republican Party and announced that I would run for presidency only
in case the Republican received maximum number of votes during the
elections. I realize the amount of that responsibility now, and I will
realize it every single day in the course of the coming five years,"
SERGE SARGSYAN, the third President of Armenia, announced yesterday,
assuming the leadership of the state. The new President assured that
he was ready to bear the responsibility of being the President of
all the citizens of the Republic of Armenia with honor.
The hall of the National Academic Theatre of Ballet and Opera named
after Al. Spendaryan, where the inauguration ceremony was scheduled,
was overcrowded. Apart from the 118 NA Deputies and the representatives
of the political and intellectual elite participating in the NA special
sitting, the ceremony was also attended by senior representatives
from 58 countries and 12 international organizations and foreign
diplomats accredited to Armenia.
At 14:00 p.m. sharp, NA Speaker Tigran Torosyan announced the beginning
of the sitting. Then, the national anthem of Armenia was played and,
with the accompaniment of the guards of honor, the National Flag of
Armenia (moved here from the presidential residence beforehand), the
ancient manuscript of the Bible (donated to Matenadaran by Vazgen
I Catholicos of All Armenians) and the original version of the
Constitution (brought from the Constitutional Court) were brought
in. Then, the NA Speaker asked the President-elect of Armenia to
the rostrum.
Putting his right hand on the Constitution and the Bible, placed
side by side on a special pedestal to the right of the rostrum, Serge
Sargsyan swore, "Assuming the office of the President of the Republic
of Armenia I swear: to fulfill the requirements of the Constitution
in an unreserved manner; to respect the fundamental and civil rights
and freedoms; to ensure the protection, independence, territorial
integrity and security of the Republic to the glory of the Republic of
Armenia and to the welfare of the people of the Republic of Armenia."
Serge Sargsyan’s first speech in a new status was in harmony with the
commitments of the pre- and post-election periods. "A few minutes ago
I swore an oath to fulfill the requirements of the Constitution in an
unreserved manner. I am sure that each of you has his/her own oath
of serving our motherland and people. This is the oath to be sworn
by all of us, for the sake of our country’s future and development,
for the sake of democracy and rule of law, for the sake of a stronger
and more prosperous Armenia.
May God give me power not to disappoint any of my supporters! May
God give power to all of us to overcome the difficulties, find
the prescription for all the problems troubling the people who are
disappointed or despaired, for those who are currently in need of
hope, belief and optimism," Serge Sargsyan said, addressing the second
President of the Republic, the Supreme Patriarch, the Deputies and
the guests.
Heralding "the start of the new reforms" the President expressed belief
that "we will be able to change the country’s life for the better,"
provided "each person is ready to start changing himself/herself".
Faithful to the promise of being the president of not only his favorers
but also – of those citizens who haven’t voted for him, the S. Sargsyan
added, "Some of our people supported another candidate. I address those
people; you had the right not to vote in my favor, but I don’t have
the right not to be your president. We mustn’t be separated from one
another, we mustn’t create barriers between different groups of people,
we mustn’t refrain from being privy to one another’s concern and grief
and we mustn’t go beyond the limits of mutual access. And even if there
is a wall of misunderstanding between us, let’s demolish that wall"
and, with the purpose of bringing to life the ideal the Armenia we
have been dreaming of, "let’s get rid of all kinds of polarizations,
violent confrontations and compromise".
Although pre-election campaign "was sharp and not devoid of insult,
I would like to express my gratitude to my opponents for their
struggle. I address my special gratitude to those who admitted their
defeat with dignity; to those who squeezed hands for cooperation,
accepting the proposal of enriching Armenia in a joint manner. I will
keep all my pre-election promises, and we will call them to life with
joint efforts. We will build the kind of Armenia that will unite all
the Armenians, the kind of Armenia that will be the motherland of all
the Armenians, the kind of Armenia where there will be an atmosphere
of mutual respect, love and tolerance, where our citizens and each
family will have be entitled to a dignified life and self-expression,"
S. Sargsyan assured.
The President promised to pursue the policy of searching cooperation
with all the political forces, strengthening the ties between
generations, combining the interests of different social groups and
national minorities, to foster the development of the intellectual
potential, contribute to the formation of an adequate attitude towards
the intelligentsia. "It’s high time our state had a serious attitude
towards culture, science, the scientific and educational potential
as well as the individual doing intellectual and creative work"
and made it’s "modest investment" in the process of strengthening
the Armenian Apostolic Church, a factor that is no less important.
Serge Sargsyan did not avoid speaking about the March 1 events
either. The tragedy is still fresh and the wounds have not been healed
yet, but it is necessary to look ahead – learn lessons from the bitter
experience of the past, become sober and work with double enthusiasm
and devotion with the purpose of neutralizing the atmosphere of public
confrontation and accomplishing the future of Armenia. And always
remember, "Unlimited freedom may lead to the conflict of both public
interests and the rights of other individuals. In order to prevent
such clashes, the state has the right to interfere in the process
of exercising certain fundamental rights. The restrictions of the
fundamental rights cannot, however, bear an absolute character since
in that case the fundamental right will cease to exist, as a matter
of fact. Such restrictions should not neutralize the contents of the
fundamental rights and freedoms prescribed by the Constitution."
Apart from being celebratory and historic, yesterday was also a
working day for the President. "Five years is quite a short period
of time for day-to-day important work, during which we must try to do
every possible and impossible thing for the development of our county
and the solution of the problems we are facing. This is the reason I
conside r this solemn day as a working day for my political team. So,
thank you, and get down to business.
Ahead, Armenia!" This is how the third President of Armenia finished
his inauguration speech.