Armen Sargsyan: It is time to erase everything and start a dialogue

Armen Sargsyan, a candidate nominated by 65 members of the Armenian ruling coalition, touched upon the events on 1 March, 2008, noting that he paid tribute to the memory of 10 victims during the discussion of the issue of his candidacy today. Then, speaking of his nomination, he first thanked Serzh Sargsyan for nominating him.  "This is not only a great honor for me but also a great responsibility. I also thank the Republican Party of Armenia and the ARF Dashnaktsutyun for proposing me, as well as  the Tsarukyan Alliance for the support". One hour was foreseen for his speech. The speech of the presidential candidate was largely prominent by patriotic calls and historical commentary. "It is time to erase everything and start a dialogue". Armen Sargsyan also touched upon emigration, saying "There are different approaches when talking about it. Emigration is a phenomenon of the 21st century. It is a step to seeking more opportunities. This can be viewed as a demographic phenomenon. For example, in the case of our neighbors, there is emigration and maybe even greater. Immigration is not enough for us. You cannot ban people from traveling. Our problem is that emigration dominates immigration. And also, we have a problem that Armenia becomes a city-state, and all of them aspire to the capital from regions. We need tax, credit privileges, encouragement, charity to the regions. Our distant villages need our attention, and everything should be redistributed homogeneously. The Diaspora has a great role here. We simply do not take very simple steps. I promise that I will work with all sincerity of my essence. We are a small country, but a global nation. The 21st century will be ours. Years of young Armenia will be in the near future. "