ANC will start dialogue with the authorities
SPEECH BY LEVON TER-PETROSYAN AT THE RALLY ON MAY 31, 2011
Dear compatriots,
First, I would like to congratulate all of you on the fulfillment of the three most important demands, which should be considered the greatest achievement of the pan-national struggle. That was, first, the victory of Armenia's new civil society, the entire Armenian nation, if you will and finally, our state and the country. Indeed, foreign pressures on the authorities also played a certain role, but that shouldn't be exaggerated because that wouldn't have taken place if Armenia didn't have such a strong opposition like the Armenian National Congress.
Setting aside the meaningless rumors and gossip regarding some deal between the Congress and the authorities, which are due to misunderstanding, intention and overtly bad intentions, let us try to assess this unprecedented event and raise the real reasons.
On behalf of the society, the Armenian National Congress publicly presented its demands and the authorities responded to those demands with concrete actions. After turning the page of March 1 over, denying the existence of political prisoners, continuing to occupy Freedom Square, neglecting public opinion and hitting below the belt, what happened was nothing but the collapse of the "wall of misconception". Unfortunately, there are people who are trying to depreciate this precious achievement and abort the necessary act of making the political atmosphere in Armenia healthy.
It is clear that the source for the question of why the authorities are paying heed to the society's demands after years of pressures and lack of communication. I will not ascribe all that to the Armenian National Congress's persistent and goal-oriented struggle. That has been a factor for the past three years, and only recently did it help register results.
With that said, we must assume that several other factors had an impact on the sharp change of the authorities' line of conduct that made them respond to the society's just and ignored demands. Which are those factors?
1. Undoubtedly, the shocking events that took place in the Arab World and the West's sense of indifference or guilt of tolerance toward dictatorial regimes have given the authorities something to think about. Until now, the international community has been mainly guided by the principle of maintaining regional stability. When the great powers have been forced to make a choice between political solutions emanating from their national interests and universal values, they have usually given preference to the former. The subordination of freedom has led to dangerous destabilization from which the major role-players are obliged to draw conclusions and have started doing so. Only time will show how long this positive turn of events will last and whether pragmatism will prevail or not.
2. The other reason why the authorities paid heed to the society's demands or ceded was, no matter how strange it sounds, the link to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. It is clear that on the one hand, the Karabakh conflict resolution is drawing to an end with Russia's efforts and on the other hand, if that process fails, the danger of Azerbaijan's war becomes real. Under this condition, the authorities obviously realize that, to put it mildly, it can't make any concession or wage a successful war against Azerbaijan with its lack of full confidence of the people. There will soon be new dismissals and some authority representatives will be persecuted for creating the impression of a serious struggle against corruption and showing determination for establishing rule of law.
3. The authorities' recent line of conduct is also due to the frequent demonstrations due to the ban on street trade, the increase of fees on imported goods and customs, the issue connected to cars with Georgian state license numbers, the closure of the "Vernisazh" in Yerevan and higher taxes for florist shops. The reason for more frequent demonstrations is that there are more violations of human rights and that the country is in an incomparably heavier social-economic condition. Those protests will not fade away, but will continue. The current primitive movements may get out of hand at any moment and turn into a general social upheaval, which will be dangerous for the people, the state and the country.
4. Despite the above mentioned important factors, the main reason for the authorities' behavior should be considered the poor social-economic state and the awareness of no way out of that situation. Believe me, the government knows that situation and the serious challenges and problems better than us because it comes face to face with that every day. It also knows that there is no chance of improving that situation under the current conjuncture of world economy and that the situation is going to become even more difficult. I assure you that Serzh Sargsyan and Tigran Sargsyan can present a much more horrible image because they have command of figures and the statistics. Don't doubt that if the socio-economic state was better or if there was some perspective, the authorities would persistently continue to ignore the demands of the Congress and the society. The concessions were made based on the awareness of the devastating socio-economic state, which is more significant from the political angle than the show of good will. This step should be properly assessed. Let's hope that the authorities will be realistic, especially during the dialogue between the authorities and the Armenian National Congress.
In light of the above mentioned, this year's spring can be considered the most significant and most efficient landing in the inter-political life after elections in Armenia. Not finding any subjective and corroborated evidence, those speaking of a deal are trying to look for elements in the phrase "authorities-Armenian National Congress". Before any dialogue or negotiation, the rhetoric of the conflicting sides inevitably mitigates. For us, dialogue is nothing but the best opportunity to get out of the devastating situation through mutual understanding between the authorities and the opposition.
Besides drawing attention to the rhetoric, those speaking of deals are trying to identify serious program changes in the policy led by Armenian National Congress. One of the claims, which emanates from the circles of the Republican Party is that the Congress refused to express willingness for dialogue and has decided to enter the "political field". This is an absolute lie because the idea of dialogue lies at the core of the declaration adopted by the Armenian National Congress on 1 August 2008. If we speak of rejecting the coarse policy and returning to the political arena, that doesn't refer to the Congress, but the government. If the latter had responded to the proposal for dialogue on time, the country wouldn't be in this desperate situation, there wouldn't be emigration and the Karabakh conflict would develop in a totally different way.
Talking about a deal so much may create the impression that I am afraid of that word-not at all. There are no taboos for me and I have never avoided discussing any topic. After all, any negotiation or dialogue is a deal that emanates from the general interests of societies and states. If a dialogue takes place on office and the distribution of deputy mandates, that is a humiliating deal, which we have seen several times.
Now, I will speak about the Armenian National Congress's upcoming actions.
Taking into consideration the fulfillment of the ANC's three demands, we are ready for a formal dialogue with the authorities, that is, a dialogue at the level of delegations. In the next couple of days, we will choose a delegation of 5 people and will present the authorities with our agenda. Of course, the authorities must do the same. The topic on the Congress's agenda is snap presidential and parliamentary elections. But this doesn't mean that we will not take into account the authorities' agenda and proposals; otherwise, we would violate the equal rights. What's more, during the dialogue, we can't neglect the remaining demands stated in our 15-point declaration referring to the social sphere, small and medium businesses, agriculture, legalities, corruption, which must always be in the center of our attention.
If we try to put the inter-political developments taking place in Armenia in one sentence, it is clear that what is taking place in Armenia is the same thing that is taking place in the Arab World, that is, imposing snap elections through pressure and change of power. However, unlike the Arab countries, we are moving toward that without any turbulence or bloody clashes, but a peaceful road. I am sure that if the people of the Arab World had that option, they would act the same way.
The mechanism for controlling the process are our ongoing rallies, which will take place in order to keep the people updated on the dialogue or in the case of intensification of any social-economic situation and any state of emergency. As far as the next rally is concerned, it will be held in June and we will keep you updated on the date. The political situation is new and it allows us to solve the most serious issues through legitimacy. We have the opportunity to show the world that we are a civilized nation that has traditions spanning centuries. Neither the government nor the society has the right to lose that opportunity. I wish us success. We will meet again soon because the events are sharply developing.
