Speech by Levon Ter-Petrosyan
SPEECH BY LEVON TER-PETROSYAN AT THE RALLY ON JUNE 30, 2011
In his speech at the rally on June 30, Levon Ter-Petrosyan focused on two issues, including the revelation of the murders of March 1 and the perspective of a dialogue between the Armenian National Congress (HAK) and the authorities. In regard to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution, Ter-Petrosyan said the Congress's position on any plan for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution depends exclusively on how acceptable it will be for the people and the authorities of Karabakh.
Considering the issues related to political prisoners and Freedom Square, Ter-Petrosyan said they would concentrate on revealing the crime of March 1 and that even though the law-enforcement bodies have become engaged in implementing the instruction given by Serzh Sargsyan on 20 April 2011, one gets the impression that the people are witnessing new mockery. According to Ter-Petrosyan, Serzh Sargsyan's instruction is uncertain because it only envisages a sweep and activation in the revelation of the events of March 1. However, the problem is that Armenian society and the international community aren't demanding the revelation of the events of March 1, but the revelation of the ten murders with all the legal consequences by bringing those responsible for the crime to justice.
In his speech, Levon Ter-Petrosyan mentioned that all attempts to link the mass disturbances and murders with the opposition's actions have failed, meaning that those leading an investigation into the organizers and the perpetrators had to search somewhere else.
Ter-Petrosyan added that the revelation of the murders of March 1 and the persecution of the perpetrators is not as much a matter of justice as it is a political matter with the purpose of ruling out the repetition of such a crime in the future; otherwise, Armenia may once again see a possible tragedy or humiliation once again.
According to Ter-Petrosyan, one of the most important events in Armenia's inter-political life is the discussion on the possible dialogue between the Armenian National Congress and the authorities. Armenians should not be raising the issue in front of different officials. That is not dialogue because any dialogue presupposes equality. No matter how stubborn the authorities are, they will eventually engage in dialogue with the HAK through delegates.
Ter-Petrosyan didn't consider it needless to recall his recent short statement on the issue in which he said that "the dialogue is not so much for the Congress, but for the authorities. If the dialogue fails, the Congress won't have anything to lose, and will perhaps get something from the political angle. The authorities will be the first to lose and, for the most part, the people and the country."
Ter-Petrosyan said the HAK had announced several times that its purpose was not to come to power, but to form a legitimate government through legitimate elections. If any other political force, including the government wins in fair elections, the HAK will be the first to congratulate that force. From the angle of principle, that will be a greater victory for the Congress and for Ter-Petrosyan than sitting in the big chair.
However, Ter-Petrosyan added that the authorities are afraid of this as if they were afraid of the plague. He says that is natural because if they were given the chance, dictators wouldn't hold snap elections or even subsequent elections. With that said, Ter-Petrosyan said no matter how stubborn Armenian authorities are and no matter how much they try to win time, they will be imposed to hold snap elections sooner or later.
In the end, Ter-Petrosyan wished that the heads of the regime would be reasonable and would eventually decide to hold snap elections in the next two months. If not, the reasonable timeframe will be considered expired in September and the only demand on the agenda will be the resignation of Serzh Sargsyan and the ruling coalition.
