Azat Artsakh, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh
March 8 2004
REVOLUTION MAY BE PREVENTED IF IMPOSED FROM ABOVE
-After his meeting with the president of Georgia George Bush said
they had discussed the possibility of spreading the sprouts of the
“rose revolution” in other countries. Mr. Petrossian, in your
opinion, may the direct neighbours of Georgia Armenia and Azerbaijan
be included in the list of “other countries”?
– Certainly, these countries first of all. The president of the USA
would not discuss the problem of democratization of the countries of
Arabic world, Africa or Latin America with Georgian president. They
could have referred to only those countries which have common
political system and problems with Georgia. Still in December “The
Washington Post” wrote when the heads of the states formed in the
territory of the Soviet Union gathered in Baku at the funeral of
president Heidar Aliev behind the scenes rumours were circulated
about change of power not in Azerbaijan but neighbouring Georgia. The
revolution deposed the president of Georgia E. Shewardnadzeh and his
colleagues in the CIS were worried by the possibility of such
situations in their own countries. President of Russia Putin caught
these moods and, as two direct sources state, during his talk to the
acting president of Georgia Nino Burdzhanadzeh mentioned with
rudeness typical of him, “All the CIS heads were scared the pants
off.”
– Do you think that “a rose revolution” is expected in Armenia.
– But why not? I consider it not only possible but also inevitable;
it is possible to avoid a revolution from “beneath” if only it is
organized from “above”. Let us consider: during the last 10-12 years
our almost unchanged government did not stir a finger to punish at
least some bribe-taker and robber officials. But discontentment is
genetically inherent to man, especially its “plural number” people.
And this in normal conditions for existence. But when you are in need
of everything, when cynical injustice is around, blast of the bomb of
protest, serious shocks within the society are inevitable. By the
way, a “bloodless” revolution was possible in Armenia last March,
earlier than in Georgia if the protests of the people in 1996 did not
fail. The failure of this attempt and the hopelessness that followed
were still fresh in the memory of the people and oppressed their hope
and spirit. In spite of all this the government were hopeful and
continue to be that the people will wait until the “reforms” will
slowly but give “fruits”. They hope that the inert majority of their
citizens understands them, understands that the difficulties are
overcome by objective reasons which are not dependent on the
activities of the government. Almost in everything the “transition
period” is to blame and as evidence they point at our neighbours. But
“the political wonder of Georgia” dealt a strong blow to this absurd
principle, and became a reality by the slogan “Down with corruption,
the source of poverty”. And if the words of Sahakashvili and his
supporters do not essentially differ from their actions and the
organizational streak does not betray them (and I believe in this)
the true results of their work will not wait long. In this case the
neighbouring nations, at least the Armenians will gain hope and
belief that by active opposition it is not only possible to depose an
ineffective government but also radically change their life and the
life of their country. That is to say, in a year, or a year and a
half the rule of law will be maintained in Georgia and the population
will feel the results of the activities of the new government, which
will certainly provide favourable basis for the “Georgian practice”
in Armenia.
– However, many analysts forecast the possible failure of
Sahakashvili because of hastiness of his plans and ambitious actions.
– Of course, there are and there will be faults. New actions,
especially the reconstitution of the system cannot pass without
mistakes. As great organizer Vladimir Lenin confessed, “there has not
been such a cause to which we did not come back”. You say what the
majority of the Russian and CIS mass media write or broadcast, which
are under the influence of either authorities, or big capital. And
radical changes are not favourable for either the first, or the
second, more exactly such actions are directed against them. And I
can state for sure that the activities of the new government of
Georgia have already produced results. The first result is the
improvement of relationships with Russia. “I did not expect such
wonders from that visit,” confessed Sahakashvili after returning from
Moscow to Tbilisi, and added, “Our talk with Putin lasted for four
hours and we arranged to work on painful issues unless they are
eliminated. Our line is to shift the relationships with Moscow to a
strategic level and we will not deviate from that line. Demanding
from Russia to withdraw their military installations from the
territory of our country we do not refuse to cooperate in either the
military or political and economic spheres,” clarified the president
of Georgia. The same was confirmed by the Russian party. I. Ivanov
said, “Moscow is pleased with the results of the negotiations with
the president of Georgia.” The second result is the assistance of the
USA to Sahakashvili which he was granted during his visit to
Washington. Answering the questions of journalists, Colin Powell
expressed support for the actions of the president of Georgia against
corruption. The state secretary of the USA mentioned that he was
impressed by the determination of the president of Georgia in his
struggle against corruption as it is impossible to build democracy
with a corrupted state system. He said he is sure that president
Sahakashvili will manage to maintain rule of law and uproot
corruption. What is more, he mentioned that the Georgian leadership
may rely on the support of America. In his turn at the meeting with
the president Sahakshvili on Wednesday George Bush highly appreciated
the contribution of the president Sahakashvili in maintenance of
democracy and struggle against corruption which also aim at
stabilizing the economy of Georgia. According to the agency
“Associated Press” George Bush expressed his support to the “rose
revolution” characterizing it as an example to the people of the
world who seek for democracy, who want to have honest government.
Bush stated he was impressed by the sensibility and courage of this
leader and was encouraged by the fact of having such a reliable
partner with whom they have common values. He said he had first-hand
information that president Sahakashvili does everything possible to
win the trust of the people by following their will, fighting
corruption and creating an effective state system. At the end of the
meeting he told Sahakashvili that in he current year Georgia will be
the CIS country which will receive the biggest aid of the USA,
reaching 200 million dollars. Aren’t these true results?
– But what about the suppositions about confrontation of Russia and
the USA in Georgia?
– No, the United States and Russia must and will cooperate in Georgia
and not compete for Georgia. This was stated by the US state
secretary C. Powell after the meeting with the president of Georgia
on February 26.
AA