UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT TO INTERVIEW LEVON TER-PETROSIAN

Azg/arm
11 Dec 04

All Armenian Movement Gets Separated Again

First RA president Levon Ter-Petrosian joined the 14th Congress of the
All-Armenian Movement five minutes late. His entrance to the
sittingsâ=80=99 hall of the government aroused the obvious excitement
of the participants. It seemed tome that Ter-Petrosian’s delay was
artificially staged. On the other hand, it seemed that AAM exists for
the only hope of Ter-Petrosian’s return.Doubtlessly, the participants
of the sitting are the very group of people that are readyto urge for
the first RA president’s return.

Before taking his seat in the first row Ter-Petrosian greeted the
members of his party, shook the hand of progressive-liberal Hovhannes
Hovhannisian, then sat down next to Samvel Gevorgian. The political
figures sitting behind him were likely to enjoy his presence. Indeed,
there can be historic moments inthe life of each political figure.

The journalists failed to interview Levon Ter-Petrosian. He was
smoking and talking to his acquaintances during the breaks. At the
congress he listenedto the speeches on the unprecedented massacres of
the Western Armenians in 1895-96, the Armenians Genocide of 1915 and
the final loss of the Western Armenia, as well as on the loss of the
Eastern Armenia’s great part in 1918-1921. In its adopted formula the
14th Congress of AAM condemned the Armenian ideology based on
national-socialistic ideas in all these tragedies, instead of
condemning the Ottoman Empire in that.

“The freedom of speech is banned, journalists and the mass media
become targets of terrorism, left-wing TV channels are being closed,”
this is another extract from the formula of AAM Congress. Ararat
Zourabian, chairman of theparty, emphasized the closing of A1+ channel
in his speech. But was it right to talk of the freedom of speech in
the presence of the first RA president? On December 28, 1994, all the
mass media reflecting the ideas of Armenian Revolutionary Party
Dashnaktsutyun were closed and robbed during one night.

The leaders of some parties separated from AAM were not present at the
congress. Babken Ararktsian, Alexander Arzoumanian, Ara Sahakian were
not at the sitting hall. Henry Cuni, French ambassador to Armenia,
accepted the invitation to be present at the congress. Aram Sargsian
represented Hanrapetutiun Party, while Stepan Demirchian, leader of
the People’s Party of Armenia was absent.

Ararat Zourabian stated in his speech at the congress that the regime
that seized the power continues its activities that destroy the base
of the Armenian state. According to Zourabian, in the Nagorno Karabakh
issue, NKR doesnâ=80=99t participate in the negotiation process, and
the conflict became a territorial quarrel between Armenia and
Azerbaijan.

Zourabian emphasized that Armenia is excluded from the regional
security, energetic and transportation systems, there is no progress
fixed in the Armenian- Turkish relations, while the relations between
Russia and Armenia were characterized as those between the master and
the slave. As for “Property against Debt” project, it endangers the
independence of Armenia, he said.

The leaders of the party keep saying that the All Armenian Movement
can be a part of the nation-wide movement against the current regime
in Armenia.

BY Tatoul Hakobian