COUNCIL ALDERMEN OF INTELECTUALS’ FORUM CALLS TO BOYCOTT REFERENDUM OF
CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS

YEREVAN, AUGUST 26, NOYAN TAPAN. The Council of Aldermen of the
Intelecturals’ Forum calls on the citizens of the republic to boycott
the referendum on the constitutional reforms to be held in November.
This is said in the August 25 address of the organization. According
to authors of the document, the authorities’ stating the constitutional
reforms as of most importance follows one main goal: to make
legitimate the power not elected and formed by the people. “By this
regular simple and shameless step of disorientating the society, the
authorities want to give a legal and countinuable character to
shameful crimes committed and to be committed by them,” the address
reads. The Council of Aldermen of the Intelectuals’ Forum finds that
if parties participate in discussions of the Constitutional reforms,
and the people participates in the referendum, even with an intention
to say “No,” it will be considered as recognition of the authorities’
legitimacy by the people. According to the Council of Aldermen’s
estimation, it will be an inadmissible mistake “with all negative
consequences coming out of it.” According to the authors of the
address, particularly, if the authorities make decision not beneficial
for Armenia concerning the Artakh problem, “they may quote that they
are those elected by the people and fulfil the people’s will, in the
case, when the 2003 president’s and parliamentary elections were
widely falsified, the power was taken, and nobody has been punished
for that hard crime by now.”