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| 21:16:32 | 20-09-2005 | Politics |
RAFFI HOVANNISIAN SAYS “NO”
Today the Heritage Party declared its position on Draft Constitutional
Amendments.
The statement says: “The Constitution is the fundamental law of the land and
its citizens. The most authoritative source of rights, it defines and
guarantees the structure of state, its political system, and civil liberties
and obligations. Its legitimacy and force of example turn on its acceptance
as the fruit of political consensus and civic confidence.
The Constitution is not a game. It is not a means or excuse to cling to a
political seat or to clarify private relationships. It is not a veneer to
gloss over cracks in the republican home and to hide societal sicknesses.
Our home is cracked, divided, and under pressure. The first decade and a
half of our rediscovered independence have borne witness to an impressive
array of legal and human rights violations committed, in large measure,
under the very cover of cunning constitutional and legislative references.
Testifying to the subjugation of the absolute benchmark of the national
interest to layers of personal gain, our Homeland has been usurped, our
voice and vote have been grabbed away, millions of individual destinies have
been torn asunder, and the assets and inheritance that belong to the
generations have been stolen or sold off together with any remnant sense of
honor.
We have already crossed the final frontier of forging and being forged,
deceiving and self-deceiving. The world is not dumb, and Armenia is not a
gaming hall.
The crown of illegitimacy earned by our country’s authorities beginning ten
years ago and cresting in 2003 is not commensurate even with the lowest
threshold required to posit constitutional amendments for an accountable
public vote.
If in the present conditions that document is put to referendum, the most
compelling priority will become not its small substantive advantage, but the
imperative of democracy through the conduct of a free, fair, and truly
participatory electoral procedure. Any breach or falsehood, whether during
the campaign, on election day or in the counting, will strike a blow to the
Republic of Armenia, its esteem and future, its every citizen. Our heritage
as witness, that shall be the final shame of modern Armenian history.
Heritage, a national liberal party, will stand at full capacity for the
democratic integrity of the process and a democratic result on the merits.
Considering that the instant draft of the Constitution, as much as it
betokens a textual improvement, is in essence a collection of half-measures
born of unhealthy circumstances, the party is now preparing and will soon
make public its own alternative Armenian Constitution. Our firm expectation
is that, among other things ruling out any prejudicial propensity toward the
undemocratic reproduction of authority, it will become one of the
cornerstones of our forthcoming political quest and with its inclusive
vitality will guide Armenia through the 21st Century, permanently offering
sound answers and comprehensive solutions to the national challenges of our
times.”