Noyan Tapan Highlights” N41
October, 2005

October 10, 2005

Raffi Hovannisian continues political consultations and starts meetings in
Armenian regions

Yerevan–Raffi Hovannisian, founder and head of the Armenian Center for
National and International Studies, Chairman of the Zharangutiun
(“Heritage”) party, starts a series of meetings with representatives of
public and his supporters in different regions of the country. Raffi
Hovannisian informed representatives of mass media about it at the reception
in honor of the 11th anniversary of foundation of the Center. It’s supposed
that during these meetings he will explain party’s negative position on
draft constitutional amendments put to the referendum. Other issues worrying
the Armenian society will be also discussed during the numerous scheduled
meetings.

In his open address, R.Hovannisian also confirmed that he continues
political consultations on the issue of cooperation with both
representatives of opposition and civil society and the representatives of
Armenian power who realize the seriousness of the situation formed in the
country and the necessity in radical changes.

Mr. Hovannisian considers that the most important task at the current stage
is to hold the referendum exactly in correspondence with the international
obligations assumed by Armenia. He especially emphasized that all the stages
of the process should be democratic and transparent, starting from the
moment of agitation up to the calculation of votes, which should guarantee
the trust of the society in the referendum results.

At best Turkey may Become EU member only together with Armenia.

“We have to state loud and clear that Turkey’s aspirations to become a
member of the European Union correspond with Armenia’s political interests,”
Raffi Hovannisian stated. “It is foreseeable that in its best-case scenario
Turkey can only become an EU member in synchronization with the Republic of
Armenia, and in the process it will have to undergo serious and irreversible
reforms, confront its history, reject any imperial ambitions, and so forge a
comprehensive resolution of all outstanding matters with Armenia,” he
stressed.

In the opinion of R. Hovannisian, the animosity may and should grow into a
partnership, of which the past and current relations between Germany and
Russia, Germany and France, Germany and Israel, or the US and Japan bear
evidence. “In order completely to uncover and acknowledge the historical
truth, we must support Turkey’s pioneers, the growing intellectual movement
which is the brave resumption of those exceptional precedents in 1915 and
beyond when thousands of Turkish families, at the risk of losing their own
lives, endeavored to hide and save individual Armenians from certain death.
My grandmother owed her life to one such righteous family of heroes, who to
this day remain unsung because of official Turkish denialism,” R.
Hovannisian stated.

He proposed the following peace initiative of the Armenian side: ” As a
means of building mutual trust, Armenia might invite bilateral consideration
of the idea of creating, under UN or UNESCO auspices, an international and
demilitarized free economic and cultural Belt of Civilization around the
medieval Armenian capital of Ani and the Biblical slopes of Mt. Ararat.” In
his view, in a short period of time this zone may become an international
tourist center, thus developing the deserted regions of both countries and
creating an opportunity for an uunprecedented bilateral cooperation.

“Foreign policy is privatized just like country’s economy”

“We simply do not have the right to entrust our nation’s destiny to those
who have appropriated its foreign policy in the same way as they have done
with the economy, turning one and the other into a shadow structure driven
by personal gain,” Raffi Hovannisian declared in his open address. According
to him, such a conduct became the reason of the fact that “this mode of
operation has made a mockery of the national interest, has alienated the
country’s citizens from their authorities, and has shaken the foundations of
our once-national solidarity. From the standard-bearer of democracy and
liberty in the region, Armenia is now retreating to the backwaters of
cynical authoritarian dominion.”

Monopoly in policy is so much dengerous as in economy, Raffi Hovannisian
highlighted. In summer we became the witnesses and victims of destructive
consequences of such a monopoly. The telephone and computer sphere having
strategic importance is meant here.

In reply to a possible question, why the subject of complete political and
economic monopoly doesn’t become an occasion for everyday anxiety of mass
media, Raffi Hovannisian said: “Because after the shutdown of “A1+” and
“Noyan Tapan” an indirect monopoly has been established in the public
information realm as well.”

“The weakening of democracy gives birth to monopoly, whereas monopoly
strangles the economy, diplomacy, and ultimately democracy itself,” first RA
Foreign Minister emphasized.

R.Hovannisian declared that “as the incumbent administration continues to
pacify itself and the public with economic growth figures, prestigious
international bodies confirm that more than half of the country’s national
product, and thus of its taxation sphere, is hidden in the shadow,
consequently circumventing the official budget and the citizens’ shares in
it.”

One more chance to connect struggle against terrorism with Artsakh conflict
was missed

“This summer the world was shocked by the attacks of terror in London. The
voices of Armenia and Armenians were all but unheard among the many which
condemned those violent acts,” Raffi Hovannisian mentioned. While, according
to him, “the Armenian leaders’ ineptitude in taking our decisive say on the
anti-terrorism front to the world and duly underscoring our commitment is
sidelining the nation from global developments and is belittling the value
and meaning of our casualties to the common cause.”

In R.Hovannisian’s opinion, the authorities missed one more opportunity to c
onnect the general struggle against terrorism with the Artsakh conflict in
the best way. “It was the opportune time to remind the civilized world that,
only a few years ago, the people of Artsakh who were battling for their
right to live also had come face to face with Afghan mujahaddins and
mercenary pilots bombing civilian targets in peaceful towns. By failing to
present to the world the captured foreign mercenaries and the documents
confiscated from them as hard evidence of our noteworthy contribution to the
war on international terror, the mediocre official and his obsequious
diplomacy once again turned out to be spineless.”

“While abroad they were telling duplicitous tales about their own integrity,
they failed widely to publicize the fact that during the
Karabagh-Azerbaijani war the adversary’s positions in Shushi were defended
by the notorious Shamil Bassaev, who later on organized the pogrom of
hundreds of innocent people in allied Russia. Not surprisingly, the heroic
stand of Artsakh in the name of human rights and liberties, which once
enjoyed worldwide support, has turned into a mere territorial issue being
examined within the strictures of international bureaucracy,” Raffi
Hovannisian declared.