CIVIL INSUBORDINATION
Naira Mamikonian
Aravot, Armenia
Nov 22 2006
Many politicians think that this is the only way by which the
reproduction of the current authorities is possible to prevent.
Yesterday several politicians and public men, former state officials,
intellectual representatives, political and economic experts were
discussing and trying to formulate the problems and actions of the
movement of the civil insubordination in Armenia. But first of all,
advocate Vardan Haroutiunian noticed in his short speech that "figures
of the ruling clique have defamed themselves so much involving in
criminal relations, have committed so many crimes that they have no
opportunity to give the authority without a qualm of conscience",
so it is understandable why they want to keep the authority at any
cost and to be reproduced. The participants of discussion were sure
that these authorities though their announcements can’t and won’t
want to hold fair and free elections because no representative of
the current authority will be elected.
In the opinion of the activists of the movement the situation in the
country may be changed in the following way; "to form such a situation
in case of which it will be possible to hold fair and transparent
elections, and legal authorities will be formed as a result who will be
able to carry out reforms and get the country out of isolation". For
attaining such success, in Mr. Haroutiunian’s opinion, we must manage
to organize the activation of despaired people. People who have been
deprived of their property for "state needs" have already prompted
how to do it by their actions of protest. For the opposition this
initiative was a good chance to be rehabilitated in the public and
to restore human rights and basic freedoms if that principle and not
coming to power was important for them. And while the party leaders
discuss their actions, people out of party ambitions have decided to
join that movement and to form the movement of civic insuborination
based on it.
One of the most effective ways of struggle is the civic
insubordination; "realization of the right and fight for the realized
right". "As much the fighters are as soon and effective the struggle
will be. We must simply be unified not round a party or a force or a
person but round the idea of preventing reproduction of the authorities
and leading the country in democratic way,"- V. Haroutiunian suggested
who promised yesterday that the activists of the civic movement would
participate in the actions of protest of "victims of state needs".
Yesterday discussions didn’t pass without any serious "debates". Some
of them thought that the movement needed in a project, ideas unless
nothing will happen. Others were affirming that our people follow
the persons and not ideas. In the opinion of NA former vice chairman
Karapet Rubinian "other forces near the force of excellent ideas
always appear, who don’t agree with it. We should have one simple aim
consists of two points: the illegal authorities must be removed, fair
elections must be provided". The former minister Vahan Shirkhanian
was for the same who said "it is impossible to reach the formation
of legal authority by the coming elections". "I’m against the thought
that our people make their elections by bribes. It isn’t so, because
the people made right elections both in ’98 and 2003. It is another
problem that we didn’t have the power, which would manage to take the
authority. Now we can have that power and there is no need in that
project. Armenia may avoid of illegal elections by special elections
and its way is civic insubordination movement."