IS SERGE SARGSYAN LESS PREPARED THAN DASHNAKTSUTYUN

Lragir.am
21-09-2007 14:48:32

On the holiday of September 21 Member of Parliament General
Aghabekyan, ARF Dashnaktsutyun, ex-deputy minister of defense, made a
working statement in a news conference at the Hayatsk press club. He
said considering the situation in the region, the possible
developments, aware of the challenges he thinks that only an Armenian
president from Dashnaktsutyun may meet these challenges.

"The challenges, the problems we are facing today, Armenia must meet,
we think only a president from the ARF Dashnaktsutyun is able to meet
these challenges," Arthur Aghabekyan says, noting that he is convinced
of what he is telling. "A person is telling you this who spent three
days at the Square of Freedom in 1988 and realized that there would be
a war in Nagorno-Karabakh. I quit everything, science, cozy life, and
returned to Nagorno-Karabakh", adding that "every member of
Dashnaktsutyun suffers from this disease." "And very soon a large part
of the society will catch this disease that only a president from
Dashnaktsutyun may meet the challenges," Arthur Aghabekyan says.

His words give rise to a logical question. Arthur Aghabekyan has
worked under the supervision of a person who was defense minister, now
is prime minister and wants to be president of Armenia. Does Arthur
Aghabekyan think that as president Serge Sargsyan will not be able to
meet the challenges? In answer to this question of Lragir.am Arthur
Aghabekyan says they have been collaborating with Serge Sargsyan since
the beginning of the war, together they made a lot of decisions, and
were sure those were the right decisions." "The result was the
victory. When I was the deputy minister of defense, we had a closer
cooperation. He was not only my supervisor, we shared our past, and in
discussing questions I was always able to express my point of view,"
Arthur Aghabekyan says, in fact, emphasizing his independence. He says
he has noted earlier that it is going to be difficult to persuade
people that it is an alternative but he also thinks Dashnaktsutyun can
prove there is no alternative to it.

As to the question if Serge Sargsyan is prepared or not, Arthur
Aghabekyan thinks it is important that people elect the president,
independent from who the president is. "If the representatives of the
political forces running in the election, or the presidential
candidates acknowledge and make a phone call or shake hands with the
president elect and congratulate, the climate in the country will
change right away, there will be mutual congratulations. In this
connection, we need a presidential election, and the president who
will be elected must be the president of all the people and not part
of the people. It is not acceptable considering today’s situation,
because I know we are going to face lots of problems," Arthur
Aghabekyan says. He says Dashnaktsutyun will cooperate with every
elected president who will get the vote of people, even if this
president is Levon Ter-Petrosyan. Arthur Aghabekyan said if in the
second round Serge Sargsyan and Ter-Petrosyan run for presidency, he
has already made his choice.

He said Dashnaktsutyun is going to impart the election process with a
new quality and is reluctant to wage a war with any force. Although
Arthur Aghabekyan also says the response to the accusations against
Dashnaktsutyun will come right away.

"Most importantly, this time we will put up a team which will fulfill
its pledges. Each member of this team, each representing a sphere,
will be ready for a discussion with the team of another party," Arthur
Aghabekyan says. According to him, Dashnaktsutyun’s intentions are not
false, and the party’s decision to run in the election is the result
of serious consideration.