ARF AND ANM AGREE TO AVOID MUTUAL SMEARING

ARMENPRESS
Oct 1, 2007

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 1, ARMENPRESS: Lop leaders of the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (ARF) and ex-president Levon Ter-Petrosian’s
Armenian National Movement (ANM) have reached an agreement to avoid
smearing one another during the campaign for presidential election,
slated for early 2008.

The news was announced today by Spartak Seyranian, a senior member
of the ARF in a comment on a surprise September 29 meeting between
top ARF leaders Hrant Margarian and Armen Rustamian with ex-president
Ter-Petrosian.

According to Spartak Seyranian, the two sides have agreed that
campaigning should be only ideologically based.

Hovhannes Hovhanesian, head of a small opposition Liberal Progressive
party, joined the ARF official saying at a joint news conference
that ideologically-based political straggle will benefit all, but he
rebuked political groups in Armenia for failing to understand that
politics should not be mixed with emotions.

According to him, Levon Ter-Petrosian’s visit to the ARF Center has
showed that the ex-president is serious about ongoing political
processes, while the ARF has showed, by welcoming him, that its
position on political process does not depend on emotions.

"We remember out political differences, but our campaign will be
ideology-based. We shall not do anything to the ANM which we would
not like to be done to us,’ Spartak Seyranian said.

Seyranian further divulged that Ter-Petrosian and top ARF leaders,
Hrant Margarian and Armen Rustamian, avoided talking about the
stand-off between the ARF and the ANM in early 90-s, ‘because today is
not the right time for it," although, Seyranian added that the ARF does
not suffer from amnesia, implicating Ter-Petrosian’s ban of the ARF
and arrests of its leaders back in 1994 on charges of plotting coup.

Seyranian disagreed with Ter-Petrosian’s comments that "Azerbaijan
is less and less prepared to make concessions to the Armenian side
because of its mounting oil revenues." He said Armenia is now much
more stronger than in early 1990-s and has therefore more chances to
press for Nagorno-Karabakh’s international recognition.