FIRST PRESIDENT SAID TO RUN IN THE ELECTION AND OPENED THE BLACKLIST

Lragir
Armenia
Oct 26 2007

The first president of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan who addressed
the rally on October 26 announced that he will be running in the
presidential election. "You may believe me or not. It does not worry
me. I believe that the main problem of Armenia today is not the
personality of the future president of Armenia but the prevention of
the reproduction of this regime because it is a vicious government,
a government which treats its citizens like aliens, and is a disgrace
for the Armenian people," Levon Ter-Petrosyan said. He repeated what
he had stated in his address on September 21 that he will support any
activist who will emerge and prove able to solve this problem. If not,
Ter-Petrosyan says there is nothing else to do but to fulfill the will
of people. "Frankly speaking, I was inclined to make a decision on
the eve of the election process. However, the recent acts of violence
against my supporters, as well as the immense energy of this rally
urge me to make a decision immediately. Therefore, I am stating now
that I will be nominated as president of the Republic of Armenia,"
Levon Ter-Petrosyan stated. He says since he has already announced
he will be a presidential candidate, it means his status is going to
change abruptly as a political activist. "Therefore, let the policemen
surrounding us listen to me attentively – any act of violence against
my supporters or attempts of intimidation by the tax service will
be viewed as a criminal violation of the right of the citizens to
vote, and will be conveyed to both our society and the international
organizations. Let every policeman, community head or taxman keep
in mind that an act of violence against the constitutional rights
of citizens is a crime, and sooner or later they will be responsible
before the law," Levon Ter-Petrosyan said.

Besides, the first president said a list of people using force
against people is being made, and it will include everyone who
misbehaves. Levon Ter-Petrosyan said the list already includes the
head of the Police of Yerevan Nersik Nazaryan, his deputy Sashik
Afyan and deputy chief of the police Ararat Mahtesyan. "The heads of
two communities of Yerevan are contending for appearing on my list,
whose names will or will not be announced in the upcoming rallies,
depending on their behavior," Ter-Petrosyan stated. its opponents.

After the definition and structured revelation of the government
Levon Ter-Petrosyan touched upon the moral, psychological, political,
economic, social consequences of the rule of this regime, which has
turned Armenia into an "outcast", the population is impoverished,
even though the government is demonstrating tiger bounces through
juggling of statistics. "However, research by serious economists
shows that these indices are false, and the annual growth in reality
is hardly 3-4 percent. What is the secret of appearance of those
two-digit numbers? It turns out that there is no secret. The figures
of the economic growth are direct correlation with the dynamics
of remittances," Levon Ter-Petrosyan says, adding that it means if
the Armenian economy develops, it develops outside Armenia. "At the
expense of the muscle energy of hundreds of thousands of Armenian
migrant workers in Russia," Levon Ter-Petrosyan says. He also spoke
about black economy because, according to him, black economy is one
that is out of the control of the government. "It is found everywhere,
even in the most developed and legitimate countries.

Meanwhile, the ruling system in Armenia is so organized and powerful
that nothing avoids its control, even a proprietor who earns 200
dollars. In other words, all kinds of criminal economic activities
are carried out by it. Consequently, it is not black economy but
flagrant robbery, extortion, and two budgets accrue in Armenia, one
is the official budget, the other is in the pocket of the government.

In addition, calculations show that the second is much bigger than
the first," Levon Ter-Petrosyan says. He says, however, he does not
think the government, which comprises conscientious professionals,
provides false data to the government. Levon Ter-Petrosyan believes
that the data are initially correct but they are distorted before
offering to the society. According to him, the judicial system also
serves the government, and recent evidence is Justice Pargev Ohanyan’s
punishment who dared to make a decision on acquittal.

However, Levon Ter-Petrosyan points out that he does not mean thousands
of lower-ranking judicial and low enforcement officials who are
honest and conscientious professionals. "They are also humiliated
and insulted by the regime like the rest of people. They are not
expressing their feelings because of the lack of an alternative,
but they will unanimously join the surge of popular movement. The
same is with the police, like in 1988, during the national movement,"
Levon Ter-Petrosyan says. Nevertheless, Levon Ter-Petrosyan said this
criticism and attitude gives him pain because both Robert Kocharyan
and Serge Sargsyan were his personal and military friends not a long
time ago. "Personalities whose names should be out down in the modern
history of the Armenian people.

Their behavior after 1999 cannot erase or cast a shadow on them, as
well as the undeniable and considerable role of Samvel Babayan in the
liberation of Artsakh, restoration and strengthening of the Armenian
state. My tough statements do not aim to defame or condemn them,
and are out of sheer necessity to prevent the reproduction of the
regime," Levon Ter-Petrosyan stated. He even said Robert Kocharyan
and Serge Sargsyan will stand a chance to keep their good name in
the history of independence of Armenia if they leave the political
arena voluntarily. The first president also stated that his attitude
is not due to their Karabakhi origin. "If they deserved, they would be
welcome to rule in Armenia for one hundred years, like their ancestors,
the Hetumians from Artsakh who ruled the Kingdom of Cilicia for 150
years," Levon Ter-Petrosyan says. He condemns all efforts to tap a
wedge between the Armenians of Karabakh and Armenia, describing them as
unfair and dangerous. "Therefore, I will be trying my best to prevent
this mindset from spreading and becoming rooted. Especially that 99
percent of the pillars of the government system created by Kocharyan
and Sargsyan are Armenians of Armenia rather than of Karabakh,"
Levon Ter-Petrosyan says.