NEW TIMES PARTY LEADER: ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES MAKE ME CROSS THE RUBICON

2007-11-29 17:30:00

ArmInfo. ‘Armenian authorities make me finally cross the Rubicon’,
Leader of New Times party Aram Karapetyan said at a press conference,
Thursday, commenting on the refusal of the law-enforcement agencies
to give him a relevant reference confirming his citizenship and over
10-years of permanent residence in the country. Aram Karapetyan needs
the reference to run for president in Armenia in 2008.

To recall, the press service of RA Police told ArmInfo earlier that
the refusal to give the mentioned certificate is based on Articles
65 and 72 of RA Electoral Code. The attempts to somehow disclose the
contents of this laconic information failed.

Under Article 65 of RA EC, a presidential candidate must have been
a citizen of Armenia and have permanently lived on its territory
for the last 10 years. Article 72 defines the list of the documents
necessary for registration as a presidential candidate. To recall,
earlier Passport and Visa Department of RA Police had easily given Aram
Karapetian an analogous certificate: Leader of "New Times" participated
in the 2003 presidential election in Armenia. However, according to the
amendments made to EC, Article 72 now stipulates that the certificate
must include information that the applicant for registration as a
presidential candidate isn’t a citizen of another state. It is not
ruled out that the refusal is somehow connected with this.

Thursday, on November 29, A. Karapetyan showed the copy of his passport
given in 2005 to journalists. The passport indicates that A. Karapetyan
has been residing in the country since 1992. A. Karapetyan believes
the refusal an evident political order by President Robert Kocharyan
and Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan aiming to create an atmosphere of
fear in the country and to ensure the victory of Serzh Sargsyan at
the presidential election by ousting the opposition candidates.

‘The authorities try to make me leave the country. However, I
officially declare that I will not leave and will keep fighting for
change of the power through peaceful national revolution irrespective
of whether I am allowed to run for president or not’, Aram Karapetyan
said. He also added that he is ready to join the real opposition
despite the person of its leader in order to fight the regime. In
response to ArmInfo’s question if there is the so-called external
factor in his program of peaceful national revolution, A. Karapetyan
briefed: ‘the question is more than expedient.’