ROBERT KOCHARIAN: "ANM BETRAYED THE KARABAKH MOVEMENT, IT IS READY TO FORGET ABOUT THE GENOCIDE AND MAKE ARMENIA AN ADJUNCT OF TURKEY"
Mediamax
December 6, 2007
Yerevan /Mediamax/. Armenian President Robert Kocharian stated that
he knowingly did not give political assessment to the activity of
the ex-ruling party Armenian National Movement (ANM) and to the
former authorities.
Mediamax reports that the Armenian President said this, answering
the questions of the readers of "Golos Armenii" newspaper.
"I really avoided giving such assessments, but I made my stance
clear: I did not want to continue the Soviet tradition, when each new
leader started from the criticism of the former leader. I believed
that it was necessary to demonstrate the result, and the people,
seeing the difference itself, would give an assessment. There was no
persecution for the ANM figures. Otherwise, half of them would be in
prison till now for large thefts. Vano Siradeghian [Ex-Minister of
Internal Affairs] is in investigation for organization of murders. I
avoided this topic for 9 years, until Levon Ter-Petrosian himself
and the ANM provoked these discussions", Robert Kocharian stated.
"Today I say it openly, that the ANM abused the confidence of the
people. ANM collapsed the country’s economy, turning Armenia into one
of the poorest countries of the world. ANM came to power on the wave
of the Karabakh movement and betrayed it. ANM is devoid of national
ideology, it is ready to forget about the Genocide and make Armenia
an adjunct of Turkey. By the way, I am not saying anything new. All
this has been stated for hundreds of times, I just avoided these
assessments. Of course, this does not concern everyone – sometimes
professionals, who tried to do something to improve the matters,
were appointed to various positions", Armenian President stated.