UNRECOGNIZABLE ARMENIA IN A YEAR

Lragir
Jan 21 2008
Armenia

On the first day of the election campaign on January 21 after Arthur
Baghdasaryan and Artashes Geghamyan the presidential candidate from the
ARF Dashnaktsutyun Vahan Hovanisyan presented his election program at
the Armenia Marriott Hotel. Unlike the other two candidates, the hall
was more musical. Songs praising the ARF Dashnaktsutyun were sung,
and instead of a sitting presentation of the election program the ARF
Dashnaktsutyun had chosen a more rally-like option but inside a hall.

Before Vahan Hovanisyan had entered the hall the head of his election
headquarters Armen Rustamyan made a speech. He stated that the ARF
Dashnaktsutyun is resolved to fight for a fair election. Besides,
justice lies at the basis of Vahan Hovanisyan’s election program. The
presidential candidate Vahan Hovanisyan says: "Our country lacks
justice." According to him, we had achievements in the years of
independence , we proved viable in blockade but now we have reached
a point when we no longer move toward progress. "The survey of
both the rate of growth and democratic reforms suggests that we are
approaching the verge where regress starts. While our neighbors have
more opportunities for progress thanks to their geographical position
or other conditions, we must rely on the abilities of our people,"
says Vahan Hovanisyan. According to him, the Armenian people have
immense potential, and Armenian people succeed in every sphere of life
everywhere. "They succeed everywhere except their homeland because
everywhere they deal with the law which is equal for everyone, in
Armenia they do not," Vahan Hovanisyan says.

He assures that he will guarantee equal opportunities in Armenia
together with his team. The team which Vahan Hovanisyan invited to
the stage are known to the society: Hrant Margaryan, minister Levon
Mkrtichyan and Aghvan Vardanyan, members of parliament from the
ARF Dashnaktsutyun, governor. Vahan Hovanisyan plans to fulfill his
pledges together with this team. And he pledges a lot. For instance,
he pledges legitimate elections.

"Unfortunately, a vicious model has emerged in Armenia when powerful
economic clans are government, and the mechanisms of acquiring
their wealth are known to us and occurred in the early 1990s, unfair
privatization, those clans have seized political power. Monopolies
in economy transformed into political monopolies. A situation has
occurred when the minority, the opposition is invariably viewed on
the other side of the barricades, as a disturbing element, a foe,
and the government uses every opportunity to weaken it and corner
it," says the presidential candidate from the ARF Dashnaktsutyun,
promising to tackle this phenomenon as well.

According to Vahan Hovanisyan, if there is a monopoly, it cannot
bring about development, new economic approaches because a monopolist
does not need them since he has no competitors, his competitor has
been beaten. Vahan Hovanisyan thinks the Armenian government should
foster the development of local production because an economy based
on imports threatens national security, especially with such a fragile
transport communication as ours.

The candidate of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun also states that the program
that the ARF Dashnaktsutyun had presented in the parliamentary election
was described by their opponents as populist or romantic.

Later, however, the government took the steps included in the
program. And it would be much more effective if the authors of the
program carried out those activities, Vahan Hovanisyan says. He
thinks his program is as realistic as the program presented in
the parliamentary election. According to Vahan Hovanisyan, this
program differs from other programs: parts of it are found in other
programs, whereas in the program of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun all this
is interrelated and systemized. Armenia will change unrecognizably .

This is what Vahan Hovanisyan says.