"PRE-ELECTORAL STRUGGLE HAS GONE BEYOND FRAMEWORKS OF CIVILIZED BEHAVIOUR," SUPREME BODY OF ARF ARMENIA DECLARES

Noyan Tapan
Feb 14, 2008

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 14, NOYAN TAPAN. The Supreme Body of the ARF Armenia
has made a statement on February 13, which runs as follows:

"The forthcoming presidential elections have a decisive significance
for our state. Certain excitement of the political atmosphere, public
polarizations are natural and inevitable during any election, however,
it is inaddmissible when the pre-electoral struggle goes beyond the
frameworks of the civilized behaviour.

We should record with sorrow that the pre-electoral competition in
Armenia today is just like that. The unhealthy tendencies of the
competition, which were observed at the beginning of the presidential
campaign, get new manifestations day after day. The atmosphere of
intolerance sowed in society, the violation of elementary norms
of the political struggle, the personal offences addressed to each
other by the rival candidates and their team fellows, the obvious
calls and threats of reckoning, as well as the sowing of enmity and
mutual hatred in society have reached a very dangerous level. All this
lights a green light for the interference of non-political elements
and external forces, which is full of unforeseeable consequences.

Realizing the whole danger of the created situation, we condemn any
attempt of unhealthy competition.

We call to all the forces for following the norms of the political
ethics, coming up exclusively from ideaological-program positions,
by keeping away from the instigating attempts to make the situation
uncontrollable during the pre-electoral campaign.

We declare that we will not allow to put the stability of the country
and the future of our independent statehood in danger.

We declare with responsibility that the only way out of the created
situation is to exclude all the possible electoral infringements and
electoral falsifications and to hold really free, fair and transparent
elections."