SERGE SARGSIAN CALLS ON OPPOSITION MEMBERS TO COOPERATE – UP TO FORMATION OF COALITION GOVERNMEMT

Noyan Tapan
Feb 26, 2008

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 26, NOYAN TAPAN. A rally of supporters of the
presidential candidate who won the elections, the RA prime minister
Serge Sargsian took place in Republic Square of Yerevan on February
26. The rally was attended by officials of the executive and
legislative bodies and high-ranking officials from marzes. Serge
Sargsian made a speech at the rally. Below are excerpts from his
speech.

"Dear compatriots,

I welcome all of you and congratulate on the successful holding of
the presidential elections in Armenia. We succeeded in organizing two
elections one after another and getting positive opinions in both cases
for the first time in the history of newly independendent Armenia.

Today we experience both delight of victory and concern about the
future of our country.

We have gathered today to heal another wound – the wound that these
elections have opened on the body of our people. We must overcome
this ordeal, must be able to heal this wound quickly.

Dear citizens of the Republic of Armenia,

I assure you that you will not regret having given your votes to
Serge Sargsian.

I also express my gratitude to all those who have given their votes
to other candidates. We respect the opinions of our citizens and
we do not divide the society into "our own people" and "strangers",
or as some good-for-nothing democrats do now – into "our own people"
and "dregs of the nation".

I assure you that all criticism voiced by the candidates in the
pre-election period will be examined in detail.

>From this high rostrum, I am appealing to the former candidates and
the political forces supporting them: let’s cooperate. Up to formation
of a coalition government. One of our goals is to use all constructive
major forces in the name of Armenia’s development.

I want to speak today about the fate of democracy in our country,
I want to speak in front of you about the dignity of man, of each
citizen of the Republic of Armenia. The dignity that may only exist in
the country, in which power is formed through elections. The dignity
that we have no right to waste.

I promised victories to you, and we have won. I promise new victories,
and we will win.

We will defeat poverty, we will defeat evil, we will defeat
indifference.

Humaneness will win in our country, compassion will win in our country,
optimism will win in our country.

Unfortunately, we are witnessing a different phenomenon today. We
are witnessing division and split of the society, how an aggressive
grouping wants to achieve its goal at any price. We are witnessing
a process which is unprecedented by its danger.

I urge you not to become embittered because our sisters and brothers
are there, in another square. I am sure that the desire to have a
better Armenia have brought them to the square but, alas, they are
already not allowed to notice that they have become the tool of
several people’s revengful and office-seeking aspirations.

Dear friends,

These elections showed that we have managed to solve many and many
problems on the path of organizing good elections. These elections
showed that we still have a way to pass: first of all, the way of
raising confidence in the electoral process.

Dear compatriots, the most unacceptable thing in all this is the
unworthy conduct of a few of my comrades-in-arms whom the Devil has
mamanged to tempt by promises and ribaldry.

I will defend the right of speech freedom. However, free speech does
not mean the freedom of slander and swearing.

I will defend the right to hold rallies. However, the freedom of
rallies does not mean that the life of the capital city must be
paralyzed.

I defend the right to protest but the right of protest does not mean
that the other constitutional rights of our citizens must be abused.

Yes, the economic growth does not affect so rapidly the people’s
standard of living as we would like to. Yes, poverty reduction takes
time. Yes, we have the problem of ensuring a competitive economy
in the country, finally getting rid of the oligarchic system of the
economy that forms inevitably in the post-Soviet phase. But today we
are much stronger to solve these problems.

Today we are facing the dilemma of unity and fragmentation. We are
facing the dilemma of democracy and power usurpation.

Today we are the defenders of this democracy.

Democracy means that the rights of our citizens will be
protected. First of all, the right to form power through
elections. Today we protect this right.

I will protect fundamental human rights.

Today, a week after the elections, I say that the time of pre-election
slogans is up, the propaganda time is up, the time of accusations
is up. Now we have other problems to solve. We must implement the
expectations of our compatriots, address their problems and we must
continue to work and create.

"Everything has its time," is said in the Holy Writ.

Today is not the time to collect stones. It is time to throw them away.

It is time to work.

Today is the time of new national victories.

The time of human dignity and democracy.

Let’s go ahead. Armenia, go ahead, to new victories! Ahead Armenia!"