THE ARMED MAN AND POLITICS
Armen Tsaturyan

Hayots Ashkhar
Tuesday 26 February 2008

During the recent days Levon Ter-Petrosyan tirelessly intimidates
the authorities on behalf of "Yerkrapah" (defenders of the land)
Volunteers’ Union, which is being observed by the former ones as a
unique "alternative force structure".

Similar dangerous developments of course are not new in our reality. We
should remind you that once Armed Forces of Armenia were accused of a
pretension to become similar "alternative force structure". And under
the conditions, still not revealed, in 1990 the famous clash took
place in the very center of Yerevan, for the organization of which
Armed Forces of Armenia were charged, as an illegal armed formation
and disarmed.

The leader of declaring the Armed Forces of Armenia as illegal and
disarming the latter was the same Levon Ter-Petrosyan.

Today LTP has shifted the before mentioned functions of the Armed
Forces of Armenia to "Yerkrapah" Volunteer’s Union.

Otherwise how can they explain the politicization of the leadership
of this social organization, by which "Yerkrapah" has turned into
a military political organization implementing political functions,
which is impermissible?

We should also remind you that in his "historical" speech of December
28, 1994 Levon Ter-Petrosyan accused ARF Dashnaktsutyun party of
having an "underground" military structure. He publicly announced
that similar phenomenon is impermissible and started his persecutions,
which continued for 3 years.

A question arises here why during his presidency LTP considered
impermissible the political activity of all the organizations the
members of which in some way or that had contact with arms, but at
present they can use the same organizations in their post-election
struggle against the authorities.

After all at that time we didn’t have a regular army, or it was in
the process of formation, so the existence of similar organizations
was quite comprehensible. But today when there is absolutely no need
for "alternative force structures", moreover their interference in
the political struggle is strictly prohibited by the law, any time
they can threaten their personal rivals that allegedly the freedom
fighters, particularly "Yerkrapah" Volunteers’ Union will support
them in their struggle.

Is it moral to involve in politics those who had a huge investment in
Artsakh liberation war? "Yerkrapah" that has always backed Armenian
Army, which we will most probably need in our struggle against our
external enemy.

As we know "Yerkrapah" is a social organization, which has joined
the veterans of Artsakh war and is engaged in solving their social
problems.

Once, by Vazgen Manukyan’s instruction this organization has
been clearly detached from the political domain and it has been
decided that those members of "Yerkrapah" who will have desire to be
engaged in politics must be admitted into the Republican Party, which
happened in reality. Who gave the right to the members of "Yerkrapah"
to become an armed political unit? By involving the freedom fighters
in politics LTP and his team will never attain their purpose, but will
harm people’s unity, split the people and deteriorate their will and
determination to confront our exterior enemy in future.

The recent events linked with "Yerkrapah" display that similar
organizations should simply not exist in the condition of an
accomplished state. Why there are still people in our reality who
have personal arsenals and whenever the internal political situation
becomes tensed they deliver arms from this arsenal. And in general
why should they possess these arms?

To protect the land? But for this we have army.

"Yerkrapah" must be disarmed, beyond a shadow of a doubt. The solution
of this or that political issue by the help of arms is excluded,
for the both sides.