ARMENIA’S OUTGOING PRESIDENT URGES OPPOSITION TO ACCEPT THREAT
Public TV
Feb 26 2008
Armenai
Outgoing Armenian President Robert Kocharyan has called on the
opposition to end its protests against the result ofthe 19 February
presidential election, which it says was rigged, and suggested that
the authorities’ patience maybe coming to an end.
Speaking in an interview broadcast on Armenian Public TV on 26
February, Kocharyan urged opposition presidentialcandidate Levon
Ter-Petrosyan and his supporters to accept defeat. "The time has come
for everyone to sober up and understand that one cannot come to power
by stubbornness," he said.
Noting that "we have been very tolerant" and that "no authorities
in any country would tolerateillegal rallies for six days",
Kocharyan warned that the situation was undermining confidence in
thelaw-enforcement system. "The state cannot put up forever with
violation of the law," he said.
Kocharyan urged Ter-Petrosyan’s supporters, who have been rallying
in Yerevan since 20 February, "not tobecome a tool in the hands of
irresponsible political figures". "This is not your game, you will not
win from this game, you will only lose, and the country will lose,"
he said.
Kocharyan said that Ter-Petrosyan, who served as Armenia’s first
president from 1991 to 1998, was at "adead-end" after declaring ahead
of the election that he would be the winner, and now has no option
but to keeppeople on the streets. "Ter-Petrosyan was an evil for the
country, but today he is a great evil for hisentourage," he said.
According to the official election results, Kocharyan’s close ally
Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan won theelection with 52.8 per cent of
the vote. Ter-Petrosyan came second with 21.5 per cent.
Kocharyan described the election as the "best in Armenia’s history" and
insisted that theopposition’s accusations of large-scale vote-rigging
were unfounded. "The election was held at a proper level,the count
was done correctly, and if there are doubts, there is another entity
to which the opposition can apply, theConstitutional Court," he said.
Kocharyan noted that representatives of both the ruling Republican
Party of Armenia and the opposition were beinginvestigated for election
violations. "All people responsible for these violations must, of
course, bepunished," he said.
Asked about the involvement of military figures in the opposition
protests, Kocharyan said that Ter-Petrosyan’s supporters had
unsuccessfully tried to enlist the support of officials from various
state structures, includinglaw-enforcement agencies. "Law-enforcement
bodies and the military have no right to get involved withpolitics,"
he insisted. "The isolated cases that existed immediately met with
a response."
Referring to a number of Foreign Ministry officials who were dismissed
after voicing their support for theopposition, Kocharyan urged
diplomats to "express themselves with restraint".
Kocharyan reported that the National Security Service had detected
armed individuals at opposition rallies onYerevan’s Freedom Square,
saying "quite dangerous people" were involved. "Large-scale measures
have been carried out yesterday and today to render these groups
harmless," he said.
Kocharyan said arrests had been made and a significant amount of
arms confiscated. He said this was done "toprotect the security of
our people".
Kocharyan also said that Ter-Petrosyan’s supporters had contacts
with paramilitary "armed formations",including the Yerkrapah Union of
Veterans. "You know one part of the Yerkrapahs was really involved," he
said."There were other veteran organizations that were also involved."
Kocharyan said that action was being taken against those "who are
inciting this situation" and who"continue organizing illegal rallies
and marches". "We are obliged to protect the rights of othercitizens,"
he said, noting there have been "hundreds" of complaints from people
living near thesquare.
Kocharyan also spoke of the need to reduce the level of confrontation
in society. "Armenia has a president-electwho has announced that he is
the president of the whole people, and not just for those who voted
for him," he said.He insisted, however, that "extremist expressions
should be neutralized".
He also suggested that Sargsyan might be ready to broaden the ruling
coalition and "involve more forces in theactivities of the government
than just the Republican Party of Armenia and the Prosperous Armenia
Party".
No further processing of Kocharyan’s interview (duration 21 minutes)
is planned.