ARMENIA’S EX-PRESIDENT LEVON TER-PETROSYAN READY TO NEGOTIATE WITH AUTHORITIES

Regnum
March 12 2008
Russia

Ex-president of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan is not going to retreat
and will use all legal means to struggle against the current regime.

As Ter-Petrosyan announced at a news conference in Yerevan, opposition
will continue communicating with people, either at rallies or,
if possible, through the media. He said that if he was granted an
opportunity to talk on TV, the there would be no need to rally. "It
would be better if the audience grew larger and made 3mln, not
300,000," he said. Ter-Petrosyan has warned that, in case he receives
no publicity, the opposition will find a way to make themselves
audible to the people and will succumb again to issuing DVDs.

According to Ter-Petrosyan, opposition activists are still being
arrested, and exclusively on political-repressionist grounds.

Ter-Petrosyan does not rule out that he may be detained, too.

However, he has said he is going neither to say anything to
investigation, nor to sign protocols.

At the same time, he confirmed his commitment to the agenda
set by international organizations, in particular, releasing all
detainees, guaranteeing freedom of media, performing an international
investigation of events of March 1-2, 2008, after which negotiation
could be started.

Regardless of whether he accepts or not legitimacy of the acting
authorities – the government is a political factor, and one should
talk with it, Ter-Petrosyan maintains. "The world for a long time
had not recognized legitimacy of Yasser Arafat, but still had been
negotiating with him. Today, the world does not recognize legitimacy
of the president of Nagorno Karabakh but speaks to him," Ter-Petrosyan
observed. "I will not recognize legitimacy of Serzh Sarkisyan, but I
cannot ignore him, neither can he ignore me, for the people support
me," stressed Ter-Petrosyan. He has added that even if Sarkisyan
disregards the fact now, he will have to do it at some point.

Ter-Petrosyan has also said he does not rule out international
interference, in case Armenia "chooses a way of dictatorship." He
said the international community would then impose certain sanctions
on Armenia, in particular, impose a stricter visa regulations or
exclude the country from certain programs.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress