ARF: WE WILL USE ALL POLITICAL MEANS TO ENSURE FAILURE OF PROTOCOL RATIFICATION PROCESS

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October 12, 2009

Below is a declaration by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF)
on the signing of the protocols.

The protocols on establishing relations between the Republic of
Armenia and the Republic of Turkey were signed on Oct. 10.

On this occasion, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) declares:

a) Consultations, which took place over the last several weeks after
the protocols were made public, although not always under free and
transparent conditions, proved that there are serious concerns and
great counteraction regarding these documents; that the homeland
and the diaspora have the same approach to fundamental issues
concerning all Armenians; that the struggle for the Armenian Cause
is simultaneously a struggle for the fate and development of our
independent statehood.

b) The consultations proved that the protocols and the process
include provisions satisfying the three fundamental preconditions
that Turkey has put forth since the first days of the independence
of the Republic of Armenia. It also became apparent that the same
concerns existed in those Armenian circles that were defending the
Armenian president’s policy.

c) These concerns were finally clearly expressed by the president
of the Republic of Armenia in his address to the Armenian people on
Oct. 10. The president disclosed the existence of those very same
dangers and preconditions that the Dashnaktsutyun had expressed. In
particular, the president of the Republic of Armenia affirmed that:

1. Any kind of relations with Turkey cannot put into question the
veracity of the Armenian Genocide and the fact that the Armenian
people have been dispossessed of their homeland.

2. There exists a border issue between Armenia and Turkey.

3. The signed documents cannot in any way be related to the resolution
of the Nagorno-Karabagh conflict.

We are convinced that had the president expressed these positions
earlier, it could have steered the consultations correctly and could
have resulted in the refusal to sign the protocols. At any rate,
this position must guide all the representatives of the Armenian
authorities, as well as those who defended the now-signed protocols.

d) Turkey’s unconstructive position during the signing ceremony of
the protocols is an eloquent testament that Turkey is realizing the
process in favor of accomplishing its own preconditions, which was
sufficient foundation for Armenia to refuse to sign. The scandal that
occurred during the signing ceremony is a testament to the failure
of our diplomacy in Armenia-Turkey negotiations. The presence of the
foreign ministers of the United States, the Russian Federation, France,
the European Union, and Switzerland, and the efforts to ensure the
signing of the protocols at any cost, is pressure being brought to
bear, especially on the Republic of Armenia. We are convinced that
Armenia should not have succumbed to those pressures. It is equally
unacceptable for the world’s power centers to exert pressure on small
nations, through political, economic, or other means.

e) We are entering a new stage of the struggle following the signing
of the protocols. The new announcements being made from Turkey are
a testament to that country’s objective, which is to weaken Armenia
and the Armenians and to enforce new concessions.

Under these conditions it is necessary to prevent the ratification
of the protocols, which are a blow to the interests of our state
and nation. That objective demands the widening and deepening of our
pan-Armenian unity, keeping the door shut in the face of any expression
of national discord and to be prepared to endure potentially dangerous
new developments that await pan-national issues.

The ARF is steadfast in its struggle to ensure the failure of the
ratification of the protocols. For that objective, the Dashnaktsutyun
will use all political and constitutional means, all the way to regime
change, if necessary.

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation is appealing to all Armenians
to arm themselves with confidence and resolve. We are compelled to
prevent the ratification of the protocols with our combined powers
and by doing so, to neutralize the real dangers threatening Armenia
and the Armenians, in the name of the Republic of Armenia, liberated
Artsakh, the unity of our people, and the right of our generations
to live with dignity in the world.

Armenian Revolutionary Federation Oct. 12, 2009 Yerevan