OPPOSITION LEADER DEFENDS PRESIDENT

news.am
Nov 11 2009
Armenia

Addressing his party mates, the leader of the Armenian Opposition,
Chairman of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) Levon Ter-Petrosyan
harshly criticized the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF)
and the ex-foreign minister Vartan Oskanian for being "insincere"
in protesting against the Armenian-Turkish protocols.

"I cannot understand how the ARF can protest against the modern-day
Armenian-Turkish border of it is they that signed the Alexandropol
Treaty thereby drawing the borders. How can they demand that Turkey
respect Armenians’ historical rights if they renounced them by
repudiating the Treaty of Sèvres? This all applies to Vartan Oskanian.

Why has he, all of a sudden, recalled his historical homeland,
Western Armenia, Marash, whereas, when Armenian Foreign Minister, he
never responded to Robert Kocharyan;s statement that Armenia had no
territorial claims to Turkey. Why did not he say that was betrayal,
violation of the Armenian people’s right?" Ter-Petrosyan asked with
indignation.

Strangely enough, the Opposition leader tried to defend RA President
Serzh Sargsyan from the ARF’s attacks. "Besides the previously
committed sins, it is unfair to accuse Serzh Sargsyan of sins he
has not committed. He was not the first to recognize the modern-day
Armenian-Turkish border – Dashnaks and Bolsheviks did it by means
of the treaties of Alexandropol and Kars. He was not the first
to renounce territorial claims to Turkey – Robert Kocharyan did it
before. He is not the one who, in response to the demand to admit the
Armenian Genocide, received Turkey’s proposal for forming a scientific
committee – Robert Kocharyan and Vartan Oskanian are the persons. He
is not the one who ousted Nagorno-Karabakh from the negotiations
– Robert Kocharyan, Vartan Oskanian and Arkady Ghukasyan are the
persons. Finally, he was not the one who got the Madrid principles
submitted to the sides – he inherited them from Robert Kocharyan and
Vartan Oskanian," Ter-Petrosyan said. He pointed out Serzh Sargsyan’s
responsibility as a key figure of the Robert Kocharyan regime.

According to Ter-Petrosyan, the political forces that were in power
under Robert Kocharyan, but "have turned into Opposition now," are
responsible as well.