ARFD ALREADY COLLECTED 70 THOUSAND SIGNATURES AGAINST RATIFICATION OF PROTOCOLS

PanARMENIAN.Net
13.01.2010 22:03 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ ARF Dashnaktsutyun launched signature campaign
against ratification of RA-Turkish Protocols as it expected the
Constitutional Court to pass positive decision, member of the ARFD
Supreme Body Armen Rustamyan says.

"I am ready to personally meet with every single MP to talk him out of
voting for Protocols," he told Wednesday a news conference in Yerevan,
adding that the party has already collected 70.000 signatures.

Mr. Rustamyan also criticized Armenian National Congress (ANC) for
accusing ARFD of alleged cooperation with authorities.

The protocols aimed at normalization of bilateral ties and opening of
the common border between Armenia and Turkey were signed in Zurich
by Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Turkish
counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu on October 10, 2009, after a series of
diplomatic talks held through Swiss mediation.

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutyun (ARFD) is an
Armenian political party founded in Tiflis (Tbilisi, the capital of
Georgia) in 1890 by Christapor Mikaelian, Stepan Zorian, and Simon
Zavarian ARFD has the largest number of members from the political
parties present in the Armenian Diaspora, having established affiliates
in more than 200 countries.

The party led the effort toward the establishment of the first Armenian
Republic in 1918 and was the party in power for the duration of
its existence. Following the Sovietization of Armenia in 1920, the
ARF-Dashnaktsutyun was banned by the Communists and its leadership
exiled.

In the Diaspora, the ARF Dashnaktsutyun fought Soviet rule over
Armenia and championed the cause of Armenian rights and independence;
it played a leading role in organizing a social and cultural framework
aimed at preserving the Armenian identity.

The ARF Dashnaktsutyun officially re-emerged in Armenia during the
dissolution of USSR, in 1990.

On December 28, 1994, the activities of the ARF-Dashnaktsutyun were
"temporarily suspended" by the Armenian authorities. In view of
the political nature of the anti-ARF interdictions by the Armenian
authorities, the ARF continued to operate in Armenia. On February 9,
1998, less than a week after the resignation of the then President
Ter-Petrosyan, the Justice Ministry lifted the ban on the ARF
Dashnaktsutyun.