"AUTHORITIES WERE NOT READY FOR MARCH 1"
A1+
[07:50 pm] 21 May, 2008
"The opposition was ready for the March 1 events while the authorities
were not," ARF Bureau representative Hrant Margarian said today at
the 30th Congress of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation.
"The reasons for the authorities’ unreadiness are still to be
revealed," he says.
"Obviously, the clash was favourable for outer forces and for people
who dislike their homeland and people.
The clash weakened the country and opened a way for an outside
intervention. Moreover, the clash endangered the country’s reputation,
security and self-confidence to protect national interests on an
international level. We couldn’t sit around twiddling our thumbs
during the events." And to save the country the ARF entered into the
coalition memorandum.
Hrant Margarian says that the tension of the pre-election period
resulted in mutual hostility and the conflicting sides began defaming
each other through all possible methods. "The tense atmosphere worsened
and polarized still more. The former and acting authorities fought a
ceaseless struggle during the election. Those who complained of the
former leadership voted for the acting ones and the vice versa. They
helped each other securing votes and threatening innocent people,"
says Margarian.
He compared the March 1 occurrences with those of September 1996. They
were both accompanied by bloody clashes. The key actor in both
cases was the same person-in the first case as a president while
in the second as an oppositionist. I don’t want to bind you with
my opinion. But one thing is evident-all elections are conducted in
a tense and polarized atmosphere. "We descended on the arena as an
alternative force to the authorities and the opposition."