LEVON TER-PETROSIAN: NATIONAL MOVEMENT’S GOAL IS DISMANTLING RULING BANDIT SYSTEM AND NOT COLLAPSE OF ARMENIAN STATEHOOD
NOYAN TAPAN
Dec 22, 2008
YEREVAN
The monolithic character of the ruling clique and of Armenia’s economic
elite, the attitude of the international community closing its eyes on
the March 1 events and existence of political prisoners in Armenia,
the passive position of Nagorno Karabakh authorities make impossible
the fulfillment of the task on organizing mass protest actions in
Armenia aimed against the authorities’ current position in the issue
of conflict settlement. Opposition leader, first RA President Levon
Ter-Petrosian stated at the December 21 conference of the Armenian
National Congress (ANC).
According to him, the wave of people’s discontent can last long,
especially as it can be accompanied by economic crisis difficulties,
and all that will turn over the situation in the country, and
Azerbaijan will not miss the chance of taking advantage of that to
solve the Nagorno Karabakh conflict by a military way. L. Ter-Petrosian
reminded that Armenian side’s achievements in Karabakh war coincide
with formation of such "disgraceful" situations in Azerbaijan, that
is, passage of power from Mutalibov to Elchibey, from Elchibey to
Aliyev. According to the first President, coming to power is not an
end in itself for the national movement, which has no right to act
by adventure methods. National movement’s goal is dismantling the
ruling bandit system and not collapse of the Armenian statehood.
He specially dwelt on Nagorno Karabakh’s position. According to him,
the circumstance that Nagorno Karabakh remained out of the negotiations
process shows that the Karabakh side proved to be not consistent in
the issue of fulfillment of the decision of OSCE Budapest summit of
1994, where Karabakh was recognized a negotiations side. If Nagorno
Karabakh preserved that status in the negotiations, today the NKR
authorities could renounce and not accept "Madrid principles."
L. Ter-Petrosian said that the Nagorno Karabakh authorities are
connected with the bandit regime of Armenia with various promises
and in that case it is impossible to imagine that a mass movement
against Serzh Sargsyan’s program on conflict settlement can start
in Karabakh. "And until Nagorno Karabakh becomes strong, in Armenia
it will be also impossible to create an atmosphere we had in 1988,"
L. Ter-Petrosian concluded.