KAREN AVAGYAN: ARFD RALLY UNABLE TO AFFECT CONSTITUTIONAL COURT DECISION
PanARMENIAN.Net
11.01.2010 13:57 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ ARF Dashnaktsutyun’s rally against positive
conclusion of RA Constitutional Court is quite understandable, RA
Republican Party parliamentary group member Karen Avagyan said.
"It’s just another occasion to express their protest," he told a
PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.
As the MP noted, the rally is unable to affect Constitutional Court
decision, as issues, causing Dashnaktsutyun’s apprehensions in relation
with current RA-Turkey rapprochement process were not stipulated in
the document. "Based on the above, RA Constitutional court will pass
a positive conclusion on Protocols," Karen Avagyan noted.
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 Republican Party of Armenia is a national conservative political
party in Armenia. It was the first political party in independent
Armenia to be founded (2 April 1990) and registered (14 May 1991). It
is the largest party of the centre-right in Armenia, and claims to have
140,000 members. The party controls most government bodies in Armenia.
At the 2003 parliamentary elections on May 25, the party received
23.5% of the popular vote, winning 31 out of 131 seats. At the last
parliamentary elections on May 12, 2007, the party received 33.91%
of the popular vote, winning 64 out of 131 seats. The former prime
minister, Andranik Markaryan, was the leader of the party. Current
President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, is the chairman of HHK board.
The Republican Party’s national conservative ideology is based on
tsegakron, an early 20th century Armenian nationalist ideology (roughly
translated as "nation-religion"). It was formulated by Garegin Njdeh
and holds that the Armenian national identity and state should carry
religious significance for all ethnic Armenians.
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutyun is an Armenian
political party founded in Tiflis (Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia)
in 1890 by Christapor Mikaelian, Stepan Zorian, and Simon Zavarian
The ARF has the largest number of members from the political parties
present in the Armenian Diaspora, having established affiliates in
more than 200 countries.
The ARF Dashnaktsutyun 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 the 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-Petrossian, the Justice Ministry lifted the ban on the ARF
Dashnaktsutyun.
Prior to Serzh Sargsyan’s election as president of Armenia and for
a short time thereafter, the ARF was a member of the governing
coalition, even though it nominated its own candidate in the
presidential elections.