RAFFI HOVANNISIAN IN POLAND FOR SOLIDARITY ANNIVERSARY
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| 12:36:49 | 31-08-2005 | Politics |
Warsaw¯Raffi K. Hovannisian, represented Armenia at an international
conference marking the Solidarity movement’s 25th anniversary,
which was held here from August 29 to 31 under the auspices of the
Solidarity Center Foundation and the Lech Walesa Insitute.
Entitled “From Solidarnosc to Freedom,” the conclave brought together
world leaders, public figures, academicians, activists, and journalists
from across the globe. Former Prime Minister Vazgen Manukian also
traveled from Yerevan to take part in the proceedings.
In his intervention, Raffi Hovannisian addressed the past achievements
of the Solidarity movement and examined its contribution to the
transition from Cold War to European unification. He also underscored
the imperative of thinking prospectively, taking the lessons of the
“Solidarnosc” experience outside the Soviet box, and applying them
equally to all modern challenges of democracy, human rights, and
national dignity¯regardless of the provenance of each such challenge
or the sources of threat.
Against the background of contemporary geopolitical developments,
Raffi Hovannisian held meetings with Solidarity’s leader and later
Polish President Lech Walesa; former US Secretary of State Madeleine
K. Albright; and former US National Security Adviser Zbigniew
Brzezinski.
In the margins of the conference, Hovannisian also met with President
Jose Manuel D. Barroso of the European Commission; President Alexander
Kwasniewski of Poland; Polish Parliamentary Speaker Wlodzimierz
Cimoszewicz; former Polish Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki; current
and former Polish Foreign Ministers Adam Rotfeld and Bronislaw Geremek;
former Polish Defense Minister Zbigniew Okonski; former Bulgarian
President Zhelyu Zhelev; former French Foreign Minister Jean-Bernard
Raimond; former Czech Foreign Minister Jiri Dienstbier; former head
of state of Belarus Stanislaw Shushkevich; and several others.
The participants traveled today to the city of Gdansk and its shipyard,
where the Solidarity movement originated, for a special session on
“The Legacy of Solidarnosc,” the signing of the founding act of The
European Solidarity Center, and the proclamation of August 31 as
International Freedom and Solidarity Day. German President Horst
Koehler, former Czech President Vaclav Havel, James A. Baker III,
Hovannisian’s American counterpart in 1991-92, and a score of other
government leaders joined the conference guests for these commemorative
activities.
–Boundary_(ID_v8s6/S8PZypTc/invzxZkA)–