SUPREME MEETING OF ARF’S ARMENIA ORGANIZATION STARTS
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Sept 07 2006
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 7, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The opening
ceremony of the 10th Supreme Meeting of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun’s
Armenia organization took place in the RA Governmemt Sitting Hall on
September 7. Following the ceremony, the ARF members left for Sevan
to hold a secred closed meeting there.
Speeches of welcome were made by Hrant Margarian, representative
of the ARF Bureau, Andranik Margarian, RA Prime Minister, Chairman
of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), Vartan Oskanian, RA
Foreign Minister, Mher Shahgeldian, Vice Chairman of the Orinats
Yerkir Party, NA deputy, and Paruyr Hayrikian, leader of the
National Self-Determination Union. Among those invited were the
current and former heads of the RA President’s Staff, government
members, including the Defence Minister Serge Sargsian, leaders
of the pro-government and opposition parties and representatives
of the authorities. Hrant Margarian noted that corrupion, social
polarization, poverty, injustice – the phenomena that hinder Armenia’s
economic development may be overcome by a political force that has
its program, world outlook and prospects, also its political will,
determination, unbiased rigorousness. Saying that the ARF is the
political force needed, he made an appeal to his co-partisans:
"Let’s repair our will at this meeting and let’s win our people’s
confidence manadate by hard work and fair elections." Expressing a
high opinion about the long-standing cooperation between the ARF and
the RPA, Andranik Margarian said that there are problems, on which
the two parties have "common, close positions", but their positions
differ with respect to some problems, "but it will not create such a
situation between the two parties or within the coalition that will
prevent us from proceeding along a common path." Armen Rustamian,
representative of the ARF’s Armenia Supreme Body, Chairman of the
National Assembly Standing Committee of Foreign Relations, made a
large political report at the conclusion of the opening ceremony. He
spoke about the last 15 years, during which Armenia was independent,
addressed the current problems, noting that in some cases the speed of
their solution is not satisfactory. During Armen Rustamian’s speech
when participants expressed their opinions about the opposition’s
actions after the 2003 national elections, Aram Karapetain, leader
of the New Times Party and Grigor Harutyunian, member of the ruling
body of the People’s Party of Armenia, secretary of the NA Justice
facuion, left the hall. In response to NT correspondent’s question,
Grigor Harutyunian said that he left the hall in protest as he does
not agree to A. Rustamian’s opinions concerning the April 2004 events,
for which the ARF also bears responsibility. A. Rustamian particularly
said that the post-election tension became apparent a year after
the elections: "The opposition tries to substantiate its attempts
to carry out a shift of power through straining the home political
sitaution and making calls for disobedience by the existence of a
social demand and by making its own comments on the Constitutional
Court’s decision". In reality, according to ARF SB representative,
"being inspired in some sense by the revolution in the neighboring
country, the opposition comments the existence of unsolved problems
and some difficulty related to it as the people’s order for the
opposition to carry out an immediate shift of power."