DRAFT STRATEGY OF NATIONAL SECURITY WAS DISCUSSED AT THE ACADEMY
Lragir, Armenia
Nov 17 2006
The Draft Strategy of National Security rounded up the defense minister
Serge Sargsyan and the Council of the National Academy of Sciences
at the round hall of the Academy on November 17, or Serge Sargsyan
rounded up the scientists and academicians for the draft strategy
of national security to discuss it. It fitted into the logic of the
ceremony of public debates on the process of adoption of this document.
The defense minister Serge Sargsyan opened the ceremony, saying that
like in the discussion at Yerevan State University, he again expects
serious debates and proposals on the improvement of the document. To
make the proposals definite, the defense minister conveyed the
importance of the document to the academicians. Perhaps the scientists
perceived it and in their speeches they highlighted its importance to
a degree that all of them spoke longer than 5 minutes provided for
by the bylaws. However, considering that their views and proposals
were invaluable, they can be forgiven for speaking long.
The content of their speeches made their long speeches feel like
a wink.
There were rather valuable thoughts in the speeches that counted over
a dozen. For instance, the scientists believed that the draft strategy
should include a provision on the even development of Yerevan and
the regions, because the present difference threatens the national
security. The academicians were dissatisfied that the document does
not dwell duly on Islam and East Asia among our external political
priorities. For instance, Vladimir Barkhudaryan offered to specify
how to battle corruption threatening the national security, and Azat
Yeghiazaryan mentioned that it is necessary to clarify the mechanism
of achieving social justice and specify the requirements that the
government should meet to deserve the trust of the population of
Armenia. Academician Alexander Manasyan stated that Armenia needs
doctrines of food, energy, cultural and information security.
After the speeches the minister of defense summed up the discussion
and invited the scientists, who are mostly retired, to present their
proposals in written form and promised if not to accept them fully, at
least to discuss them at the meeting of the task force on the Strategy
of National Security he heads. Serge Sargsyan also gave explanations
on some proposals of the scientists. Certainly, he did not speak
about corruption, the mechanisms of sustaining social justice and
establishing government-society confidence. Instead he logically
explained why the Strategy starts with Georgia. "If we ask someone
which of our neighbors we should start with, will it occur to anyone
to say Iran or Azerbaijan? Of course,Georgia, because they are our
closest neighbor, and we must begin with our closest neighbors and
express our attitude," Serge Sargsyan says. He also mentions that
Iran and the countries of East Asia have not been ignored, in fact.
In answer to the observation about the priorities of the foreign
political problems in the document of strategy the minister of defense
stated that the Armenian government considers the physical security
of the small nation as core and primary in terms of security.
"China, Russia, the United States may not discuss such a problem,
whereas there are only three million people in our country. Average
armies can cross the territory of our country in a single day. This
is the reason. And the major threat for our physical existence is the
external threat. Therefore, I do not know if we did the right thing
or the wrong thing, at least we tried to draw up this document in
this way," Serge Sargsyan says.
He also says that Armenia is not pro-American or pro-Russian, but
conducts a balanced foreign policy, which is based on the public
interest and is based on a complementary principle, so this principle
is stressed in the document.
"The goal of the foreign policy is to find and combine the interests
of the country and people, and if these interests contradict,
the foreign policy should have more than one pole. This is what we
meant," the defense minister says. The meeting with the scientists
marks the end of the stage of public debates on the draft strategy of
national security. It included debates at Yerevan State University
and the National Academy of Science. On November 27 the National
Assembly will discuss the document and extend it to the president
of Armenia. If the president approves the document, it will be sent
to the government. Serge Sargsyan informed the scientists as well
that the Strategy will not be adopted as a law because the law is
for everyone, whereas the document is not.
"This is a strategy for the government, this is a political document,
and, in fact, it is going to become the only document which will
underlie the plans of our actions," Serge Sargsyan says, adding that
the opposition or the NGOs do not have to establish their actions on
the Strategy of National Security.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
