Levon Ter-Petrosyan: Retribution time is close”

Leader of the Armenian National Congress (HAK), First President Levon Ter-Petrosyan started his speech with difficulty as the people gathered near the Matenadaran kept screaming "Levon, Levon" for several minutes.

The First President's short speech was followed by a march on the streets adjunct to Freedom Square as a sign of protest against closing the square for the opposition after March 1, 2008.

The following is the speech by Levon Ter-Petrosyan:

Dear fellow Armenians,

It should be clear to you that today's event is not as much a rally as it is a demonstration and you should know that the occasion for that is the CE Forum for the "Future of Democracy" in Yerevan.

Why are we taking advantage of this opportunity to let our opponents gossip and say that we are trying to solve Armenia's domestic issues with the help of foreigners again? First, Serzh Sargsyan and David Harutyunyan brought those foreigners to Armenia. Secondly, as I have mentioned on another occasion, the Council of Europe, the European Court, the OSCE and the UN are not foreigners, but our own organizations. Armenia voluntarily joined those international organizations and took on obligations. Hence, we are simply asking those organizations to oversee the fulfillment of those obligations. Now, let us understand what we are trying to prove by holding a demonstration.

1. Contrary to the efforts of the international community, the Armenian authorities continue to keep over a dozen political prisoners in prison, are not taking any steps to reveal the murders of March 1 and don't even intend to renounce the illegal practice of setting limits on the freedom of speech and holding rallies.
2. The Armenian authorities have not fulfilled the demands in Resolution 1677 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and have expressed their overtly scornful attitude.
3. In its turn, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has not been consistent and principled in overseeing the fulfillment of the mentioned resolution and has in fact encouraged the criminal conduct of Armenian authorities.
4. The mild or gentle policy adopted by international organizations, which is in essence aimed at getting the authorities involved in reforms has led to the opposite. Experience has shown that the authorities pretend to take positive steps only if there are threats of sanctions.
5. And finally, most importantly, the purpose of today's event is to show the forum participants that the Armenian people are determined and will fight until the end for the restoration of their violated rights by taking advantage of all legal means and the opportunities given by international organizations.

I had a meeting today with PACE Co-Rapporteur John Prescott and discussed everything mentioned above. I am scheduled to meet with the CoE Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland who will be participating in the closing session of the forum in Yerevan.

I don't know what the results of those meetings or this event will be, but I have a feeling that the international community is losing patience. The latest press articles affirm my prediction. The latest scandals in Russia, the United States, Malasia and Australia present Armenia as a center for money-laundering, narco-business, trafficking, illegal weapon trade and other international crimes and our authorities as figures involved in those heavy crimes. The hour of retribution is close at hand.

Our next rally will be on November 9 on the occasion of another international forum to be held in Yerevan under the patronage of the European Union and dedicated to the state of human rights in Armenia.

I wish us all a good march until we meet again.

Source Publication: a1plus
Source: http://www.a1plus.am/en/politics/2010/10/19/ter-petrosyan

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