DIALOGUE TO BE CONDUCTED WITH SOCIETY
- President SERGE SARGSYAN yesterday convened his first press-conference with the purpose of summing up the 100-day period of his tenure and answering the questions arousing interest among the journalists
How does Mr. Sargsyan estimate the first 100 days of his Presidency?
“It is still early to speak about the results. What has been done is the beginning of very hard and great work. We have started our activities with the spheres which are essential and important for our people and were specified as priorities in my pre-election program. I am sure that our work will gain momentum, and we will be able to speak about the results in a few years’ time. It is important for our society to be satisfied with the results as well,” the President said in response to the question.
According to S. Sargsyan, the changes and re-appointments of human resources in the staff of the Government are not yet over, but “the main appointments have been made, and this is already a fact. I have specified my requirements in relation to the state officials. Those who comply with them will continue working, those who don’t will be replaced by others.”
What is the President’s attitude towards the process of the unification of the 6 pro-opposition forces which are against the pan-national movement of the so-called “disorganizers” of the state system?
“I estimate it quite positively. In general, I think that we should start a process of enlarging the parties and political factions. It doesn’t matter how this will happens: whether we will achieve it by way of extending one political party or consolidating several political forces. The important thing is for the political forces to be united for the sake of a common idea and be consistent and constructive in their efforts. I estimate the unification of all the constructive political forces as positive. As regards the fact of being against the policy of destroying, demolishing and disorganizing everything, I consider it to be a positive initiative and would like it to be a success,” S. Sargsyan stated.
Touching upon the “wide divergence of opinions” between Robert Kocharyan and himself, particularly with regard to the issue of inviting the Turkish President to Armenia for watching a football match, the President noted, “I believe Robert Kocharyan’s statement did not contain criticism at all. He just expressed his disagreement on my step. We differed with each other on many other issues in the past as well, but I preferred to express my opinion to him without reducing it to the public domain. I respect Mr. Kocharyan’s decision of making his opinion public, and I see nothing strange here.
As regards the ‘sharp controversies’, many people have, for many years, constantly tried to find some controversies and disagreement between Mr. Kocharyan and me. By the way, among them there were not only representatives of the opposition but also people who held some posts in the government but were not satisfied with their position. Perhaps, they considered me a rival and constantly tried to separate us and embroil us in a conflict with each another. They didn’t manage to do that. And the same continues now. Those people were just unable to understand that their efforts were futile. And generally, there’s no need to look for a black cat in a dark room, especially when there’s no cat hiding there.”
As to the “rumors” that the country is actually governed by Robert Kocharyan, S. Sargsyan mentioned, “It is just absurd. Governing a country is not the same as running a business where it is possible to appoint an Executive Director and reserve the right to ownership for oneself and continue to be at the head of the business. I am happy that ex-President Kocharyan has also touched upon the issue and gave a similar answer. While making a decision, I certainly consult Robert Kocharyan, as well as my colleagues, coalition partners and relevant specialists. This is the style of my work, and I will go on working in this way in future too. But the responsibility for my decisions lies upon me.”
What steps do the authorities undertake towards the implementation of the CoE requirement of releasing the detainees who were arrested under “political” articles?
“I work in that direction, and I work quite intensively. The proof is that there are dozens of people who are currently in freedom. I have said several times and repeat again that I positively estimate the activities of the Prosecutor’s Office and the court for demonstrating a mild attitude towards the people who didn’t commit grave crimes.
But on the other hand, I consider that we don’t have the right to look upon those events through fingers; we don’t have the right not to see the people who committed grave crimes, organized mass disorders and destroyed the property belonging to others.
By being too mild in our attitude towards them, we’ll cause harm to our country and people. Many people will be tempted into doing this kind of things in future, considering that after each election (and in general), it is possible to solve some problems by the use of force. We should rule out this kind of manifestations,” the President said.
Isn’t the dialogue with Ter-Petrosyan being delayed?
In response to this question, S. Sargsyan said, “What I mean is a dialogue with the people, with society, i.e. a dialogue in the state-society format and not between the President of the Republic and some individual. In general, this is an on-going process. I am always in my office. I come to work at 9:00 in the morning and finish my working day very late, so the topic of the dialogue includes various issues.”
As regards the issue whether we will manage to fulfill the requirements of the PACE Resolutions # 1609 and 1620 by January or “fail the exam” again, the President said that the matter did not consist in managing or failing to do something. The thing is that we have undertaken some commitments which are in harmony with the programs of the President and the coalition, and we will step by step realize the plan of making Armenia a democratic state.
One of the questions concerned the chronic anti-hygienic state in the Northern Avenue, something that scares away not only the tourists but also the ordinary citizens, leading the owners of the trade “centers” to bankruptcy.
“I admit the remark. Even if it is conditioned by the activity of the opposition, I am responsible for that. In normal countries people would have applied to court long ago if they had suffered damages. I want to emphasize once again that we haven’t yet learnt to exercise our rights in such a way as not to violate the rights of others. What is happening in the Northern Avenue is of course impermissible. I respect the right of the people to express their opinion, but they mustn’t do it at the expense of others,” S. Sargsyan noted, promising to undertake steps in that direction.
Doesn’t the President feel tired after the Presidential elections (which followed the Parliamentary elections) and the post-electoral developments?
“Thank you for being attentive. Of course, there are days when I get tired, but in general, I do not feel tired at all. A tired official is the most dangerous person,” the President noted in response to the question and assured the participants that he does not retreat difficulties and is ready for a long-term working “marathon” for the sake of the realization of the programs advanced by him and his coalition partners.
- LILIT POGHOSYAN
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