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  • Dialogue To Be Conducted With Society

    DIALOGUE TO BE CONDUCTED WITH SOCIETY
    Lilit Poghosyan

    Hayots Ashkhar Daily
    Published on July 22, 2008
    Armenia

    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 a gainst 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 st range 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 f ormat 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=2 0 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.
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