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UNIFYING CONGRESS OF RAMKAVAR AZATAKAN PARTY AND ARMENAKAN RAMKAVAR AZATAKAN PARTY HELD IN YEREVAN
Noyan Tapan
Oct 5, 2009
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, NOYAN TAPAN. The Unifying Congress of the Ramkavar
Azatakan Party (RAP) and the Armenakan Ramkavar Azatakian Party
was held in Yerevan on October 3. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan
sent his congratulatory message to the congress participants. "For
over a century in the history of our people, the Ramkavar Azatakan
Party with its prudent, balanced and practical policy has occupied
a special place in the national and political palette. Returning to
the Motherland in the 1990s, the party became a direct participant
in the declaration of Armenia's independence and the active political
life of the newly-independent country, at the same time giving renewed
impetus to its patriotic activities in the Diaspora. Both in Homeland
and Diaspora, the party has had internal difficulties in recent period
in finding common aspects for dialog with the forces sharing the same
ideology. I am hopeful that during this Congress today and in the
future, you will be guided by the spirit of unity and consolidation of
forces, thus reasserting your vision of a homeland-centered party. We
have much work to do together in the name of our state, our people
and their unity," the message of the RA president reads.
Member of the Armenakan-Ramkavar Azatakan Party Board, editor-in-chief
of Azg daily Hakob Avetikian said that in the 1990s RAP became
established in Armenia and founded the Tekeyan Cultural Center and Azg
daily and due to its enthusiasm and devotion, RAP was one of the six
parties which signed the statement on the declaration of Armenia's
independence. The first split in the party occurred because of the
internal undermining work done by the Armenian National Movement
Party (ANM)-led authorities - for the reason that RAP with its
somewhat oppositionist position was the second largest faction at
the parliament. Later, during the 2003 elections when RAP was the
best prepared party in Armenia and had more than 8,000 members and
some 80 partisan structures, it succeeded in conducting a successful
campaign but suffered a defeat. According to H. Avetikian, the reason
for RAP's defeat was that the elections in Armenia were turned into
an "exchange of financial and economic deals", for which RAP was not
prepared. "In an atmosphere of disappointment following that defeat,
several swindlers took the party in their hands and a full-scale
degradation began in all marzes, with the swindlers neutralizing
each other, until one swindler - the most ignorant and impolite one -
remained who continues discrediting the party, " H.
Avetikian noted. As a result, RAP was defeated in three elections
at once: the presidential, parliamentary elections and the elections
of Yerevan City Council. The party has no presence in the political
life. For that reason the stalwarts of RAP initiated the party's
recreation in Armenia in May and called it Armenakan RAP, respecting
the letter of the Armenian law and returning to the roots. Over 3
months the party has already set up 17 structures.
H. Avetikian declared that the party will open its doors to youth. In
response to the question: "Will your party be a progovernment or an
opposition one?", he replied: "We have never been a progovernment party
and cannot be such because we have not been in power and I do not think
we will come to power in the near future. We have not been and will
not be radical opposition, but we will act as opponents regarding the
issues where the executive authorities will make mistakes or neglect
their duties and we will encourage all those initiatives that the
authorities will efficiently carry out for the benefit of our people".
H. Avetikian reminded the party's definition by its one-time Chairman
Ruben Mirzakhanian: "We are a pro-state party, we are a party of
quiet force and will remain so".
Speeches of welcome were made by Boston-based Nubar Berberian, former
editor of RAP's several newspapers, and Dr. Arshavir Gyonjian, former
Chairman of RAP Central Board, a founding member of AGBU. According to
the latter, the party, which established itself in Armenia, was engaged
in constructive work in a most difficult period: the Artsakh war, the
earthquake, the transition period after the country's independence,
but "later it lost its position and capacity". "Today we do not share
at all its feature or activity. We have come to greet the revived
and reorganized party. We, the tradition preserving leaders of RAP
have come to combine our efforts and our activity with the work of
Armenakan-RAP, to support its work and advance the supreme interests
of the native people and statehood. We should provide our numerous
centers in the Diaspora, our newspapers and all confidence enjoyed
throughout Diaspora for the united work of Armenakan-RAP and RAP's
tradition-preserving members in order to promote the main democratic
principles in the Homeland for the sake of the Armenian people,"
he stated.
Speeches of welcome were also delivered by some guests of the Congress.
Chairwoman of the RA Union of Journalists Astghik Gevorkian said the
unification is taking place at the right time: it is necessary to
unite the Armenian people in the name of the nation, the state and
the Diaspora.
Chairman of the Public Council, leader of the National Democratic Union
Vazgen Manukian said the party has a great history, it has passed a
long path and still has a considerable way to go. He considered it
symbolic that the unification is taking place at the time "when a new
situation is starting to form between Armenia and Turkey. We face a
complex way which will require our unity and it will also require
us not to forget our roots and to pursue those tasks that we have
pursued so far, and in order to make use of the advantages in this
new situation, we need a new quality, including a new quality of
management, otherwise we will fail to use these advantages and will
also lose those we have gained".
In the words of Deputy Chairman of Republican Party of Armenia (RPA)
Galust Sahakian, "this day is a really historical one". Secretary of
"Prosperous Armenia" faction Aram Safarian said on behalf of Prosperous
Armenia Party's Chairman Gagik Tsarukian that PAP is prepared to
cooperate for resolution of the problems of the utmost importance for
the nation, both in the field of domestic policy and the international
recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide.
Chairman of the National Self-Determination Union Paruyr Hayrikian
handed Hakob Avetikian a document, called a "Model of Perfect
Democracy" signed by six parties. He expressed a hope that
Armenakan-RAP will be the seventh one.
"Armenia can become one of the most democratic countries in
the world. With a 100% representative parliament, we will make
Armenia a really democractic state," he declared. He pointed out the
existence of such problems as the unification of churces and the use
of single orthography: the nation is detached from its roots and
is split. According to him, there is also a serious psychological
problem: Artsakh should not be called Karabakh, and it is necessary
to struggle not for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, but
for the elimination of its consequences.
Noyan Tapan
Oct 5, 2009
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, NOYAN TAPAN. The Unifying Congress of the Ramkavar
Azatakan Party (RAP) and the Armenakan Ramkavar Azatakian Party
was held in Yerevan on October 3. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan
sent his congratulatory message to the congress participants. "For
over a century in the history of our people, the Ramkavar Azatakan
Party with its prudent, balanced and practical policy has occupied
a special place in the national and political palette. Returning to
the Motherland in the 1990s, the party became a direct participant
in the declaration of Armenia's independence and the active political
life of the newly-independent country, at the same time giving renewed
impetus to its patriotic activities in the Diaspora. Both in Homeland
and Diaspora, the party has had internal difficulties in recent period
in finding common aspects for dialog with the forces sharing the same
ideology. I am hopeful that during this Congress today and in the
future, you will be guided by the spirit of unity and consolidation of
forces, thus reasserting your vision of a homeland-centered party. We
have much work to do together in the name of our state, our people
and their unity," the message of the RA president reads.
Member of the Armenakan-Ramkavar Azatakan Party Board, editor-in-chief
of Azg daily Hakob Avetikian said that in the 1990s RAP became
established in Armenia and founded the Tekeyan Cultural Center and Azg
daily and due to its enthusiasm and devotion, RAP was one of the six
parties which signed the statement on the declaration of Armenia's
independence. The first split in the party occurred because of the
internal undermining work done by the Armenian National Movement
Party (ANM)-led authorities - for the reason that RAP with its
somewhat oppositionist position was the second largest faction at
the parliament. Later, during the 2003 elections when RAP was the
best prepared party in Armenia and had more than 8,000 members and
some 80 partisan structures, it succeeded in conducting a successful
campaign but suffered a defeat. According to H. Avetikian, the reason
for RAP's defeat was that the elections in Armenia were turned into
an "exchange of financial and economic deals", for which RAP was not
prepared. "In an atmosphere of disappointment following that defeat,
several swindlers took the party in their hands and a full-scale
degradation began in all marzes, with the swindlers neutralizing
each other, until one swindler - the most ignorant and impolite one -
remained who continues discrediting the party, " H.
Avetikian noted. As a result, RAP was defeated in three elections
at once: the presidential, parliamentary elections and the elections
of Yerevan City Council. The party has no presence in the political
life. For that reason the stalwarts of RAP initiated the party's
recreation in Armenia in May and called it Armenakan RAP, respecting
the letter of the Armenian law and returning to the roots. Over 3
months the party has already set up 17 structures.
H. Avetikian declared that the party will open its doors to youth. In
response to the question: "Will your party be a progovernment or an
opposition one?", he replied: "We have never been a progovernment party
and cannot be such because we have not been in power and I do not think
we will come to power in the near future. We have not been and will
not be radical opposition, but we will act as opponents regarding the
issues where the executive authorities will make mistakes or neglect
their duties and we will encourage all those initiatives that the
authorities will efficiently carry out for the benefit of our people".
H. Avetikian reminded the party's definition by its one-time Chairman
Ruben Mirzakhanian: "We are a pro-state party, we are a party of
quiet force and will remain so".
Speeches of welcome were made by Boston-based Nubar Berberian, former
editor of RAP's several newspapers, and Dr. Arshavir Gyonjian, former
Chairman of RAP Central Board, a founding member of AGBU. According to
the latter, the party, which established itself in Armenia, was engaged
in constructive work in a most difficult period: the Artsakh war, the
earthquake, the transition period after the country's independence,
but "later it lost its position and capacity". "Today we do not share
at all its feature or activity. We have come to greet the revived
and reorganized party. We, the tradition preserving leaders of RAP
have come to combine our efforts and our activity with the work of
Armenakan-RAP, to support its work and advance the supreme interests
of the native people and statehood. We should provide our numerous
centers in the Diaspora, our newspapers and all confidence enjoyed
throughout Diaspora for the united work of Armenakan-RAP and RAP's
tradition-preserving members in order to promote the main democratic
principles in the Homeland for the sake of the Armenian people,"
he stated.
Speeches of welcome were also delivered by some guests of the Congress.
Chairwoman of the RA Union of Journalists Astghik Gevorkian said the
unification is taking place at the right time: it is necessary to
unite the Armenian people in the name of the nation, the state and
the Diaspora.
Chairman of the Public Council, leader of the National Democratic Union
Vazgen Manukian said the party has a great history, it has passed a
long path and still has a considerable way to go. He considered it
symbolic that the unification is taking place at the time "when a new
situation is starting to form between Armenia and Turkey. We face a
complex way which will require our unity and it will also require
us not to forget our roots and to pursue those tasks that we have
pursued so far, and in order to make use of the advantages in this
new situation, we need a new quality, including a new quality of
management, otherwise we will fail to use these advantages and will
also lose those we have gained".
In the words of Deputy Chairman of Republican Party of Armenia (RPA)
Galust Sahakian, "this day is a really historical one". Secretary of
"Prosperous Armenia" faction Aram Safarian said on behalf of Prosperous
Armenia Party's Chairman Gagik Tsarukian that PAP is prepared to
cooperate for resolution of the problems of the utmost importance for
the nation, both in the field of domestic policy and the international
recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide.
Chairman of the National Self-Determination Union Paruyr Hayrikian
handed Hakob Avetikian a document, called a "Model of Perfect
Democracy" signed by six parties. He expressed a hope that
Armenakan-RAP will be the seventh one.
"Armenia can become one of the most democratic countries in
the world. With a 100% representative parliament, we will make
Armenia a really democractic state," he declared. He pointed out the
existence of such problems as the unification of churces and the use
of single orthography: the nation is detached from its roots and
is split. According to him, there is also a serious psychological
problem: Artsakh should not be called Karabakh, and it is necessary
to struggle not for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, but
for the elimination of its consequences.