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VOTE 2012: ANC CALLS TO GIVE "NO VOTE TO THE GANGSTER-STATE" IN SPARSE ECHMIADZIN RALLY
By Gayane Lazarian
ArmeniaNow
19.04.12 | 13:25
NAZIK ARMENAKYAN
Only about 40 residents of Echmiadzin dared attend an oppositional
Armenian National Congress (ANC) rally in the city heavily dominated
by Republican Party of Armenia authorities.
"Be it ten people, a hundred or a thousand, we will meet and say what
we have to say. It's all right that you are being video recorded now;
it's all right that tomorrow you might be in trouble.
Enlarge Photo This is our country. We are ready for any difficulties,
any bans, and we will continue our campaign," declared ANC member Aram
Manukyan, heading the board of All-Armenian National Movement party.
ANC leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan in his speech referred to migration as
the current authorities' biggest crime, stating that the population
has decreased by a million during the rule of the "criminal regime".
"The army has been cut down considerably. During our tenure it was
made of 78,000 soldiers, with 26,000 conscripts annually; today that
number has dropped to 50,000 with only 16,000 conscripts per year,"
said the first president in charge of ANC, adding that for the first
time in history it was this government that fired at its own people
on March 1, 2008, leaving ten people dead.
Manukyan said he believes Armenia's political field is impotent,
and no ideology works. According to him, the authorities will use
boorish methods to force people go and vote for them.
"Under such circumstances the opposition is not presenting any
ideological plans. We cannot introduce any legal projects that can
be implemented without a change of power. Naturally we have plans
for raising pensions, but they are directly connected with change
of power. If "Lfik, Tokhmakh, Alyur" [nicknames of oligarchs] rob
the country and evade taxes, any pension project becomes pointless,"
he continued.
Manukyan reaffirmed the ANC priority objective, should they enter the
parliament - to push for the impeachment of President Serzh Sargsyan.
"One can implement any plan and project given if the pyramid of this
gangster-state is toppled," he said.
Another member of ANC Hrant Bagratyan, former prime-minister, in turn
criticized the country's economic policy, saying that the president
has divided the market among a few oligarchs; as a consequence there
is no competition, he said, which would have led to drop of prices.
"Why should one person import sugar, vegetable oil, butter? Only
the sugar-importer's unpaid taxes (he referred to Republican Samvel
Alexanyan) are enough to triple the pensions. The guy (Alexanyan)
doesn't pay his due 110 billion drams ($280 million) annual taxes,
and we are happy that he throws 10 billion (around $26 million)
to the state budget as 'paltry dole'?" said Bagratyan.
ANC representatives stressed that they are often blamed for the faults
and shortcomings of today's authorities, saying that they were the
ones who started it all.
"Show us anyone to whom we gave economic power or posts. We were in
office, made thousands of mistakes, but we weren't either criminals
or thieves. If we were thieves we wouldn't have come to you now,"
said Bagratyan.
The ANC leader assured that even in the atmosphere of fear people would
go and vote for them, and by that they'd vote against the authorities;
and those who would vote for the Republicans or the Rule of Law would
become "criminals" too.
"So they rob you day and night, take your children to the army and
kill them in non-combat conditions, deprive you of your land, your
house, and still come and ask you to vote for them? That's why we say:
no vote to these criminal authorities," said Ter-Petrosyan.
By Gayane Lazarian
ArmeniaNow
19.04.12 | 13:25
NAZIK ARMENAKYAN
Only about 40 residents of Echmiadzin dared attend an oppositional
Armenian National Congress (ANC) rally in the city heavily dominated
by Republican Party of Armenia authorities.
"Be it ten people, a hundred or a thousand, we will meet and say what
we have to say. It's all right that you are being video recorded now;
it's all right that tomorrow you might be in trouble.
Enlarge Photo This is our country. We are ready for any difficulties,
any bans, and we will continue our campaign," declared ANC member Aram
Manukyan, heading the board of All-Armenian National Movement party.
ANC leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan in his speech referred to migration as
the current authorities' biggest crime, stating that the population
has decreased by a million during the rule of the "criminal regime".
"The army has been cut down considerably. During our tenure it was
made of 78,000 soldiers, with 26,000 conscripts annually; today that
number has dropped to 50,000 with only 16,000 conscripts per year,"
said the first president in charge of ANC, adding that for the first
time in history it was this government that fired at its own people
on March 1, 2008, leaving ten people dead.
Manukyan said he believes Armenia's political field is impotent,
and no ideology works. According to him, the authorities will use
boorish methods to force people go and vote for them.
"Under such circumstances the opposition is not presenting any
ideological plans. We cannot introduce any legal projects that can
be implemented without a change of power. Naturally we have plans
for raising pensions, but they are directly connected with change
of power. If "Lfik, Tokhmakh, Alyur" [nicknames of oligarchs] rob
the country and evade taxes, any pension project becomes pointless,"
he continued.
Manukyan reaffirmed the ANC priority objective, should they enter the
parliament - to push for the impeachment of President Serzh Sargsyan.
"One can implement any plan and project given if the pyramid of this
gangster-state is toppled," he said.
Another member of ANC Hrant Bagratyan, former prime-minister, in turn
criticized the country's economic policy, saying that the president
has divided the market among a few oligarchs; as a consequence there
is no competition, he said, which would have led to drop of prices.
"Why should one person import sugar, vegetable oil, butter? Only
the sugar-importer's unpaid taxes (he referred to Republican Samvel
Alexanyan) are enough to triple the pensions. The guy (Alexanyan)
doesn't pay his due 110 billion drams ($280 million) annual taxes,
and we are happy that he throws 10 billion (around $26 million)
to the state budget as 'paltry dole'?" said Bagratyan.
ANC representatives stressed that they are often blamed for the faults
and shortcomings of today's authorities, saying that they were the
ones who started it all.
"Show us anyone to whom we gave economic power or posts. We were in
office, made thousands of mistakes, but we weren't either criminals
or thieves. If we were thieves we wouldn't have come to you now,"
said Bagratyan.
The ANC leader assured that even in the atmosphere of fear people would
go and vote for them, and by that they'd vote against the authorities;
and those who would vote for the Republicans or the Rule of Law would
become "criminals" too.
"So they rob you day and night, take your children to the army and
kill them in non-combat conditions, deprive you of your land, your
house, and still come and ask you to vote for them? That's why we say:
no vote to these criminal authorities," said Ter-Petrosyan.