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Interview: Raffi Hovannisian and the Barevolution

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  • Interview: Raffi Hovannisian and the Barevolution

    ianyan magazine
    March 22 2013


    Interview: Raffi Hovannisian and the Barevolution

    Posted by Christian Garbis

    It is just after 9 am on day six of Raffi Hovannisian's hunger strike
    on symbolic Liberty Square, in protest of the elections the opposition
    believes were stolen from the Armenian people, who he insists are
    indeed the victors. Only a few of the thousands of visitors he will
    receive throughout the day linger nearby, in support of his protest
    and the movement known as the Barevolution, sponsored by his Heritage
    Party, the ARF-Dashnaktsutyun and various dynamic political figures
    including the presidential candidate Andreas Ghukasian and Nikol
    Pashinian, who is affiliated with the Armenian National Congress. The
    metal park bench on which he sits is draped with a crocheted red, blue
    and orange quilt sporting the same colors of the Armenian flag. At
    arms length a crackly radio plays Armenian popular and folk music
    while he thumbs through a newspaper and is briefed by one of his sons
    sitting beside him.

    Hovannisian is clothed in his now trademark revolutionary uniform-a
    navy blue wool turtleneck sweater and matching scarf with narrow
    orange and red stripes running its length. His bronzy face is tanned
    from prolonged exposure to the sun as there is virtually no shade in
    the spot where he sits most of the day, not that he is complaining.
    For him, it's all about being there for the people, and his
    nourishment is the unwavering support they give him around the clock.
    The authorities led by incumbent Serzh Sargsyan continue their refusal
    to compromise with Hovannisian-and thus the people-to hold a second
    round of presidential elections and snap parliamentary elections after
    switching to a fully proportional system of representation, and to
    bring election violators, namely public servants at various levels,
    before the law.

    I sat down with him to probe the mind of a man that is emphatically
    dedicated in the pursuit of Armenian citizens' rights to a lawful,
    free democratic society.


    Q. The constitutional court has rejected the opposition's appeals, and
    now you plan to hold public forums at Liberty Square for five days
    straight starting on March 17 where views can be exchanged about
    Armenia's future. But that still leaves us with your `over my dead
    body' quote in reference to Sargsyan taking the oath for a second term
    on April 9. You have also said that you were ready to die for this
    movement. This suggests a forewarning that there could potentially be
    an outbreak of violence. Do you think it will come to that?

    A. No, it won't. We will continue very steadily and constitutionally
    toward the end of a de jure presidency, regardless of the
    constitutional court's decision.
    This movement, the Barevolution, belongs to the Armenian people, which
    is so intangible and unpredictable for so many people who two months
    ago did not at all believe in themselves or each other, that they
    could emerge from their fatalism and hopelessness and take their
    destiny and constitution into their own hands. I am very proud of this
    movement and proud to be a part of it. I'm ready not only to die, but
    to live for it. I plan to serve the people for a long time but as I've
    said, this is not a fast or a hunger strike, this is the last stage in
    returning Armenia to the people and taking the victory of February 18
    to a final summit on April 9, when together we will realize the
    inauguration of a new Armenia.

    Q. Nevertheless, there is a segment of society that believes the only
    way to get through to certain members of parliament and government
    with reputations for being heavy handed is through violent means.

    A. I rule that out. Whereas five years ago the call `until the end'
    meant blood or revolution, today based on the people's candidacy that
    same slogan means a peaceful, constitutional quest for a de jure
    presidency. There shall not be blood, and I will not allow it. My
    initiative is not an ultimatum to anyone. It is a self-cleansing
    process for myself, and the entry to the final decisive stage in the
    struggle toward registering the victory of the Armenian people
    delivered on February 18.


    Q. Wilfried Martens, the President of the European People's Party-of
    which both the Heritage Party and Republican Party of Armenia are
    member organizations-warmly congratulated Sargsyan and praised the
    conduct of the elections while shrugging off claims of gross
    violations, insisting that he won fair and square. Similar glowing
    statements were made by leaders of the Council of Europe and the
    Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), the Armenian
    delegation to which includes Heritage Party MPs. In your opinion, why
    are relations between those entities and the authorities so cordial to
    the extent that they would not take a more objective, diplomatic
    stance on the election outcome?

    A. What concerns me more is that we-the Armenian people who have
    brought democracy, the rule of law and faith in the homeland-are the
    masters of our own destiny. Although they [world leaders who have
    congratulated Sargsyan] stand against the people of Armenia and the
    democratic movement for their own geopolitical concerns and interests
    and support the candidacy of a gentleman whose official results as
    registered by the Central Election Commission were actually delivered
    by fraud, falsification, intimidation, multiple voting, taking
    soldiers to the polls, threatening teachers, using hospitals, schools,
    town halls and village cultural centers to post campaign materials of
    the incumbent president, there clearly is no basis to recognize the
    illegitimate official winner of the election. But as someone born in
    the U.S. who has been educated on the values of democracy, civil
    rights and constitutional law, I can say that these statements from
    world leaders fly in the face of their own principles. Armenia is one
    of the earliest sources of Western civilization. Let no one sermonize
    the Armenian people on democracy because they have delivered on their
    own constitution.


    Q. Some believe that for this movement to have a broader support the
    Armenian National Congress has to come on board. What is impeding that
    from happening?

    A. The Heritage Party and I have always been in favor of consolidation
    in all the elections in which we have participated. Right now I am
    open to discussing matters with anyone. Levon Ter-Petrosyan has
    acknowledged that I indeed won the election, but the Congress hasn't
    sought to deepen that relationship.

    But what's important is that on February 18 the political model of
    Armenia changed. Citizens faced with a boycott of the elections by
    many political and civic groups said `no.' I believed in them, they
    believed in me, and together we brought victory. At this point it
    would be a sign of strength for political parties or civic movements,
    whether they participated in the elections or not, to announce that
    they are part of this movement. As I've said from the podium, the
    Heritage flag has been lowered because the people recognize that after
    a long period of labor we are about to deliver the new Armenia, in
    which political parties have to play a secondary role. They must know
    that no political party can be the pivot for Armenia's future.
    Citizens and political parties have to reassess their roles to serve
    society. So I don't think it is key that any two organizations come
    together. People should understand the gravity of the moment and come
    together. The people have spoken and we have to respect that choice.


    Q. While you continue to protest the presidential election outcome
    discussions were held about forming a unified opposition bloc for the
    Yerevan municipal elections. Yet the same violations that the
    opposition cited will undoubtedly repeat. Why have the municipal
    elections become so important while the presidential vote is still
    being contested?

    A. I wouldn't say they're so important, but I am in favor of
    participatory democracy. You can't curse the darkness, you have to
    light a candle, and the experience of the last two months demonstrated
    very well that by sitting on the sidelines you cannot bring about
    change. You have to participate and mobilize. I think the Yerevan
    elections are an opportunity not to replace this movement but be an
    offshoot of it. We will put together a broad-based list, which I
    anticipate will include members from civil organizations and other
    political parties, and the mayor and the majority of the city council
    will be appointed from that list. We're going to every city and
    village that has an election, and we're going to return public service
    to the people.


    Q. What message can you give now to both your staunch critics-those
    who believe you have no plan, that your current action is a sign of
    desperation and the movement will not get anywhere-and your loyal
    supporters based abroad who are genuinely concerned about the
    direction in which the movement is headed?

    A. I believe in free speech and I respect their opinions. I sometimes
    learn a lot from criticism when it's founded and honest, but when it's
    based on partisanship and hatred, that is not acceptable to me.
    Everything is going according to plan, and the plan belongs to the
    Armenian people. What differentiates today from five years ago and
    beyond is that this movement is no longer an individual-based quest
    for liberty and the presidency. This movement takes on the legacy of
    the past, the struggle of the Armenian people over the last 21 years
    to have a state that is democratic, rightful and sovereign in pursuit
    of its national interests. While I am the elected guide for the
    movement, it is not a one-man show and it's greater than Liberty
    Square. If you were to travel with me to the villages and cities of
    Armenia, to the concerts, theaters, weddings and university squares on
    bus rides all around the country, you would see that there is a great
    sense of empowerment.

    Before he died the poet Yeghishe Charents wrote in his acrostic, `Oh
    Armenian people, your salvation is in your collective strength,' and
    on election day the people put his message into action by saying `yes'
    to Armenia's future. That future is based on a brand new plan that is
    not 100 pages long, but in terms of its implementation let it be clear
    that I know exactly where I am going. I also know that the Armenian
    people will guide me to that final summit.

    http://www.ianyanmag.com/2013/03/22/interview-raffi-hovannisian-and-the-barevolution/


    From: Baghdasarian
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