“168 hours”: Is it possible to talk about national movements during
today’s conference, as that happened when the political party was just
forming?”
Ararat Zurabyan: “This is yet another conference organized by the
Armenian National Movement’s (ANM) Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s speech left a
big impression and it seemed as if something is going to happen. I must
say that there is absolutely nothing extraordinary going on. During the
convention, we will elect a new board, accept a new political strategy
and evaluate the situation as a whole. We may also touch upon some
changes to be made in the program. As for activating the board members,
I think that is something that should not be discussed during the
convention. We must leave that up to the executive bodies (board). We
all have a desire to change something, but the road ahead is
unpredictable. If I say that we are going to start changing something
starting from today and move on, that would be wrong. Also, I can not
say that everything will remain the same in the ANM and nothing will
change. We have special projects and we must move forward with
implementing them. I think that if there is a chance for us to be more
active, and I am certain that that will happen in the near future, the
ANM will show its participation.”
168 hours: “After Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s speech, all the political party
members starting talking about the possible return of Ter-Petrosyan to
politics. The authorities held back from that idea, but the opposition
went right ahead. What do you think about that?”
Ararat Zurabyan: “I think that something happened-the status quo was
faltered. It was something that did not exist in relations between the
authorities and the opposition. The opposition had nothing to do during
the convention and that was a good thing for the ANM. The authorities
also had their problems which could be solved without any interference.
Some of the things that Levon Ter-Petrosyan said during his speech
startled everyone and it made it clear that Levon Ter-Petrosyan plays a
major role for Armenia. His one speech is equivalent to the year round
work completed by the political party itself. Obviously that may worry
some people because after all, they might lose the jobs that they have
found for themselves.
“168 hours”: “The vice president of the “Azgayin Miabanutyun” (National
Unity) political party recommended that the Armenian National Movement
“apologize” to the people before even thinking about coming back.”
Ararat Zurabyan: “I am just amazed at how some people express
themselves. During the years when we had just declared our
independence, when the war in Karabagh was developing, when there were
many problems to solve, those political parties were not even involved
in politics and it was the ANM who took care of everything. But now all
of a sudden they are asking us to apologize to the people or something
like that. I regret to say that we don’t have to apologize to anybody,
not even the society. It is very strange to ask a political party who
has done so much for the country during a time of war to apologize. Let
those people do something for the country and try to evaluate the
political party who has done anything wrong. There is no political
party in Armenia that has the right to give an evaluation for the ANM.
Some say that this or that political party is part of the ANM. It turns
out that each and every political party in Armenia is part of the ANM.
We can even include the political parties who are from abroad who have
done nothing for Armenia and suddenly come to the Armenia that we
developed.
168 hours: “Since we mentioned the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, I
would like to make a reference to Armen Rustamyan when he said that the
ANM is trying to come back as a result of the mistakes that the
federation made. He also said that if the ANM had correctly evaluated
our work, that would not happen.”
Ararat Zurabyan: “First of all, I will talk about the announcement and
then about the person who said that. I remember that Armenia has a
Constitution. I don’t accept the fact that a political party member
says something when he himself has not condemned someone else’s
announcement. Those announcements are many, claiming that they justify
terrorism. What they must ask themselves is whether or not they have
the right to be involved in politics or not. The ANM is against any
political party that looks at terrorism as a solution to all problems.
Neither the authorities nor the political parties could give an
evaluation for the ANM because you must take into consideration all the
facts when you do that.”
168 hours: “Some political parties allege that the ANM has no “ethical
right” to return to politics because it brought Robert Kocharyan to
power. Perhaps you will have that right when you do away with the
president yourselves?”
Ararat Zurabyan: “People get the idea of an “ethical right” due to the
following: during the past 6 years, each Armenian citizen has heard
many speeches on television and radio where everyone has put down the
reputation of the ANM. Trust me, no other political party will do away
with the president. The ANM will do that. I think that the people can
trust us after all these years. In fact, I am not the one saying that,
but rather the Adviser to the President’s National Security who keeps
on saying that the ANM has the potential to take certain measures.”
168 hours: “If you are so certain that the ANM will remove the President, why are you holding back? Do you feel sorry or what?”
Ararat Zurabyan: “No. Each process needs time. The society does not
look at this as who will remove Kocharyan from office. They don’t care
who does it, as long as Kocharyan gets removed. Almost all the
political forces in Armenia have tried to do that except the ANM.
However, they have failed. The ANM is the only political party that has
put that aside for a while. We will have that chance in a matter of
time and we will do it. We are even ready to go to the upcoming
presidential elections and not worry about change of power if the
authorities can solve the Karabagh conflict in favor of Armenia. I am
saying this as I reflect upon what the authorities were claiming to do
back in 1998.
168 hours: “Could it be that the ANM will accept any solution proposed by the authorities in order to avoid the worst?”
Ararat Zurabyan: “We firmly believe that the Karabagh conflict must be
solved and can not be delayed. We all see that time is on Azerbaijan’s
side. We are also diplomats and negotiators. I don’t think that the
authorities can get the most out of this at the present. Of course, we
can then accuse them or give an evaluation, but each person must
realize that we can not keep on living in the past. There is a present
and future and we must take advantage of the chance that we have been
given. Throughout the years, the authorities have been given a chance
to solve the issue, to make a move, but they have done their best to
avoid solving the conflict. As a result, we face many problems now.”
“168 hours”: “Some people think that Ter-Petrosyan will not return to
politics until the Karabagh conflict is not settled so that society
will not accuse him of “giving away Karabagh”. What can you say about
that?”
Ararat Zurabyan: “Everyone is of that opinion. But trust me, as soon as
that issue comes to the point where there is a real danger,
Ter-Petrosyan will evaluate everything. He can not be indifferent to
the development of the Karaagh peace settlement.”