Announced RA presidential candidate Levon Ter-Petrosyan on the first day of the official campaign.
Yesterday the official presidential campaign went underway. RA presidential candidate started his campaign in Aragatsotn and Shirak marzes. The first stop of will rally took place in Pemzashen village, where over 200 people gathered. Ter-Petrosyan told the villagers that the government is going to rely on electoral violations, administrative resources and bribery during elections. However all that won’t help the government win the race this time. By the way, many of the citizens were avoiding to speak near the camera. They were only saying that the city council and the Governor’s office were warning them not to take part in the rally and the police were busy tearing the first president’s posters from the walls. In almost all the areas the citizens were speaking negatively about certain oppositionists, especially Artashes Geghamyan. After Pemzashen Ter-Petrosyan stopped in Artik town. 2000 people gathered in Artik to meet the former President. PPA Leader Stepan Demirchyan grounded for his support to Levon Ter-Petrosyan during his speech. Addressing the crowd, Ter-Petrosyan recalled severe hardship suffered during the first years of Armenia’s independence which coincided with the war in Nagorno-Karabakh and broader turmoil in the region. “I know that during my rule I did not live up to all of your expectations and hopes,” he said. “There were disappointments, there was discontent, there were very harsh criticisms. I accept all of that.” Demirchayn stated that Serzh Sargsyan is a dangerous man guilty of the October 27 parliamentary carnage while Ter-Petrosyan is a wise person and the only candidate that raises the October 27 crime. Leader of the Republic Party Aram Sargsyan in his speech mentioned that the race proceeds between two candidates – Levon Ter-Petrosyan and Robert Kocharyan’s candidate Serzh Sargsyan. “There is a people’s saying, by which if somebody cheats you once he is guilty but if the same person cheats you twice or three times then it’s your own fault,” mentioned Aram Sargsyan. The rally was wrapped up by the speech of the first president. “I know that I thwarted your hopes during my office. You felt bitter disappointment and displeasure. Most of you criticized my political course. I do understand you and share your opinion. And if you think I stumbled in anything I apologize for my sins and mistakes,” Levon Ter-Petrosyan said in Artik. “The thief is courageous when he is not in danger but when he feels that he is soon going to stand in front of the court of the people he becomes the weakest person. So is for the government. Don’t believe in the loyalty of their law-enforcers. 90% of the officers of police, officials of the National Security are the sons of our nation and if they don’t say anything now doesn’t mean that they are not with us now,” Ter-Petrosyan assured and congratulated everyone in advance for the February 19 election. Yesterday Ter-Petrosyan also went to Mets Mantash, Tsakhkahovit, Alagyaz, Kuchak, Shenavan, Apnagyugh and Ohanavan villages. He traveled in a motorcade of about 40 cars that carried leaders of various opposition groups supporting his presidential bid. His meetings there appeared to attract considerable interest from local residents who turned out to hear their former president speak publicly for the first time in over a decade. In Tsakhkahovit village they said that on the first day of the campaign some people obligatorily shut down the first president’s campaign office. To our question who are you going to vote for one of the villagers Romik Hakobyan answered, “Ter-Petrosyan.” He brought the reason that he is one of the founders, scientists and wise men of the country. “Besides the president none of the candidates can bring this country to the right shape,” thinks the villager. It wasn’t originally planned in some of the villages, however hundred of villagers were gathered outside their homes waiting for the first president. In one of those villages, Aknagyugh the villagers slaughtered a sheep in front of the feet of Ter-Petrosyan. It also turned out that several minutes prior to the first president’s stop in the villages some unknown people appeared there in a Willy’s SUV and beat two women. They threatened them not to take part in the rally. Despite this fact almost 200 people gathered for the rally. Levon Ter-Petrosyan asked one of the beaten women who were the beaters. Later some of his supporters have tried to find out the plate numbers of the mentioned car. However, one of the main obstacles that certain people tried to create for Ter-Petrosyan was made in Aparan, the hometown of the Prosecutor-General. Here the residents met Ter-Petrosyan with bread and salt. About 800-1000 people, who gathered in Aparan were literally running away when seeing a camera filming them. And some of them who agreed to speak didn’t introduced themselves and said they were ordered not to show up at the rally. Ter-Petrosyan again sounded supremely confident of his victory as he spoke at a similar rally held in another small town, Aparan. “It’s you, not me, who will win on February 19,” he claimed in a town square opposite Sargsyan’s local campaign headquarters. “I congratulate you on your victory in advance.” Ter-Petrosyan also mentioned that besides the guilt of the previous government Sargsyan also is in charge of the crimes of the past 10 years and is concretely and personally responsible for the October 27 crime. Besides that he is guilty of the pillage, which took place during the last 10 years. “I am not coming alone. I am coming with the victorious president Stepan Demirchyan. I am coming with the victorious Prime Minister Aram Sargsyan. Moreover I am coming with Karen Demirchyan and Vazgen Sargsyan,” he said. The last stop was in Ashtarak town. The rally, which took place there, united 2-2.5 thousand people. The whole city was full of Serzh Sargsyan’s posters. The local residents informed that the employees of the city council have been busy tearing away the posters of Levon Ter-Petrosyan since morning. Ter-Petrosyan mentioned that these elections will be a pay-back for the 1998, 2003 elections. That’s when people elected Karen and Stepan Demirchyans but their votes were not taken into account.