On March 9, when a group of citizens were lighting candles and putting flowers near the monument of Myasnikyan to commemorate the fortieth day of the March 1 events, the president elect Serzh Sargsyan was swearing with his hand on the Holy Bible and Constitution and under the flag of Armenia to obey the Constitution during his tenure, protect the human rights, the independence, territorial integrity and security of the republic in favor of the Republic Armenia and the people of the Republic of Armenia.
We can’t say more concerning the president’s inauguration than shown on the public television H1 because we, the journalists accredited with the parliament, could see that process on TV only. It is hard to assume who instructed them and said that journalists had to see that process only on a TV screen in a neighboring room of the Opera House.
Only after the inauguration we were allowed to participate in the celebration near a table in the Opera House. As for this event, it looked very poor because there was a huge line of people and gathering near Serzh Sargsyan because the officials were waiting near the new president to have the opportunity to congratulate him. The former president, Robert Kocharyan was there too, but everyone who was approaching him was telling him that he had to take some rest. It is worth mentioning that the journalists of Haykakan Zhamanak (Armenian Times), Hayk newspaper and A1+ agency were not there. The extraordinary parliamentary sitting was organized in participation with 118 MPs out of 131 ones. There were also some representatives of political powers, which are not represented in the parliament. Also delegations from 58 countries and 12 international organizations were invited to participate in the inauguration. Matthew Bryza, assistant to the deputy state secretary of the US and OSCE MG co-chairman, was representing the United States during the inauguration. “I am here to congratulate the newly elected president of Armenia in the name of my government,” he said. He says that “it is important that the authorities find balance in dealing with each citizen. Serzh Sargsyan spoke about that balance during his speech. He said that there is independence, and this balance should be found. Yes, we are advocating for freedom, and we believe that the Armenian nation is clever, and this clever nation should find that balance. We hope that it will be done soon, we also hope that the other political powers will be ready to find a common language with the authorities as well,” said Bryza.
Answering to a question whether the US government is ready to cooperate with the Armenian government Matthew Bryza said, “We always are ready to cooperate with the government of Armenia, which includes the new president, all leaders and civic groups. It is our support. This is Armenia, and Armenia does not consist of the president only. Armenia is all of you, and we are ready to cooperate with all of you.” In his interview given to radio Liberty Bryza said that after the unprecedented events of March 1 there is a need for “dramatic” steps to recover credibility in Armenia. “The steps specifically include full recovery of all freedoms: freedom of media and the right to organize peaceful rallies and demonstrations. It is very important to set those people free, whose actions were not criminal but political, meanwhile an investigation should be launched to punish the election falsifiers and those people who applied brute power notwithstanding the fact whether they are from the government or from the opposition. For this purpose it is a primary issue to recover credibility to the judicial system in this country,” he said. In answer to a question whether his participation in Serzh Sargsyan’s inauguration means that their government considers the new president of Armenia as a president elected through a democratic way Bryza said, “I am just an American diplomat, who is in charge of this region and has arrived to developed effective ways of communication with the hope that the cooperation between Armenia and the US in different sectors, including the Karabakh negotiations, will again support democratic and economic reformations.” “I am neither the US president nor the foreign affairs minister, I am an assistant to the deputy state secretary, who is not indifferent to this region and this country and is in charge of developing and supporting relations,” Bryza said and added that he had not brought any written messages from president Bush but had brought verbal messages to be given to as many citizens as possible. In answer to a question when George Bush will congratulate our president the diplomat said, “I cannot speak in the name of our president. I think that there will be statements from Washington on a high level concerning the events in Armenia. And when the citizens show that they are satisfied with the path that the country is going through, and the authorities take dramatic steps, there will be a corresponding statement from president Bush or state secretary Rice.”
While Bush is thinking about whether to congratulate Serzh Sargsyan or no the special representative of the EU in South Caucasus Peter Semnebi congratulated the president in his name and the name of the EU. “The EU is congratulating Serzh Sargsyan on the inauguration. Serzh Sargsyan is setting foot in the president’s position in a very important period, which, as he said, is full of challenges. We will do our best to help him overcome those challenges and first of all the consequences of the March 1 events. It is very important and some steps have been taken already. There is a need for dialog and also the opportunities of organizing free demonstrations should be recovered. We are ready to contribute to this process. I have often visited Armenia and talked to the authorities, Levon Ter-Petrosyan and other representatives of the opposition. It is important to continue this dialog not only between leaders, but also the main politicians of Armenia. It is very important and I hope that during the coming days and weeks there will be positive changes.”
After the inauguration Serzh Sargsyan met the military march in the Liberty square. There weren’t many people there either and Serzh Sargsyan walked out on a red carpet to the Liberty square and then went to the president’s office by his car. Former president Robert Kocharyan and first lady Bella Kocharyan met the new president and his wife Rita Sargsyan at the president’s office. The two presidents had a conversation, after which, according to the official statement, Serzh Sargsyan and his wife left the president’s office.
By the way, yesterday we asked the defense ministry spokesman Seyran Shahsuvaryan why the authorities organized such parade in the Liberty square and whether it was not possible to organize the inauguration without such parade. He said that it was not a parade, but an event which is to be organized usually during inauguration. “The media has named this event as a parade, but it is a different thing. It is done in all countries. The meaning is that the president, being the general commander, is accepting his responsibilities,” he said.
P.S. After the inauguration Serzh Sargsyan visited the Erablur pantheon. Later, in the evening there was a reception in the president’s house and the president met with official delegations from different countries and representatives of international organizations.