Yesterday, the Free Democrats party convened its second extraordinary congress in the hall of the government building, which was attended by all political parties with the exception of the ruling coalition forces.
The Congress hosted MPs and non-parliamentarians from all the opposition parties – Heritage, ARF, New Times, from ANC the Republic Party, Fatherland and Dignity, Conservative parties and other representatives. The participants of the Congress were the leader of Heritage Raffi Hovhannisian, deputy-chair Ruben Hakobyan, member of the parliamentary faction of that party, MPs of that party, from the Republic party – Aram Sargsyan, Artak Zeinalyan, Petros Makeyan, chair of the Christian-Democratic Renaissance party Sos Gimishyan. Ex-foreign minister Vartan Oskanyan, who has recently joined the Prosperous Armenia party (PA), was among the invitees. Among the invitees was also the nominated single mandate in Kentron community Garegin Nushikyan, editor-in-chief of 168-Zham newspaper Satik Seyranyan, who is running in district 4. Many other prominent political and civic leaders were participating. There were 500 delegates from the Free Democrats Party from Yerevan and regions, among them the young people overwhelmed. The representatives of the ARF and Heritage parties as well as a few others made welcome speeches during the Congress. According to the ARF MP Armen Rustamyan the Congress of the Free Democrats is taking place at a very noteworthy time when everybody’s investment is important to bring Armenia to the rails we dream of. “There is a succeeded practice of cooperating with Free Democrats. We had that practice in the issue pertinent to the shift over to an absolute proportional voting system,” Rustamyan said. Rustamyan expressed a hope that due to the joint efforts it will become possible to prevent the reproduction of the government. He also said that the ARF and the Free Democrats think alike about the transition to the parliamentary system of government. “One of the key steps of eradicating the presidential system is that your party has refused from the current system and agreed to enact modern methods and mechanisms of government,” stated Rustamyan. Welcoming the extraordinary congress of the Free Democrats, the leader of the New Times Party Aram Karapetyan stated that extraordinary decisions will be taken in the extraordinary meeting. He said they are in different political poles but he would wish the Free Democrats boosted freedom and democracy in Armenia. God let you win the election. If the elections are held as they are usually held, we will wait for you in the street,” said Aram Karapetyan. The leader of the Conservative Party Michael Hayrapetyan greeted the congress of the Free Democrats today and wished the party to lay the path for and promote the formation of a classical political party which the Conservatives failed to do. “We are waiting for the birth of a political force which will announce without hiding behind the back of real politik that Russian imperialism, the rotten structure of the CSTO, the anachronism called the CIS hinder the development of Armenia and the reliable guarantee of our national security is the western civilization with its security system of NATO which is closer to us,” stated Hayrapetyan. He noted that Armenia is facing a choice of civilization. Hayrapetyan noted that the system established in Armenia is a Moscow-style system, and if we are committed to systemic chance, we must choose the Western system which is closer to us. “This is our vision of our politics rather than receiving labels from Moscow or elsewhere in the Tatar-Mongol manner. I wish the Free Democrats finally declassify the KGB archive. I wish the Free Democrats generate civil mentality in Armenia,” he said. In this situation, according to Hayrapetyan, the Conservative Party will become the ally of the Free Democrats. The leader of the Free Democrats Party Khachatur Kokobelyan announced in the congress of their party today that sustainable development is impossible without liberalism. “Yes, a lot of parties committed to these values during the history of independent Armenia but the history of twenty years showed that they take other steps proceeding from the political conjuncture,” he said. According to Kokobelyan, there is demand for a real liberal, democratic political force. The Free Democrats intend to meet this demand together with their allies. The Free Democrats are a new force for new Armenia, said the party leader. Unfortunately, our political system is dominated by hypocrisy, weak will, flattery, which results in imitation. It is not in the interests of the Armenian society and state. The Free Democrats think the mistakes of the past must be reviewed to meet the public demand. The society does not have to adjust to the political system. The political system must be able to meet the demands of the political system. The state is facing a deep social and economic, as well as public administration crisis. It is the obvious and bitter truth. I am deeply convinced that the reasons are first of all the lack of real competition and an independent judicial system. Lack of competition is in all the spheres, resulting in the oligarchic economy. The coalescence of business and government created an environment typical of the feudal system where wild rules dominate. There is no need to invent the bicycle to ensure a competitive economy. It is necessary to ensure proper enforcement, observe human rights, create a liberal and competitive environment, Kokobelyan announced. People do not need reforms, people need improvement of the quality of their life. “We know how to make that change and we will make it,” he said. Armenia needs scientific, cultural, economic and political elite, not degraded elite. Democracy is nothing without freedom of man. Only free Armenia can ensure the quality of life and security. There is no freedom without justice. Justice requires equality of rights and opportunities. “Everyone speaks about a bright future but we must ensure wellbeing now. We must take care of daily and dynamic development of Armenia where a citizen must be the basis of basis. It is time to understand that we need a human-centered policy, otherwise the country will never become a state. Only state can resist the challenges facing the society, stop the horrifying emigration. The government must be changed, not the home country,” Kokobelyan said. The Free Democrats consider elections as the best way of change of government, thus they have a responsible approach to the parliamentary election and are ready to shape ideological unions. In this context, Khachatur Kokobelyan touched upon the interaction with the Heritage Party. He spoke about an equal bloc which the society needs and which will be free from political ambitions. We must have the political will and we have that will and courage to lend a hand and shape a new political culture. We find that the Heritage is an honest force, it is adequate to the international developments, so we think our cooperation with the Heritage will be useful to Armenia, help meet the challenges facing the society, said the party leader. In the end, Khachatur Kokobelyan told the participants of the congress that they are determined to win and they will win by way of their ideas and their mind. Poetess Marine Petrosyan and political scientist Karapet Rubinyan also participated in the Congress. The latter expressed a wish for the establishment of the Heritage and Free Democrats alliance because according to Rubinyan this is the only way that can lead the two parties to victory. In general, one of the key intrigues of yesterday’s Congress was the possibility of formation of a joint list with the Heritage party. The representatives of both parties have adverted to this matter in their speeches. Leader of the Heritage Party Raffi Hovhannisian attended the congress of the Free Democrats today. He said the Heritage welcomes the congress of the Free Democrats, “We see in the Free Democrats the freedom of the Armenian man, the dignity of the state and a strong force committed to national trinity.” Raffi Hovhannisian especially outlined the young resource of the Free Democrats, the representatives of freedom who joined the Party. Raffi Hovhannisian noted that Heritage cooperates with Free Democrats for this reason and said confident that they will bring a new sunrise to Armenia on May 7. “Our country’s sovereignty, interest freedom and future of this generation are beyond us, and we believe we will move mountains together,” said Raffi Hovhannisian. “I think the process is open to free interpretation by various individuals and forces,” Hovannisian said “We should just be consistent, determined, single-minded, and I believe we will achieve that goal.” And reflecting on the Free Democrats Party’s relations with the parliamentary opposition Heritage Party, Khachatur Kokobelyan specifically said: “We wish to form a fair alliance with the Heritage Party, an alliance that will be equal and democratic; it will be beyond the party processes. We must have a political will, and put the foundation on forming a qualitatively new political culture.” After the Congress, the representatives of the Heritage and Free Democrats parties met with the journalists and answered their questions. And most of the questions related to the possibility of formation of an alliance. The journalists have once again attempted to find out whether they were going to run jointly or separately. In this regard Kokobelyan said, “There is only one technical issue: a meeting of Heritage board will take place on March 18, after which things will be formalized and, I think, we will make an announcement about this.” They signify the national interest more than the party interest. It was agreed that the list includes people with political background. In the case of the possible alliance Kokobelyan expressed a wish that the list is led by Raffi Hovhannisian.