Levon Ter Petrosian’s Speech

Hetq Online has published the full text of Levon Ter Petrosian’s 26 October speech, including an English translation. Interesting to note that the online publication has done so, but perhaps not given (indirect) links with Ter Petrosian’s team. Hetq’s English/Translation editor is the wife of the recently released former foreign minister, now seemingly Ter Petrosian’s right hand man, Alexander Arzumanian.

Armenia’s current leadership [is] a “regime that is criminal and corrupt from the top down, conducting its affairs not according to the rule of law, or the will of the people, and not through political dialogue, but by the rules of the criminal underworld. That is to say-a thoroughly mafia-style regime, institutionalized to the last detail, that has already relegated us to the rank of similar regimes in the third world.”

In the terminology of classical statecraft, such a regime is called a “kleptocracy” - literally, “rule by thieves.” But I would prefer “bandocracy” - “rule by bandits” as a more accurate term, since theft is a crime committed individually, while banditry is committed by a group.

[I]t is clear that the Homeland for them is conquered territory, or at most a business establishment; so-called ‘national interest’, the basest form of personal profiteering; and genocide recognition or the liberation of Artsakh, pocket change for running their fraudulent activity. The level of their rhetoric is in direct proportion to the size of their embezzled wealth. The louder they talk about patriotism, national interest and the welfare of the people, the more they steal from the pockets of those very people.

Armenia’s current system of power is structured according to the principle of a pyramid, with a clearly defined monarchical-hierarchical ladder. At the top of the pyramid is Robert Kocharyan, the President of the Republic. The second in line is Serzh Sargsyan, the Prime Minister, and in the not-so-distant past, the Minister of Defense. Competing for third place are Hovik Abrahamyan, the Deputy Prime Minister, and Armen Gevorgyan, the President’s Chief of Staff. Following them are the majority of ministers, deputy ministers, and chiefs of provincial administrations, as well as a few notorious mayors and chiefs of local administrations.

Several key links ensure the functioning of this criminal system.

Levon Ter Petrosian, Opposition Rally, Liberty Square, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2007

Well, few in the country would disagree with Ter Petrosian’s assessment although many would argue that the system he describes is the one his administration was responsible for putting in place. Indeed, writing for Armenia Now a few weeks ago, Vahan Ishkhanian raised this particular criticism of Ter Petrosian’s time in power.

[T]he Constitution of 1995 created a whole vertical anti-democratic system, the engineer of which is Levon Ter-Petrosyan. As the country belonged to one person, and not to the people, hence another single person would be able to take it from him, that’s exactly what happened as a result of power turnover in 1998.

Of course people have a quality of changing, and one can suppose that Ter-Petrosyan has reconsidered his views about the state structure. However, in his speech he did not criticize the system he had created and talked only about the achievements of his regime. And his ideological speakerphone “Haykakan Zhamanak” with its propaganda of the 1995 Constitution, shows that the former team not only hasn’t undergone any ideological changes, but is even proud and defends the anti-democratic system it had created.

Impeachment was like a stretching exercise before Ter-Petrosyan’s run for presidency, whose only plan is in replacing people – Serzh Sargsyan and Kocharyan with Ter-Petrosyan, rather than an ideological struggle. And if a person should be replaced by another person, what difference does it make to a regular resident who is in charge of appointing mayors, or whether the unfair court verdict is carried out by Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s or Kocharyan’s or Sargsyan’s order?

Levon Ter Petrosian’s speech is available in Armenian here, and in English here. Vahan Ishkhanyan’s article for Armenia Now is here. For some in Armenia, Ter Petrosian still needs to respond to such criticism if he is to be considered an alternative in the coming election. Indeed, with another rally scheduled for 16 November, they would argue that it’s time for him to do so now.

Alexander Arzumanian, Opposition Rally, Liberty Square, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2007