Ararat Zurabyan to establish a new ANM

Since Levon Ter-Petroyan’s announcement about reorganizing the Armenian National Congress and converting it into a new organization 168 Hours applied to Ararat Zurabyan, ANM board president 2002-2010, to ask for comments about the first president’s announcement. Mr. Zurabyan’s answer is below:

“The processes that are happening in the Armenian National Congress are natural and appropriate. I have numerously said that mechanical union of political powers with different and diverse ideologies and the creation of this non-political organization, the Armenian National Congress, could not have a good future, thus the movement that was born from spontaneous wave of the people would come to end. Eventually Levon Ter-Petrosyan and his team members, who don’t have their own opinion, were notable to destruct the cleptocracy but instead of it they destructed the opposition political system in Armenia. A system, the failure of which has resulted on reproduction of the illegal and illegitimate government. This is the government that Levon Ter-Petrosyan said was outlaw.

As I said, the process used to be appropriate. It was appropriate because it was based on leader’s charisma and exclusion of freedom of opinions and other democratic institutions. I have raised these concerns long before, when I still was in service with the Armenian National Movement party. Unfortunately at that time no opposition activist shared my concerns.

It is a pity and natural observation that one of the first people to welcome the announcement of the first president would be the incumbent board president of ANM. I consider Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s recent announcement his ultimate political conversion. Destructing the main political force in the Republic of Armenia, refusing its ideology and adopting another ideology is abusing the values and ideology established since 1988. In fact this was not the first similar abuse. The first one was done in 95-96, and the second one was the resignation in 1998 and petition to unite around Robert Kocharyan following the terror on October 27, 1999, the next one was giving up on the political movement and struggle led by him following the March 1 clampdown. Other abuses were the creation of the ANM, this non-political group, and the inglorious dialogue and analysis… The logical continuation of the activities above would be downgrading the Armenian National Movement.

Fortunately, there are “social-liberals” in the country, who have been openly or indirectly opposed to ANM, who adhere to the ideology of liberalism only. Thus, I take on the responsibility, together with my supporters, to establish a new Armenian national Movement party following the transformation of the Congress to a party. This will be a party governed by the ideology and values of 88, the top value of which is the independence of the Republic of Armenia.”