Լեւոն Տեր-Պետրոսյանի ելույթը 2010 թ. մարտի 1-ի հանրահավաքում

Dear Compatriots,

Since today's rally has been convened on the occasion of the seminar on human rights, which is taking place in Yerevan as part of the "EU-Armenia dialogue," the problem of political prisoners is naturally going again to be the main subject of my speech today. It is perhaps the most appropriate occasion to lay out the position of the Armenian National Congress on this issue comprehensively and conclusively. 

Dear Compatriots,

I promised at the last rally that my speech today would be dedicated primarily to one of the most dangerous and disgraceful problems that plagues Armenia - the incredible depth of the corruption. But before I get on to the core subject, I would like to deal with one absurdity, which is being fed to our people day and night for more than a year already. We are accused of focusing on the foreign policy issues at the expense of the problems of domestic politics, and what is more, statements have been made that the authorities have succeeded in imposing their agenda on the opposition, diverting the latter from the goals of effecting change in the country's domestic life. These nicely formulated and at first convincing-sounding statements, however, have nothing to do either with reality or with the elementary tenets of the study of politics. Putting aside the trivial cliché about international politics being the extension of domestic politics, we should just point out that the separation of domestic and international politics is simply done for reasons of methodological convenience. Any state's foreign and domestic policies form a united whole, and they inform the agendas of both the government and the opposition as such. Domestic politics depends on foreign policy as much as foreign policy depends on domestic politics. No thinking person could raise or has raised objections against the claim that the continued foreign policy failures of the Armenian government are the definite result of the unhealthy internal atmosphere in the country, and in particular the corrupt and illegitimate nature of the authorities. It is equally obvious that many of the negative aspects of the country's domestic life are the consequence of external circumstances. Is it not clear that we would not have political prisoners, fraudulent elections, limitations on democracy, blatant violations of human rights, or corruption that is so widespread, had it not been for the tolerant attitude of the outside world, and had the great powers not regarded all these things as convenient tools in the service of their geopolitical goals? So the activities of the Armenian National Congress are anchored in the realization of the organic interconnectedness of the external and internal problems, and let nobody search for a black cat in a dark room, because there is no cat.

Dear compatriots,

Although I do not have the habit of commenting on thoughts I have expressed previously, I have to make some additional clarifications regarding the claims made in my speech at the ANM congress (07.17.2010), because it has become subject to certain controversies, misunderstandings, and distortions.  All I did in that speech was to make three unrelated assertions stemming from the objective reality.

            First: “Armenia does not have prospects for a secure existence, economic growth and improvement of demographic conditions without resolving the Karabagh conflict and normalizing the Armenian-Turkish relations.”  On par with its intellectual capacity, the official propaganda has interpreted this fairly straightforward assertion as a call to cede Karabagh in order to ensure Armenia’s development. Meanwhile, there is no need to prove that what I have stressed is the need to resolve the Karabagh conflict (and consequently to normalize the Armenia-Turkish relations).  To resolve is one thing, and to cede is another.  Who is telling you to cede anything or to return territories?  If you are opposed to making concessions or compromises, find a resolution without them.  Who wouldn’t be happy about it?  Only whatever route you choose, you have to realize that you have to resolve the conflict – I repeat, resolve the conflict, not concede Karabagh – because…

Dear comrades and guests,

It is obvious that the Congress of the ANM is taking place amidst a supersensitive situation in Armenia both internally and externally and in a situation characterized by serious challenges facing the country. I am not going to provide a detailed analysis of the situation, nor am I going to evaluate the actions of the authorities or those of the opposition stemming from it, and I certainly do not want to criticize or accuse anybody. All possible criticisms and mutual accusations have been aired many times over, and it is hardly possible to add something new to them. As far as the analyses and assessments are concerned, they are available in abundance as well. The question is whether that abundance helps shed light on the vital problems of the state.
Not denying the usefulness of analyses and assessments, from the perspective of practical politics it is more important to calmly uncover and identify those basic realities, which any judicious political force must take into account, be it a force in power or in opposition. Ignoring those realities and allowing oneself to be guided by wishful thinking is equivalent to criminal naiveté or political derangement. If a policy is not based on realities, it can be called anything, but policy.