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Official News

Tuesday, 26 February 2008

Serge Sarkissian's speech at the February 26 rally

Dear compatriots,

I welcome all of you and congratulate you with the successful conduct of the elections of the president of the Republic of Armenia. Rest assured that we are living through historic times. For the first time in the history of newly independent Armenia we have succeeded in organizing two consecutive elections, and received positive appraisals in both cases. We enjoy a brilliant opportunity today to resolve issues that loom large before us; we have all the necessary foundations today to look ahead in confidence and wage an unyielding war against all disgraceful phenomena that exist amongst us.

We are bound together today by the elation of victory, but also by our concern for the future of our country.

As I speak these words, our soldiers are defending their homeland, entrenched along the country's borders; schoolteachers are educating a whole generation in our schools; right at this moment our doctors are healing the wounds of our brothers and sisters.

Today we have come together to heal another wound, a wound inflicted upon our nation's body by these elections. We have to prevail over this trial; we must do everything for this wound too to cicatrize as soon as possible. I am saying this with pain in my heart. With pain, because I am weary of seeing only scars on our nation's body, with pain, since the time is long overdue for our country, our nation to move ahead. With pain, because some people have failed to thoroughly grasp the value of this accomplishment of ours.

The value of democracy.

The value of forming the authorities through elections.

The value of majority's opinion.

Dear citizens of the Republic of Armenia, I am grateful to you for the high trust you have placed in me. I swear to do everything to justify your trust with a clean breast.

I assure you that you will never have to regret casting your vote for Serge Sarkissian in these elections.

I also thank all those who have voted for other candidates. We respect the opinion of our citizens and do not divide the society into "our people" and "theirs," or, as some woeful democrats put it today, into "us and the scum of the nation." Fascism and revanchism are alien to us.

Do not doubt that every piece of criticism voiced by the candidates in the course of the campaign will be analyzed in detail. Sound criticism shall be set apart from spite and shall be factored into our policies. I am certain that this electoral process we have gone through together shall only make us stronger, shall contribute to our country's further rise and the rooting of true democracy.

From this high lectern I call on the former candidates and the political forces that support them: let us co-operate. Up to and including the formation of a coalition government. It is my purpose, among others, to claim all constructive, foundational powers to the benefit of Armenia's development.

Today I want to speak to you about the future of democracy in our country, about the dignity of a person, of every citizen in the Republic of Armenia. Dignity that may only exist in a country where government is formed through elections. Dignity we can not afford to waste.

You came to own this dignity by participating in the elections. And I address my words of gratitude today to you, all citizens of the Republic of Armenia. I thank you for becoming a particle of, a vehicle for the development of democracy in our country.

Every victory signifies the end of a quest. For me this victory of all of us is just a beginning. The beginning of triumphs to come, victories of our state, of our entire nation. Through our joint efforts we turn the history of Armenian people into a story of triumphs that our coming generations shall take pride in. These pages of our history, which we are writing together, shall bear witness only to victories.

I have promised you victories, and we have won. I promise yet newer victories, and we shall win!

We shall defeat poverty, we shall defeat meanness, and we shall defeat apathy.

Humaneness, compassion, and optimism shall triumph in our country.

Today, however, we witness a different scene. We see the society divided and broken apart; we see an aggressive cluster sparing no means to attain its goal, "to defile," as they have termed it themselves. We witness a development unprecedented in its dangerousness. Today I do not see a problem of "our people" and "theirs," no issue of incumbents and the opposition. The issue at stake today is that of Armenia, the permanence of our statehood, protection of our values, an issue we have come together here to resolve. And this is why I appeal to all of you, regardless of your political views, your ideological approaches: get the better of this artificial divide introduced into our nation!

Together we shall overcome this divide!

We, each and every citizen of the Republic of Armenia, shall win, as will the entire Armenian nation!

I ask you not to succumb to meanness, because it is our sisters and brothers in the other square over there. I am certain that they were driven to the square by a desire to have a better Armenia but, alas, they are no longer allowed to notice how they have been turned into an instrument of vengeful and power-hungry aspirations of a handful of people. I am aware how upset you have become these days watching everything that occurs. I know that there are many people today who are ready to get out in the street to defend their vote. I know all this very well. But I ask you to curb your temper and, if you have something to say, let it only be pleas for seeing the reality; if you want to revert to action, let it be steps of tolerance and goodness. Please, always remember that it is our sisters and brothers that are out there in the other square.

Dear friends, these elections have demonstrated that we have succeeded in resolving many issues indeed on the way to organizing good elections. These elections have demonstrated that we still have to traverse a way, first and foremost, to increase trust towards the electoral process.

These elections demonstrated that we have succeeded in establishing the institution of "dignified victory" among us. But these elections also demonstrated that we still have a long way to go towards the formation of the institution of "dignified defeat."

These elections have shown us that the time has come for "Ahead, Armenia!" The time for tireless work and struggle against disgraceful practices that muddy our life. This had been very well perceived by several individuals, buried in filth up to their eyes, who hurried to trumpet their adherence to ambiguous ideas and the launch of the so-called struggle. Today many describe these people as turncoats, defectors in the camp. I, for one, have a good understanding of their rationale: they know me well, they know that I am not the kind of person to keep tolerating the conduct they have grown to consider acceptable, who will turn a blind eye to the shady aspects of our reality. They know that I shall wipe out brazen behaviour, non-payment of taxes, arm-twisting and gunslinging attitudes. For those who could only envision their lives in murky nooks there was no choice left but to flee and start verbalizing off the podium about democracy, something they are as far away from, as from the worries and concerns of our people.

What is most unacceptable for me in all this, dear compatriots, is the ignoble stance of a few of my friends in combat, whom the devil succeeded in tempting with promises and foul language. Hypocrisy, groundless aspirations, unrealistic cravings, unfounded demands, these are all unacceptable to me. I have always done this and shall continue, with pain in my heart, but unwaveringly nonetheless, to restrain those who cross the line, lose the sense of reality, regardless of their merit in combat, rank and decorations. Armenia's interest supersedes everything else.

The presidential elections of 2008 are now history. Positive appraisal of our presidential elections by observers and officials from all European institutions, The Commonwealth of Independent States, and the US State Department, have been published. Our pre-election, election and post-election processes were conducted on quite a high level. I assure you that all this was really very important for Armenia.

I am also content that people in our country enjoy every possibility to freely express their ideas and opinions, hold rallies in the period following the elections. Unfortunately people once again failed to take adequate advantage of their freedoms and once again exceeded all boundaries of correctness, losing the sense of measure. Nevertheless I shall continue to duly protect the rights of our citizens.

I shall protect the right to freedom of speech. Though free speech does not license slander and foul language.

I shall protect the right of free assembly. Though the freedom to hold rallies does not imply that the metropolis has to grind to a standstill.

I shall protect the right to protest, but the right to protest shall not mean that constitutional and other rights of our citizens have to be trampled upon. It does not mean that the right of the majority to form government must be overridden.

Dear compatriots, sisters and brothers, our presidential elections became pivotal in the history of our newly independent state. As a result of the elections an exceptional opportunity has presented itself in our country to strengthen true democracy. I believe that this seriously contributes to the implementation of our goal: having strong authorities and powerful constructive opposition.

We are not afraid of strong opposition. On the contrary, we maintain that we may succeed in assuring our country's progressive development only upon the existence of powerful constructive opposition.

I highly value the stability that our nation has acquired at the cost of great suffering; I consider it a historic feat that we have accomplished through persistent hard work.

Admittedly, economic growth does not immediately translate into improved standard of living for the people, however we may wish it. And yes, overcoming poverty takes time. We have an issue in this country with competitiveness, having to shed for good the oligarchic system that inevitably straddles economies in the post-soviet period.  But we are also much stronger today to properly address these issues.

I make a call for co-operation to all political forces and public associations in the country. I reiterate over and over: the authorities are ready to work with all opposition forces in the name of Armenia's development and for the prosperity of the people of the Republic of Armenia.

At the same time, however, I declare with full responsibility that most decisive measures will be taken in the direction of strengthening the existing political stability in this country, maintaining public law and order, and assuring normal functioning of the society.

Dear compatriots, we are destined to live in difficult, but also interesting times. The dilemmas we are facing mostly have imposed outcomes, for example: the choice we had between war and peace. As a result we went to war and came out victorious, in the name of peace and progress.

Today we are facing the dilemma of unity versus fragmentation. We are facing the choice between democracy and a takeover of power through force.

We are the defenders of this democracy today.

I assure you that the arsenal of democracy is not exhausted in our country. It is there since very few have had the courage to use it. It is not exhausted because democracy means being able to confidently look straight into the people's eyes. It is not exhausted, because democracy tolerates no lies or falsehood; not exhausted, because in a democracy one may not re-emerge, without asking one's own people for forgiveness.

Democracy means that the rights of our citizens shall be protected. And the right to form government through elections, first and foremost among them. Today we are defending this right. I pledge to protect fundamental human rights. I shall protect them throughout my life.

Today, a week after the elections, I claim that the time for electoral slogans is gone, as is the time for campaigning, the time for blame. We are facing different challenges now. We have to translate the expectations of our compatriots into reality, address their grievances, continue to work and create.

 The Holy Scripture says: "There is time for everything."

Today is not the time to gather stones. Today is the time to let the stone drop from our lap.

Today is not the time for spite and jaundice. Today is the time for peace.

Today is not the time to draw new watersheds. Today is the time for unity.

Today is the time for work.

Today is the time for new victories.

The time for dignity and democracy.

Today is the time to overcome our disagreements; today is the time for the entire nation to say:

"We are able to withstand any ordeal," and we shall!

"We can move ahead fast," and we shall!

"We can have the Armenia of our dreams," and I give you my word: we shall have it!

So let us move ahead,

Ahead, towards Armenia of new triumphs!

Ahead, Armenia!

 

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