YEREVAN (Noyan Tapan)–Members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Edward Hovanessian–Shota Kerobian and Haikaz Tamrazian–held a meeting with the public of Kapan Tuesday.
The ARF representative in Zangezur–Tamrazian–said in his speech that the meeting was not part of a pre-election campaign–which will begin only on March 7–and therefore wouldn’t cover any issues related to the upcoming presidential election. Presenting the activities of his party–Tamrazian said that the ARF has always been protecting Armenia’s–guided by the "one nation–one homeland" principle. "We’ve never pursued any anti-national policy and–therefore–have always been subject to persecutions–but we will never betray our convictions," the speaker emphasized. He also spoke about the policy pursued by Levon Ter-Petrosyan–saying that "a man lacking the national mode of thinking–and the ability to realize and appreciate national values governed Armenia". Tamrazian–who termed the upcoming election as the initial step toward democracy–said it should be followed by new parliamentary elections.
ARF Executive Council of Armenia member Shota Kerobian assured that if a new president continued to disregard social problems–then the ARF would again become an opposition party. He also referred to the need for developing a program of social justice to improve the social and economic situation in the country.
ARF representative Edward Hovanessian said the ARF is a national party and its activities have always been based on the will of the nation. According to him–the ARF is supported by three major pillars–the national–the social and the revolutionary. The speaker outlined the need for amending the Constitution to turn Armenia into a parliamentary state. He also expressed the opinion that the Constitution should allow for double citizenship so that Armenia’s living abroad are able to make their own contribution to the development of Armenia.
At the end of the meeting–held in a capacity full hall–the ARF representatives expressed their hope for another meeting after March 7.