Ara Abrahamyan will not interfere

Aram Sargsyan, the leader of the Democratic Party, assures that his political activities are independent from the activities of the World Armenian Congress

– What was the most important achievement of the Democratic Party during 20 years of its existence and what problems have you set yourself that you haven’t managed to achieve for 20 years?
– The Democratic Party has nearly always been opposition, I think one may be proud of that already and it has always raised serious issues. For example in 1992, the Democratic Party put forward for discussion at the Supreme Council of the Republic of Armenia the bill called “The secularization and privatization of the national property”; now I responsibly state that if our bill, written by academician Khojabekyan, Seda Vermisheva and a set of other famous economists, had been adopted, the development of the country would have advanced in quite a different direction. We would have avoided the savage privatization process, which was carried out at the level of vouchers.
Our main goal was to form a socio-democratic system that would have allowed us to avoid such social polarization and unfairness, and we would have never had an oligarchic system. It wouldn’t have mattered if the authority had done that, but they chose the savage way of liberalization, the result of which is obvious. This is the issue that we haven’t managed. But we were successful in maintaining the devotion to our ideology, adherence to our principles, readiness to compromise with the demands of the people from our perspective. In 1995 it was the first time the election was rigged and the Democratic Party that had every possibility of being a parliamentary party, hasn’t become one. That was the moment, when the rule of brute force, money and management reserves that continued and successfully carried out during others’ presidency commenced in this country. If this system is maintained, the possibilities are few, therefore our main goal is to change the system, for which we are going to struggle and to participate in the election.
– In your opinion, where and what role may the Democratic Party play in the upcoming campaign,?
– We understand quite well that under these conditions, when money and management reserves are of great importance, it is hard, but we also know that 30-40 percent of our people will not submit to the demands and temptation. We will seek for our supporters among them. I want to observe without false modesty that we have a swarm of supporters and it is our business to make them believe us and follow us under these conditions. We work in this direction and we think it is possible to form a bloc with the part of the leftists that want to carry through the socio-democratic ideology. It doesn’t matter there will be such a bloc or not, the Democratic Party will participate and will reaffirm that it is an intellectual political force that can have its say and bring it to the notice of the people even under such bad and unfair conditions.
– As your activities are directly connected to World Armenia Congress President Ara Abrahamyan, what influence will he have in the upcoming political processes?
– During the years I have been the first vice-president of the World Armenian Congress, these two spheres have never intersected. Ara Abrahamyan has no influence in our political activities; that was our agreement from the first day on. He has never been an obstacle, when I presented our position as the leader of the Democratic Party and criticized the policy pursued by today’s authority. He will say whether he wants to participate in the political life of Armenia or not. Anyway, he has appeared as a philanthropist and a head of a social organization so far?
– What political views do you share or how are you related to the current president that you have invited him to an official reception?
– Insofar as the president of the republic is able to pursue rather balanced foreign policy. And as the leader of the Republican Party, with whom we had close relationship in 1990s, in the days of Vazgen Sargsyan. Regarding national ideology, we share common ideas with the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), as well as the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) and the Hunchakian Party, which I cannot say about the Pan-Armenian National Movement.