“The “European choice” initiative must be established by the number of people who are interested and have any doubts,” announced today, on May 22, the member of the initiative, the President of at the Yerevan Press Club, Boris Navasardyan, at the “European choice” initiative working group meeting. As said by Mr. Navasardyan, the initiative has a public and political character, in other words, it can unite both parties, private citizens and public associations, and the initiative will continue its operations by this very format.
The screenwriter Vahram Martirosyan, referring to the opinion that we should conduct a “neither – nor” policy, noted that there is a struggle for sovereignty, and in this struggle Armenia needs an ally and this ally is the European Union. “The process of events since the events in Ukraine showed that not only we need the European Union with its values system, with its development path, but the Union also needs us.” The leader of Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor office, Artur Sakunts, in his speech stated that they have a question and the answer they hoped to get in the course of the time. And the question is which political force that is entitled to decision-making can work with them, but on September 3, when Serzh Sargsyan stated about Armenia’s accession to the Customs Union, it became clear to them that there is no political force which will take the responsibility to withstand the main challenges that are dangerous to civil freedoms, economic freedoms, and democratic freedoms. “The political forces must put their ambitions aside, because the challenges require unity, because working individually and separate becomes meaningless. Together not by the principle of democratic centralization, but together by the principle of working and collaborating in one direction.” Mr. Sakunts called the working group a second step of the initiative, and stated that there will be further steps. “If we slow down, then what happens in Russia and Azerbaijan, will inevitable take place in the Republic of Armenia, that gathering in such hall will be considered unacceptable. Now, either we are realizing this danger and consolidating to withstand, or each of us thinks that it does not affect him, or leave the country like many of us.”
Ami CHICHAKYAN
