The Republican Party of Armenia is holding the “Republicans: Continued Reforms” conference in Tsakhkadzor. Co-hosted by the German Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the conference is attended by Third President of the Republic of Armenia, RPA President Serzh Sargsyan. President Sargsyan delivered opening remarks during the conference.
Honorable Dr Schrapel,
Dear party friends,
Dear journalists,
First of all, I would like to extend a vote of thanks to the Conrad Adenauer Foundation and to Mr. Schrapel in person for supporting this initiative and being a reliable and effective partner for the Republican Party.
Taking the opportunity, I wish the political parties in the German Federal Republic every success in the process of forming a new government.
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Two years ago we gathered here to discuss our party’s future activities and the ways of countering the virus of populism in the country. We managed to strengthen the positions of the Republican Party as one of Armenia’s key political actors and rebuild the country’s political agenda in a bid to protect our national interests. But regretfully our warnings and efforts aimed at saving the country from an imminent catastrophe failed and the government of ignorant persons drove the two Armenian states into a real catastrophe.
As we had been warning, the early parliamentary elections organized by the government of capitulators in June did not solve any problem, including the political crisis and the ones related to security, to the system of values and social justice.
While contrary to the efforts exerted by the incumbent administration, the Republican Party regained its parliamentary status, however having seats in parliament has never been an ultimate goal for us. Therefore, we are prepared to continue our political struggle even outside the parliament, whenever necessary.
Coming to the crisis of justice, I would like to underscore that it has both a domestic and a regional dimension. It is unfair that the Capitulator has not yet been punished by virtue of law for his adventurism and catastrophic policy. It is unfair that after seeing the killing thousands of lives in the war and the expatriation of thousands of Armenians, we can witness bitter attempts to impose a “peace” agenda on our people. Injustice cannot lead to either internal stability or external peace.
Taking the opportunity, I would like to refer to the recent statements made by the Azerbaijani leader. Anyone who thinks himself to be a brave man in the Caucasus should not indulge into gossip about his opponent. The Minsk Group Co-Chairs, the leaders of their countries and I remember very well how Ilham Aliyev used to behave in my presence. Mr. Aliyev if the fate or some alien powers have served you a gift on the tray, be kind enough to remember that your father and you lost to the three former presidents of Armenia in the fields of war or diplomacy. You know very well that if it weren’t for the change of power in Armenia in 2018, which was largely supported by foreign powers, you would never see Shushi and Hadrut.
The Artsakh issue will not be settled unless its status is clarified, as long as the security of Artsakh-based Armenians is being threatened every day and every hour. I hope the Armenians have not given up their dignity and their legitimate rights; they have not forgotten about the bitter lessons of history and will draw the appropriate conclusions until it is too late.
The authorities that bear the stigma of defeat and betrayal are trying to present us as a stitch to war, inflaming fears among the public at large. I want to declare once again, we do not want war, because we have gone through all the wars waged for Artsakh, because we have always been ready to die for the Motherland, and not let others be killed as a result of foolish decisions.
The capitulators have been feeding our people with the idea of peace ever since November 10. In the meantime we continue to suffer losses in human, territorial, moral and security terms.
We are against a new war. We cannot afford a new war with crushed armed forces, lacking armaments and degraded state institutions. We are not that foolish and senseless to seek war in this situation.
As we continue to argue that Artsakh should not be part of Azerbaijan, we mean and we emphasize that we must first restore our security and diplomatic potential, rebuild the state institutions and redeem our people’s faith and the sense of dignity. Therefore, our task is to make maximum efforts to promote justice within the country and enhance the reputation of the Republic of Armenia.
Today’s event is dedicated to the continued transformation of our party. From the very first day of its establishment, the Republican Party served the priorities of the state. We have always served our mental, human and organizational potential to defy the challenges facing our people. We have the same mission today; we must be even stronger and more organized today; we should adapt to new realities.
The logic of party transformation should be built around the institutions, which, in my opinion, is a priority in the following six main directions:
1) Development and strengthening of professionalism of the central body of the party,
2) Optimization of territorial organizations and increased efficiency,
3) Ensuring the interconnection of human resources and political activities,
4) Increasing the efficiency of RPA’s external activities,
5) Harmonization of our system of values and practical activities,
6) Preservation and strengthening of internal democracy.
To my mind, the first three vectors are especially important as seen from the perspective of increased organizational capacity. Each of the aforementioned directions needs further discussion, development, detailed action plans and roadmaps.
I am confident that today’s gathering, the projected steps and the upcoming RPA congress will help address the problems we are facing at this stage.
I wish the conference successful proceedings. I would like to once again thank Dr. Schrapel and the Conrad Adenauer Foundation for supporting us on the way to addressing the challenges facing our country.
Thank you. I am prepared to answer your questions, listen to different opinions and take part in the upcoming discussions.
