Robert Kocharyan
Second president of the third republic of Armenia.
They were beating him...in the most degrading ways, which were taking place in the days of fascists. The way those German fascists were torturing people...for example, tying, beating with batons, with a group of people...what they wanted to know from him, we have no idea...they could have easily called here and all information is made available here...our door is always open for this...what information they wanted to get from that man...by torturing and beating him by Gestapo style...we don't know. Of course, we will clear these situations and it's apparent that all people involved with this whom have participated in and created this scenario will be punished.
The president of the country bears responsibility and is ready to fulfill all the needs of the country completely. I am decisive in taking all the measures to maintain order and legality.
The Genocide is not a matter for historians.
Yes, there are arrests, handcuffings. Both television programs and police units are giving fair warning to these...I would separate these into three types...these arrests. First, they are those who are in connection to these falsified elections. All errors have been taken note of, you may find these on both police and court ruling sites. And all responsible people for these mistakes, of course need to be punished. Here we have both people representing these clingings and other representatives. This is the first block of this problem. The second block...are those people who are being arrested for being dangerous, for carrying a weapon, and let me add here that in this entire investigation, these people are actively involved in these unlawful armies, whom were actively trying to envelop others into their political processes. You know, some percentage of these leaders were truly convinced. There were institutions of veterans which were also involved. And you know, the government cannot look past this. When in the city, we have sworn to handle people with weapons, we are obligated to find a means to handle the situation...to dismantle these dangerous people. I can say that yesterday and today, the different means in which we handle this situation has greatly increased. Many people carrying weaponry and ammunition have already been captured and handcuffed, and these are steps being taken to protect our citizens. These are very serious issues and we are dealing with very dangerous people. And in the third section, are included those people whom are instigating these situations furthermore. Which, had finally decided to spit on the law and continued their misguided rallies. We are required to protect our citizen's rights. They are not the only ones living there. Within those buildings, hundreds of complaints are being gathered. These are the three groups. The larger problem here of course is the group which is deemed dangerous for our citizens and the stability of our government.
Good evening. We, I believe, are dealing with a very normal situation in Armenia...one dealing with political structuring...Armenia's government has never faced this kind of opposition from its inner workings. We must compare the desires given by people both in Armenia and those who aren't living there. It's a very serious situation and...I would like to repeat that these elections were the best in the history of Armenia. There are no countries where in the middle of elections there wouldn't be errors. We are talking about errors that are instigated and how they are brought about...what types of errors, brought about by the system or simply events that lead up to this. There is also a truthful perspective about complaining of the elections...we have here some very interesting facts. We have received complaints about recounting 156 or 159 places, of which 135 have been recounted, and only in one have we had a problem. The leader of that area has been handcuffed and will go straight to court. In other places, the main problem has been about whether or not all the ballots were in...as if ballots were in here or there. This shows that, in reality, the elections have passed with high admirable quality and are correctly done and if there are some complaints, we have the court system to deal with these, where people can easily bring forth their complaints. And, I'd like to add that within the 135 places that were recounted, 86 of them were recounted because Levon Ter-Petrossian and Arthur Bagdasarian had complained about them. So...these complaints have absolutely no foundation. So, let me repeat...yes this is an absence of political agenda.
Today we have a state and if someone does not value this, it means that they do not accept and understand the most important thing.
If some think that conflicts like Nagorno-Karabakh can be resolved with one or two meetings...
What is happening in our country is directly shaking the foundations of our state. The political games of certain ministers within the government have become a way of life, and all of the country's economic problems are increasing because of this.
I cordially congratulate you with your election on the post of the President of the Russian Federation. In Armenia the partnership between our two states and strategic cooperation in all areas are highly valued. I am confident that in the future our two states and our peoples will continue to strengthen our friendly relations and partnership, and will further extend the mutually beneficial cooperation. I would like to mention with satisfaction your personal contribution to the development of the Armenian-Russian relations, as well as to express confidence that as the President of the Russian Federation you will promote their expansion and deepening. I wish you good health, well being, and success in you work for the benefit of brotherly Russia.
No structure may put itself beyond the law and deal with illegal activity!
I don't swap Armenian land [for] Armenian land. We have not lost a single square meter [of land] during my presidency.
Stability is not furniture, and cannot be inherited.
Karabakh people made their historical choice, protected their national interests in the forced war. Today, they build free and independent state.
Appointment of the prime minister is the prerogative of the president.
Armenia has a newly chosen president (Serzh Sargsyan), whom has announced that he is the people's leader and not only for those who are approving of him. And this is exactly what the administration is reinforcing. And I have no doubt that he, with his beliefs and motivations, will be that exact kind of a leader which he has planned to be. Of course, we have to look at other active means to deal with and soften those unstable political fields. And I have no doubt about this and I'm positive it will happen, but out-of-reach thought processes must be eliminated. We are planning different means to deal with this and I am thinking that when the new administration is created, people will see that the victorious president is prepared to create better means...and we have to be more strict and of course maintain the law. We...we are very patient...you know all those who come to Armenia, international people, they all note one thing, that we are very patient. I am always asking, does that patience have to have limits or not. For example, how many days should we wait until you continue to believe that we truly are patient. Of course, in each of your countries, never would any government wait six days before handling the situation. Nowhere. More than one day...they wouldn't allow it. Since this situation is created which the government itself is judged by others...patience by continued patience but I believe it's time that they realize that people do not come to power by this Zorba-ic means. Let's understand that just because the person likes the building, he (Levon Ter-Petrossian) cannot proclaim it as his.
The Armenian constitution requires that the government and the president work closely together. That requires that there be a single team acting to achieve common goals. Unfortunately, such a team could not be created. Moreover, political intrigue had become a way of life in the executive branch, while economic problems continued to escalate.
During the 2003 presidential elections I will support the one candidate who is worthy of a second term in office - incumbent Armenian President Robert Kocharyan.
What's going on now is not a political process. It has gone over the edge. I ask the people of Armenia to show restraint and understanding.
Dear compatriots, a self-endorsed candidate, who lost the 2008 Presidential elections, Levon Ter-Petrossian and a group of his adventurous supporters, not being able to come to terms with the defeat have instigated illegal activities. Among these actions the accumulation of weapons and their transportation to public places, where the presence of weapons may put life and health of the citizens in serious danger, as well as the organization of the meetings and marches without proper notification. Despite the facts that the recount of the ballots, conducted by demand of the candidates participating at the 2008 presidential elections, did not reveal serious irregularities, that no complaints were filed with the administrative courts of Armenia, that in accordance with the Law on Elections the due process of examining the disputations is being conducted by the Constitutional Court, the supporters of candidate Ter-Petrossian continue to dispute the outcome of the elections through illegitimate means. A group of opposition members on March 1 instigated disorder in the center of Yerevan, inflicting damage to the citizens and state property as well as causing direct threat to the safety of the people, which can take the situation out of control. The objective of these actions is to challenge the stability achieved by the Republic of Armenia, the outcome of these actions will be the dented international image of Armenia. As the guarantor of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia I will allow no one to endanger the constitutional order in our state. To prevent any threat to the constitutional order and guided by the paragraph 14 of Article 55, after consultations with the Speaker of the National Assembly and Prime Minister of Armenia, I signed an order to declare in Yerevan a state of emergency for twenty days starting from March 1. The order on the state of emergency requires the following actions: a) ban on meetings, gatherings, demonstrations, marches and other mass events, b) ban on strikes or other actions that may stop or disrupt activities of enterprises, c) inspection of and restriction on movement of individuals and vehicles by the law enforcement bodies when necessary, d) the publications in the mass media on the issues of internal situation and state importance to be restricted to official information provided by the state entities, e) ban on dissemination of fliers and other means of political propaganda without permission of state structures, f) temporary ban on the activities of the political parties and other public organizations, which impede the removal of the causes that resulted in the introduction of the state of emergency, g) expulsion of the non-residents of the given areas, who have violated the legal regime under the state of emergency at their own disbursement, and in the case of absence of such disbursement to cover the expenses from the state budget of the Republic of Armenia on the condition of a subsequent reimbursement. I appeal to everyone to demonstrate restraint and wisdom. In this situation more than ever it is necessary to team up and to fulfill unconditionally all the requirements of the law. I assure you that the state of emergency will be lifted as soon as the causes for its introduction have been eliminated.