Raffi Hovannisian Property Dispute Political
Raffi Hovannisian, Heritage Party Congress, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Hetq Online 2006
Despite being locked out of his own party headquarters, as well as having his wife’s name slandered by state-controlled Public TV and being temporarily detained by the former KGB, the National Security Service (NSS), at Zvartnots Airport, Raffi Hovannisian today addressed this year’s Heritage Party Congress. The U.S. born former Foreign Minister, now in opposition to the Armenian President, is the Chairman of the party.
Coincidently, the Institute of War & Peace Reporting (IWPR) ran a story yesterday on what many believe is the victimization of a exceedingly popular and potentially dangerous threat to the ruling regime ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections.
Hovhannisian, 47, is the only major politician from the Armenian diaspora. The son of famous historian Richard Hovhannisian, he was born in the United States city of Fresno, and was the first foreign minister of independent Armenia in 1991-92. The year after he left office, he founded the Armenian Centre for Strategic and National Studies.
Many experts believe the office closure is a preventive strike against the party ahead of next year’s parliamentary election. Hovhannisian is also widely expected to stand in the 2008 presidential ballot.
“It is clear that this is not a property dispute, and that it’s a political rather than legal struggle, linked to the parliamentary election,” said Alexander Iskandarian, political analyst and director of the Caucasus Media Institute.
Another political analyst, Yervand Bozoian, added, “The opposition has not been a problem for the authorities so far, but everyone understands that it could become a problem under certain circumstances. Something similar could happen to any opposition figure tomorrow.”
[…]
At an opposition rally on December 9, Hovhannisian read out 21 questions addressed to President Kocharian. He asked whether Kocharian had been involved in contract killings, suggesting there were unanswered questions about his involvement in an attack on parliament in October 1998, when the then prime minister and parliamentary speaker were killed. He also asked what property, businesses and funds the president, his wife and other members family members possessed.
[…]
In a country with no reliable opinion polls, it is hard to judge the true level of support for Hovhannisian, but he has an unusually positive image in Armenia. The closure of Heritage’s office led to an open letter from 18 parties and non-government organisations demanding that the party be allowed to resume work immediately.
The full article can be read online here, and my post on the scathing attack on the Kocharian administration by Hovannisian’s father can be found here. Unfortunately, despite sympathies expressed towards Hovannisian by many Diasporan bloggers here and abroad, the Armenian blogosphere is uncannily silent on this matter.
I do believe that Raffi’s father is correct when he says that diasporan money isn’t flowing so freely into the country anymore. Despite the controlled press and intimidation, visitors to Armenia can come back with visual pictures and can relate conversations they’ve had with people in Armenia. Armenia may call itself a democracy but in reality it’s nothing more than a collection of medieval fifedoms. Any threat to the aristocracy will be dealt with by goons and the same people that are entrusted with protecting the peoples’ rights.
Comment by Darwin Jamgochian — April 8, 2006 @ 7:16 am
Hovik, what about this?
http://www.jamestown.org/publications_details.php?volume_id=407&issue_id=3325&article_id=2369722
Comment by Nessuna — April 8, 2006 @ 1:30 pm
HERITAGE PARTY HOLDS EMERGENCY CONFERENCE
Yerevan—The Heritage Party today convened a special meeting of members and supporters at the auditorium of the Writers’ Union of Armenia. Throughout the event, the party faithful analyzed the latest political developments and deliberated on future courses of action.
The conference opened with Hasmik Harutiunian’s rendition of Armenia’s national anthem, “Mer Hairenik.”
Heritage’s political secretary Vardan Khachatrian welcomed the capacity audience with opening remarks. “We are determined to fight until victory, and our collective resolve will prevail despite the repression and political persecutions by the ruling administration,” he said.
Raffi K. Hovannisian, chairman of the Heritage Party, was then invited to take the floor. In a powerful keynote address, he explored recent political developments and proposed measures toward resolving the adverse effects of the myopic domestic and foreign policies of the sitting presidency.
Making an assessment of current realities, Hovannisian revealed the “theater of the absurd” which has come to grip the country’s social and political life. “The real perpetrators are accusing the innocent, the politically purchased are preaching ethics, and patriotism is once more being tainted by criminal hands,” he said. Convinced that the divide of estrangement between the people and the rulers of the day further deepened following the outrageously falsified constitutional “referendum” last November, Hovannisian asserted that the incumbent ruling clique, which “has turned our Homeland into their bonanza,” is no longer capable of perceiving contemporary challenges and surmounting them with strategic leadership and in the national interest.
Raffi Hovannisian concluded with his and the Heritage Party’s common vision for the Motherland, a future incompatible with the terrible truths currently reigning within all spheres of national life. “The parochial maintenance of petty power cannot remain the defining line of our identity, our civilization, and our statesmanship,” he noted, calling for a determined struggle to restore our nationwide unity, civic society, public trust, and the conduct of free, fair, and dignified elections.
In his talk, Academician Rafael Ghazarian made an appeal to tolerate no longer the immorality and perversion of the ruling circles. Brute force must be met by popular strength, he maintained. “That strength is the body politic which must stand firm against the infringements of the criminal gang. That strength is in rediscovering our past unity.”
Also noteworthy were interventions by renowned actors Vladimir Abajian and Yervand Manarian, Heritage board member Anahit Bakhshian, head of the party’s Vanadzor division Garnik Sahakian, former Goris mayor Samvel Harutiunian, and many others who called upon the public to unite and bring the country out of the current crisis. They also drew attention to the fact that democracy, freedom, and the rule of law are an imperative for Armenia.
In the collective view of Heritage Party members, the main obstacle standing in the way of the country’s democratic progress is the ineffective domestic and external policy of the current administration. And the way out of this predicament, in their firm belief, is the rapid formation of new and legitimate authorities.
In his closing remarks, Raffi Hovannisian underscored yet again that “temporary obstacles cannot and must not block the party’s way, which today continues its national quest with even greater responsibility and pride.”
Comment by Onnik — April 9, 2006 @ 10:54 pm
I attended the meeting of the Heritage party with Onnik on Friday. Just wanted to point out that he is a charismatic, intelligent opposition speaker — perhaps the only one that has a clear message of fostering democracy and putting it in the hands of the people in Armenia. But just some constructive criticism–his message is very eloquent and indeed literate, addressed mostly to intellectuals I would say. He needs to simplify his message so that it can be easily comprehended when immediately spoken so that the masses, especially the youth, will completly understand what he is talking about (he undoubtedly had a speech writer assist him in his address I would guess). Unfortunately I am self-educated in reading and speaking the Armenian language, and I admit some of the terminology used went over my head, but I doubt I am alone in this regarding people native to Armenia, especially those who are less educated and live in the regions.
Comment by Christian — April 10, 2006 @ 9:45 am