It seems some four and a half years ago Levon Ter Petrosyan was chosen as the Dictator of the Month by a website called, wait for it, dictatorofthemonth.com. The website, which appears to be of German origin, brings to its audience, "the greatest and smallest dictators, autocrats and monarchs of the world since 1900!"
You may have noticed that I've kept from reporting on developments in the run up to the Armenian elections. Call me jaded, if you will, but reporting on one scum or another, essentially the same type of feces in different pots, won't change the outcome of the election. Knowing Armenia, even a direct vote will result in the same fate for the country.
That said, here are the charges against Levon:
His popularity waned during his rule as he sold Armenian electrical capacity to Georgia while limiting electricity's availability to Armenia to 4 hours per day in order to fund the war against Azerbaijan, a move regarded as necessary by the Armenian Army. He was also unpopular with many because he banned the nation's leading opposition party, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF- Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutiune), jailed its leadership, and shut down Yerkir, the country's largest daily newspaper.Hefty charges indeed. As someone who lived through the early 1990s in Armenia, anyone who considers voting for him because he is a voice of change, reason, or otherwise the lesser of two evils, is simply insane.
He was forced to step down in February 1998 after advocating additional concessions to Azerbaijan in the resolution of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. Ter Petrosyan's key ministers, led by then-Prime Minister Kocharyan, refused to accept a peace plan on Karabakh put forward by international mediators in September 1997. The plan, accepted by Ter-Petrosyan and Azerbaijan, called for a "phased" settlement of the conflict which would postpone an agreement on Karabakh's status, the main stumbling block. That agreement was to accompany the return of most Armenian-occupied Azerbaijani territories around Karabakh and the lifting of the Azerbaijani and Turkish blockades of Armenia.
9 comments:
Equally insane is taking those events out of context for a man who ushered in independence for the Armenian people and set up economic mechanisms that continue to produce strong growth every year.
The electricity sales were necessary to maintain the war effort. If the Armenian people wanted to continue the war, there was no other alternative. No expert and primary source at the time will tell you otherwise. The limited electricity of course was very debilitating, coupled on top of extremely cold winters. But war is hell. Perhaps Armenians will remember better what war is like, instead of riding high on 50 years of peace and prosperity under Soviet oversight.
The ARF was not banned because they were an opposition party. They were banned for being a threat to the national sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia, as they continue to be by refusing the treaties and borders of the republic and putting her in direct jeopardy. Furthermore they have their support base in foreign countries, and such powerful individuals can never make the best decisions for Armenia as they cannot feel the consequences of their own policies on their own skin.
As far as the phased settlement, it was the wisest political and economic move. The economic blockade would have been lifted and ,under the agreement, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline would have been the Baku-Yerevan-Ceyhan pipeline. Armenians would maintain control of the NKR, which is technically what the whole conflict was supposed to be about. Not the expansionist policies of Armenian ultra-nationalists, as militarily strategic they might make it sound. A phased settlement was also necessary to re-establish diplomatic ties between Armenia and its two neighbors, instead of the cold war we have in the region now. Armenia continues to grow more and more isolated from regional projects and the global economy. Already evident from the massive poverty and emigration, there seems to be a need to experience more of it before Armenia adopts a more constructive policy instead of an expansionist, ultra-nationalist one which refuses compromise on the acquisition of more land. Or perhaps the massive and influential diaspora population just needs to keep their finger out of things that they directly do not feel on their skin.
Well said, ab.
Everyone knows that Levon sold the electricity and pocketed the cash along with interpol criminal Vano Siradeghyan.
In speaking about the ARF, did you really say "they were banned for being a threat to national sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia"? That must be the best line ever created by a Turk for recycling in anti-ARF statements. Do you really believe that?
The ARF is the ONLY guarantor of the national sovereignty of the Armenian people. It was the ARF that gave the most martyrs to the Artsakh Liberation War. It was the ARF that even kept the IDEA of national sovereigny alive when Armenia was solidly part of the Soviet Union and no one else could even imagine an independent Armenia one day. It was the ARF that organized and defended Armenia in the Armenian Wars of Independence (Sardarabad, Bash Abaran, etc) which are the reason why we even HAVE an Armenia today. It is the ARF that has maintained and preserved the Armenian identity of millions of Armenians in the diaspora. You have to be kidding me! In fact you're infuriating me. Because you can say whatever you want about the ARF but don't you dare question the ARF's committment to Armenia's national sovereignty.
Another funny thing on the site is:
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Major Achievements: Started war against Azerbaijan and funded it with his own country's electricity, leaving the country literally in the dark
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That damages the credibility of whoever came up with this 'dictator of the month' nomination. Armenia did not start a war, it was imposed upon us. And this was the first instance in centuries when instead of losing territories, we saved them and then some.
The second somebody criticizes ARF, you guys call the person "Turk". How come posting absolute lies about the victorious president, charismatic leader, great intellectual and noblest man is not an action of a turk?
millions of people who suffered the consenqueces of those so called corrupted government times, are still the people who today still stand befor that man and believ that he is not only a patriot, but also a hero..who still gathers us together...specially at times where there is no hope...i would prefer a dictator who brings us together...then a God who takes away our hopes and dreams..
You are talking about Levon selling our electricity to Georgia but you are not talking about Serj losing our money in Monte Carlo casinos and snoring cocein, Robert Kocharian selling our Zvartnots . Hello People!
This is for those insane people who consider voting for or even remotely defending levon ter-petrosyan:
1. Ter-Petrosyan was the first leader of the Republic of Armenia to practice large scale electoral fraud (elections of 1996, Vazgen Manukian being the real winner).
2. Ter-Petrosyan was the first one to use army against the protesters (after falsifying the results of presidential elections in 1996).
3. Ter-Petrosyan was the first to suppress free speech, by closing newspapers (some of us remember quite well policemen throwing computers out of the office windows of the “Yerkir” daily).
4. Ter-Petrosyan was the first leader in the Republic of Armenia to shut down a political party and throw its members into jail (the infamous “Dro” case).
5. Ter-Petrosyan was the very person under whose wing the oligarchic families were born. Actually all the current Armenian oligarchs became rich during Ter-Petrosyan’s rule. Moreover, while his supporters criticize oligarchs, the major donor for the Ter-Petrosyan’s campaign is another oligarch.
6. Ter-Petrosyan was the person who brought to power current Armenian authorities — who are now being called criminals and bandits by the supporters of the ex-president.
7. Yet the most important... Ter-Petrosyan is the very person who killed Armenians’ belief in justice, law and freedom of speech.
For those who are not blinded, feel free to sign the petition against this horendous creature.
http://www.petitiononline.com/yerevan/petition-sign.html
Thank you! :)
Oh my God ,are you from Armenia or you are spyurki hay .are you interested about what has happened onOctober 27 march 1 dou you know how much people hate rob and serj they are just khujans ,only the criminals protect them hey you look around
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