Arthur Vanetsyan’s speech at the Motherland party Convention: “We can and we will do it ourselves”

30/05/2020 21:09

Arthur Vanetsyan’s speech at the Motherland party Convention: “We can and we will do it ourselves”


Former National Security Service director Arthur Vanetsyan, newly elected leader of Motherland Party, has delivered the following remarks at the party convention on June 30.

Full translation below:

Dear delegates of the Convention,

Dear colleagues,

All of us, like the absolute majority of the Armenians worldwide, have had big hopes and were enthusiastic about the Velvet Revolution. We not only accepted it, but many of us have invested their energy and enthusiasm in order to meet the objectives proclaims during the revolution.

By doing that we have tried to bring novel quality, sense and, most importantly, meaning to those processes, each of us in our respective fields.

All my adult life I have served in a different sphere, have served the country, and it would have never crossed my mind that I may ever become a member to any political party and, less so, would lead any political party.

But life often makes big surprises and it just so happened that I made the decision to enter active politics. From the very outset, I want to address those questions, that, I believe, you and our entire society may be curious about: what is my motivation to enter political field and what has pushed me to do so?

Let me respond with simply: sense of responsibility.

In every difficult situation my sense of responsibility has always prevailed. Today I have sense of responsibility towards our state, society and the next generations.

I can say with clear conscience that I have done everything that could help meeting the objectives and ideals of the revolution. Of course, this does not mean there had not been any omissions, but I can confidently declare that I have not allowed any distortion of the ideas or any derogation from the chosen path. I continue moving ahead on the path I have chosen,  getting rid of temporary and sometimes indeed accidental companions.  

Today I see serious risks before our country, sophisticated problems, I see dangerous mistakes that are being made on a daily basis – as I had predicted. Unfortunately, my worst predictions now are being fulfilled. Now I am assertive that a lot of work must be done in order to prevent even worse scenarios. That is what exactly has made me to enter big politics. Real politics.

Who are we and where are we going?

My understanding is that we are suggesting a program and workstyle which has the following fundamentals:

- Responsibility instead of infantilism;
- Honesty instead of lies and manipulations;
-  Discipline instead of lawlessness;
- Unity instead of divisions;
- System instead of chaos;
- Stability instead of uncertainty;
- Professionalism instead of dilettantism;
- Pragmatism instead of populism.

The vicious working style that yields to dividing the state into camps that are in conflict and even enmity against each other is unacceptable. Conscious of the importance of serious, systemic and at times fundamental reforms in our country, and being ready to assume the responsibility of doing this, we are also far from the extreme approach that everything had been bad in the past and that our political chronicle has started when certain people divided the country into blacks and whites. Our people needs such leaders who will feel, consider and declare themselves to be the government of the entire population – independent of their personal political preferences.

We need authorities which, instead of manipulating on their temporary emotions, will unify the people on the basis of rationality and for addressing real problems in order to ensure normal life in dignity for everyone.

We need authorities that will distance themselves off false and fake agendas, working styles and tools.  

We need authorities that will finally switch from “internet live broadcasts” mood to really meeting the challenges of real life. 

We need such authorities that will not divide, but will unite the society in order to implement programs of national development. Such authorities that will address the crises instead of creating new uncertainties and crises on its own.

Our Motherland needs no fake saviors, but real leaders.

My fellow party members,

Let us now turn to our ideological foundations. Motherland Party is a center-right political party, which will operate on the basis of combining traditions and progress.

Motherland Party comes to the political scene with the resolve to ensure security, welfare and progress for our citizens, to establish sustainable foundations for the fulfilment of their aspirations. Our political goal is the restoration of our national unity, overcoming the divisiveness in the society and deep reforms that our people could see.
As I said earlier, we are going to work on the basis of the idea of combining traditions and progress. Our national traditions are strong, healthy and universal. It’s unacceptable for me to witness the propaganda of retrograde approaches to this, including for political reasons. This artificial contrast between the national and universal values. This is a fake contrast and creates new enmities and barricades in our society. We will not stay behind the progress and developments in the world, meanwhile we will preserve our national values.

Now, let me present the outlines of my key approaches on several issues, which we can define as pursuit of national interests:

Ensuring national security.

Ensuring national security is always going to be a constant priority for our country. The geopolitics around Armenia and the present realities, the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the overall international tensions – which has threads very often bypassing through our Motherland – are all vivid proofs of what I said. Having such acute national security issues for many states, including Armenia, is not an unmanageable burden, but a reality which creates the conditions of work for those responsible in the country day and night.

That’s what our goal is:
- Peace requires efforts,
- Being ready for a war requires efforts,
- Resisting in a war requires efforts,
- Improving the level of national security protection of our Motherland requires competent  efforts every day and every hour in many directions.

Dear colleagues,

The key national security issue for us is the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, therefore let me present my approaches on this in greater detail:

- People of Artsakh have inherent right to self-determination and that cannot be conditioned by the consent or goodwill of any third party. That is a right and has to be fulfilled to the full extent.
- Armenia-Artsakh relations have to be based on our national vision, mutual trust and cooperation. Armenia has to respect the agency and status of Artsakh by all means. Armenia has to invest its efforts for the international recognition of Artsakh’s independence. Armenia has been and will remain the national security guarantor of Artsakh.

Peace talks are the only viable way for the resolution of Nagorno Karabakh issue, exclusively under the auspices of the Co-Chairmanship of the OSCE Minsk Group. 

Neither Artsakh, nor Armenia will backtrack under the pressure of Azerbaijan, and that threat will in no way facilitate the comprehensive and lasting resolution of the conflict. It’s impossible to speak the language of threats to Armenia or Artsakh. Bowing to the memory of heroes who have sacrificed their lives or health for the Motherland, as well as to their families, I assure you that you have not done that in vain. You have done that to preserve our national identity, the security of Artsakh and for the freedom of Artsakh.

The people of Artsakh self-determined their future long ago. There is no resolution by war. No peace and regional stability can be achieved by war. It is by improving of the combat potential of our army, empowering our economy and solidarity at home that we can deliver this idea to the international community and to Azerbaijan. The resolution of Nagorno Karabakh issue must be based not on ‘phased’, but ‘package’ approach.

I consider it highly important to establish a new and more viable unified system with the Armenian Diaspora. These relations, I believe, need qualitative review. We have to pursue the consolidation of multimillion and unified Armenian world, pivoted around the twin Armenian states – Armenia and Artsakh – as well as our language, our culture, history and the Armenian Apostolic Church. We must formulate common values and common goals. And do that not on the level of slogans and toasts, but practical steps.

The concept of deep integration in the Armenian world must replace the incomprehensible relations observed presently. With this message in mind in the near future I am planning to hold discussions with the new government in Artsakh, with statesmen and political figures, political forces in Armenia, influential circles in the Diaspora and religious leaders.

The Republic of Armenia has relations close to partnership with only two of its neighbors, but it’s clear that our relations with both Iran and Georgia have to be perfect. We have the capacity of becoming a bridge between our neighbors and other partner states both in economic and political sense. Meanwhile, the latest developments show that relations with our traditional allies began worsening, which is unacceptable.

We have so much zoomed into the developments in our country, that we almost forgot that consistent efforts are required with our international partners. I mean efforts in all levels. We have to do everyday efforts with our international partners in multilateral frameworks – in CSTO, EAEU, PACE, European Union and other organisations.

- We have to fully employ the opportunities provided by the Eurasian Economic Union and the CSTO.
- We have to develop our strategic partnership with Russian Federation in order to get deep-rooted and mutually beneficial results.
- We have sizeable opportunities to deepen our relations with Iran. Independent of the international environment, Iran has been our long-standing friendly state, our immediate neighbor and a very important partner for Armenia.
- At the same time, we have to have programmatic and systematized relations with other crucially important partners, such as United States, European and other states, and especially China and India, whereas those relations have to urgently be brought up to a new level.

Dear colleagues,

In the recent months the state of our economy and the incapacity of the managers of our national economy have knocked on the doors of everyone.As a matter of fact, the serious challenges became clear for everyone and yet again reinforced what I had warned about before:

- Spontaneity of decisions;
- Superficial actions;
- Inability of prioritizing.

Unfortunately, these days our national economy is sinking. The living conditions of the population are worsening continuously. It has by now become the most difficult problem for people to earn daily living. People do not live well in Armenia today, whereas it’s clear for me that in Armenia our people have to live a decent life. Let’s consider this the main goal that I have set for myself, let me say this is my dream indeed. I assure you that I will not spare any effort for this, and we will surely make this dream come true.

In the near future I will present to the public my consolidated approaches about the development of our Motherland in different domains. I have clear understanding where we are and where we have to get and how – in justice system, in education, science and culture, in environmental issues and agriculture.

I am sure that as the nation which was the first to have adopted Christianity as official religion, we absolutely must keep special focus on the Armenian Apostolic Church. During the entire Armenian history our Church has been a resilient institution which has an invaluable legacy in our national identity preservation. I strongly believe that the Church has to be under the full protection of the state.

And finally, we can spend a long time deliberating about the challenges and consequences brought forward by the novel coronavirus pandemic outbreak. Yet we all understand that to overcome these challenges we have to be in the government, be a competent authority and honest to the people. This situation is indeed worrisome and requires competent and operative management.

Concluding my remarks, let me just add the following: no political force shall have the right to claim they have the monopoly on being right and that its leader is savior of the nation or an prophet. The governing political unit in the Republic of Armenia today neither has, nor aspires to have enough human capital and professional potential to efficiently address all the challenges that have emerged in our country.

We will pursue national consolidation and aspire to form anti-crisis government of national accord. 

Let me once again thank everyone and reassure you all that I am the type that will walk back halfway. I do not consider anyone in Armenia as enemy and I aim at ensuring broadest consolidation and joint effort with all the able forces and individuals.

Armenia must develop and become stronger.
We can and we will do it ourselves.


In case you have found a mistake in the text, please send a message to the editor by selecting the mistake and pressing Ctrl-Enter.

Newsfeed

Today, 14:41 Ameriabank named the Best Bank in Armenia for 2024 by Global Finance magazine 28/03/2024 14:02 IoT Lab opens at National Polytechnic University of Armenia 26/03/2024 16:58 “START+”: “Kinodaran” without subscription fee, 10 GB internet, 1000 minutes and favorite apps without any limits 25/03/2024 16:14 Change in Viva-MTS company name and General Terms of Provisioning Services 22/03/2024 17:24 Marzes remain in the focus of attention of Viva-MTS: New service center opened in Tchambarak 21/03/2024 14:12 In 2023, the SME Loan Portfolio of Ameriabank Reported More Than 30% Growth 19/03/2024 10:20 Mikael Vardanyan donated 117 mln drams for garbage trucks and 230 waste bins for Masis community 14/03/2024 18:12 New technologies at the core of rural infrastructure development 13/03/2024 16:32 The number of Team mobile subscribers is over 1 million 13/03/2024 13:01 “RED”: fixed and mobile services in one package for customers valuing convenience and quality 11/03/2024 14:51 Global Finance Recognizes Ameriabank's Leadership in Sustainable Finance in Armenia 06/03/2024 14:07 Byblos Bank Armenia named CaseKey title sponsor again 05/03/2024 13:36 Doing Digital Forum Returns Featuring Brett King as Keynote Speaker 01/03/2024 18:42 "The Innovator's Dilemma": Byblos Bank Armenia supports publication of Armenian edition 29/02/2024 16:45 “Personal Assistant” program changes popular mindset in regions 27/02/2024 18:12 Viva-MTS: 30-day internet-package for the many destinations within “VOYAGE” service 22/02/2024 17:53 The kindergarten of Armavir village is already being supplied with solar photovoltaic panels 19/02/2024 16:53 Viva-MTS, a company cultivating reading traditions 19/02/2024 12:48 Ameriabank set to join BOGG, a London Stock Exchange (LSE) listed financial group as a standalone entity 14/02/2024 14:53 Years of hard work and a sustainable approach to infrastructure development in regions 07/02/2024 14:49 Virtual PBX: Smart tool for corporate clients 02/02/2024 18:26 Viva-MTS named one of the ten most attractive employers 26/01/2024 18:15 Ameriabank is the Largest Taxpayer Among Armenian Banks 25/01/2024 17:03 Viva-MTS and “SOURCE” Foundation's “Personal Assistant” program is achieving the desired result in Syunik 24/01/2024 19:14 The shareholder of Viva-MTS has changed: The company will reach new achievements 23/01/2024 12:56 Byblos Bank Armenia to sponsor CaseKey team’s participation in Budapest’s CUBE 2024 22/01/2024 14:27 53% increase in Internet traffic in the Viva-MTS network. New Year's Eve and the first day compared to the same period last year 18/01/2024 18:30 “Viva University”: a long-term investment in youth empowerment 29/12/2023 15:49 Viva-MTS: investments that ensure sustainable development using innovative solutions 28/12/2023 14:46 The Christmas Miracle in Shirak Region - Ameriabank Santas Visited Children from Artsakh 22/12/2023 11:43 12 participants of “Get Started” program will explore the startup ecosystem 20/12/2023 20:38 Byblos Bank Armenia donates New Year gift funds to Soldier's Home 14/12/2023 15:51 Daily solutions for Viva-MTS clients based on artificial intelligence and deep neural networks 13/12/2023 16:24 How Ameriabank continued to deliver success amid the volatility of the global markets 13/12/2023 10:15 Mikael Vardanyan donated the maternity hospital of the Surb Grigor Lusavorich Medical Center the modern medical equipment amounting 116 million drams (Video) 11/12/2023 15:53 Viva-MTS: business for business. Virtual PBX has become an effective management tool for corporate subscribers 09/12/2023 20:46 “We rule out the return of citizens of the Republic of Artsakh to the jurisdiction of Azerbaijan”: Tհe appeal of the political and civil organizations of the Artsakh to the International community 08/12/2023 14:01 «Wi-Fi Calling». call through Wi-Fi network from Armenia or abroad in frames of the tariff plan 30/11/2023 15:25 Changes in the terms of provisioning “M2M Tracker Plus” package of services 28/11/2023 18:34 A new phase of the educational program “Viva University” has started 27/11/2023 10:56 Armen Avetisian, Viva-MTS General Director, had an open-door lecture at YSU 20/11/2023 16:40 Viva-MTS and “SOURCE” foundation will support four families in Syunik through the program “Personal Assistant” 17/11/2023 17:36 Ameriabank Named the Best Bank for Digital Solutions in Armenia for 2023 16/11/2023 19:43 Best offer: Postpaid “UNLIM” – unlimited Internet for only 4500 AMD 15/11/2023 09:19 Byblos Bank Armenia Celebrates Education at CaseKey 2023 Gala 06/11/2023 16:18 30 years on stage: The partnership between Viva-MTS and “Paros” Chamber Choir continues 01/11/2023 17:12 Thinking “green” is a lifestyle․ Viva-MTS and "My Forest Armenia" continue the environmental partnership 01/11/2023 11:47 Red Flag Alert for Genocide - Azerbaijan in Armenia 31/10/2023 16:12 Now more than 500 thousand Viva-MTS subscribers use the VoLTE service 28/10/2023 10:44 Five times more internet in MTS Russia network 24/10/2023 16:53 “Recharge+”: now for up to AMD 3000 20/10/2023 11:05 Amundi-Acba made the first direct investment in the equities of an Armenian company 18/10/2023 14:53 Viva-MTS is the General Partner of the State Award of Republic of Armenia for Global Contribution to Humanity through High-Tech 16/10/2023 14:46 “UNLIM” tariff plan also available for postpaid subscribers 13/10/2023 12:35 Solar energy in Viva-MTS mobile stations: saving resources and oxygen 04/10/2023 18:06 Technological support to farmers: Electric fences in the border village of Vahan 27/09/2023 10:25 Financial support in the amount of 123 million drams from Karen Vardanyan to the families having many children, evicted as a result of the 44-day war (Video) 18/09/2023 14:15 President Samvel Shahramanyan has appointed Artur Harutyunyan as State Minister 07/09/2023 23:24 Ex-Ambassador Mikayel Minasyan: “Will Armenia face a war or not?” 31/08/2023 18:28 Ex-Ambassador Mikayel Minasyan has provided an analysis of the Armenian issue 30/08/2023 19:30 S&P Upgrades Ameriabank to 'BB-', Outlook Stable 26/08/2023 13:52 Ex-Ambassador Mikayel Minasyan calls for unconditional consolidation to preserve national identity and save Stepanakert 26/08/2023 13:51 Ex-Ambassador Mikayel Minasyan: “The situation still has a diplomatic resolution” 25/08/2023 12:29 Freedom Broker Introduces Full Brokerage Services for Individuals, Pioneering the Market in Armenia 15/08/2023 12:36 Ameriabank Wins in 3 Nominations of Global Finance World’s Best Digital Bank Awards 2023 01/08/2023 13:55 «Viva University»: Starting inception for university students 01/08/2023 09:57 “I do not know how to interpret the persecution of talented and creative people who have served Armenia all their lives” Defender of Armen and Sergey Smbatyans 19/07/2023 16:16 Amundi-Acba made a huge investment in the RA economy 19/07/2023 10:30 Electric Fences are a new replacement for scarecrows: modern technologies made available to villages by Viva-MTS 14/07/2023 11:39 Viva-MTS presents a podcast series on a variety of themes 13/07/2023 16:45 20,000 trees were mulched in Lori with the support of Viva-MTS Partnership to increase forest cover in Armenia 11/07/2023 11:42 A modern infrastructure system has been launched in border village of Koti 04/07/2023 18:39 Ameriabank Receives 4 Sustainable Finance Awards from Global Finance 01/07/2023 10:52 Viva-MTS turns 18: The best is yet to come 30/06/2023 20:18 Shell brand is already in Armenia. The first fuel stations were put into operation 29/06/2023 15:51 Moody's changes Ameriabank's outlook to stable; affirms Ba3 rating 28/06/2023 16:00 The latest volume of the book series "The Armenians of the World” " is dedicated to Armenian philanthropists of the world 27/06/2023 16:22 Mobile “Electric fences” in Yeghegis community have become an “obstacle” for bears 22/06/2023 13:16 Viva-MTS: Harmless interaction between "Electric Fences" and bears 22/06/2023 11:35 Governor of the State of Kansas Laura Kelly visited Tsitsernakaberd memorial 22/06/2023 10:57 Flynas started operating flights on the route Riyadh-Yerevan-Riyadh 16/06/2023 11:42 MyInvest. Ameriabank has Launched an Online Investment Platform 15/06/2023 13:04 Four projects of infrastructure development in border village Koghb 13/06/2023 15:36 Practical business skills in focus of CaseKey 2023–Byblos Bank Armenia partnership 12/06/2023 12:03 International experience and new football skills: Milan Academy Junior Camp wraps up in Yerevan 09/06/2023 13:55 Viva-MTS’ digital B2B services show steady growth 06/06/2023 12:33 Viva-MTS expands and strengthens the entire mobile infrastructure along with the development of the 5G network 05/06/2023 11:31 Partnership for Environmental Protection and Community Development 03/06/2023 11:56 15 schoolchildren face Gabriel Sargissian in open-air simultaneous display (Video) 02/06/2023 15:53 Team Telecom Armenia is undertaking its initial public offering (IPO) 01/06/2023 10:43 We hope that some of these Armenian children will become professional football players. Claudio Zola 01/06/2023 10:18 On the occasion of June 1st Karen Vardanyan provided 115 million drams to the parentless children of Yerevan 31/05/2023 19:15 Team Group of Companies has acquired 30% of Georgian SkyTel 29/05/2023 13:34 Fly Arna launches new direct flights connecting Yerevan to Kuwait 25/05/2023 14:33 Regional Call Center of Viva-MTS opens in Vanadzor 23/05/2023 17:48 15 YSU students will receive Byblos Bank Armenia scholarships and tuition reimbursement 23/05/2023 11:49 “Unlim”: New prepaid tariff plan by Viva-MTS 17/05/2023 15:37 “The path to creating this brandy was an endless aspiration to excellence for us, and I feel that we succeeded” - Olivier Chapt 17/05/2023 14:17 Border village Berdavan is almost completely illuminated 03/05/2023 14:02 The second batch of electric fences has been introduced in Vayots Dzor