This video of Vazgen Manukyan, which Uzogh has kindly posted on his blog, brings the criticisms of Vazgen Manukyan, the chairman of the National Democratic Union, and is “the first bell of warning for Levon’s Witnesses*” according to the blogger.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blJ2diw2AWQ&rel=0&border=0]
E-channel further reports:
The NDU chairman will not have a positive response to Levon Ter-Petrossian’s statement on November 16, urging “to join the national movement against Kocharyanaserzh state of robbers.”
As told by Liberty radio station, Vazgen Manukyan has said, “Levon Ter-Petrossian is indebted to our people. Levon Ter-Petrossian has been in power for 8 years. By being elected a president in 1991, he swore that all the state laws should be implemented, and promised that we would have Armenia as it is written in the declaration. After that, he violated all his obligations. In 1996, he stole the votes not from me – he stole the votes from you, from the whole nation. Now there are talks that commissions were working at that time, or something else… But that is a lie because it was the army that has voted several times and done ballot drop-ins. After all, at 12:00 or 01:00, when they saw that Levon Ter-Petrossian was being defeated, hey closed all the polling stations, threw out our people and calculated the way they wanted to do, after which acts of violence took place. When a person is indebted but takes no responsibility for that debt is able to skillfully explain everything without mentioning his responsibility. Has he come here to borrow from our people? I even think it was wrong for him to get nominated.”
“I don’t think that the task is about joining people together for dismissing “the famous forces.” These authorities must leave, that is unavoidable but who is coming instead? I see that the same forces will be in power… So, should we take the same carousel all the time?” Manukyan has continued, commenting on Ter-Petrossian’s speech.
As told by A1+, Vazgen Manukyan has also declared that if Serzh Sargsyan and Levon Ter-Petrossian pass to the second round in the elections, “it can turn Serzh Sargsyan into legitimate authorities.”
*As of late the Anti-Ter-Petrossian bloggers among the LiveJournal Blogging community have started calling Levon Ter-Petrossian’s supporters – Levon’s witnesses in analogy to Jehovah’s Witnesses Sect.
It’s so nice that Haylur has allotted time for Vazgen Manukyan. And they didn’t even edit out the part when he said “I don’t like them [the current regime] either”. Crafty way to give him more authenticity.
I insist that this way Vazgen committed political suicide. And I know he knows about this, so, this is rather a revenge than a political move. Envy is such a powerful emotion, in fact, but I couldn’t believe VM would be so much prone to this emotion. Vazgen, who is believed to be a pragmatic politician! So, I again insist that Vazgen lost his chance around 3 months ago. And now he is just full of panic, revenge, jealousy and envy. Bt if he joined his forces with Levon say 3 months ago, now the situation in the country would be different. In any case, it is very sad to see Vazgen on H1 in a role that is so shameful! 🙁
Mazd – I have to fully agree with you and Nazarian on this occasion. Kronstadt – with this public appearance Vazgen fully proved my earlier point about being a spent-bullet 🙂
Finally, there is a respected politician who says exactly what I was saying for months (and not because I am so smart but because it is painfully obvious to any clear-eyed person – that the current and previous regimes are the same shit in different bottles and that the arrogant autocrat who ruined the historical chance of my country to become a self-respecting democracy should not have dared to submit his candidacy again).
Pity that Vazgen Manukian is not a resolute leader. Other than that, he is probably the best from what we have (not the ideal best, of course). The real leader should not disappear when his followers are in danger; he should be in the first row, he should risk even his own life if it comes to that. Vazgen was not able to show that courage at several critical times. And that’s very regrettable…
Observer, I think you and Onnik have been reading my original post and the subsequent comments slightly wrongly, but anyway, it’s not a biggie.
By the way, does anyone know what is the official number of NDU members? and roughly how many supporters Vazgen have?
Artashes – it is not the content of what Vazgen says, that is important at this point. What matters now, is where, when and how he is speaking.
I agree with Nazarian, that the fact Vazgen is speaking on Public TV – is a clear indicator,
that he is a ‘spent bullet’, I’ve made this point earlier here. He doesn’t represent any danger to the current authorities, and he doesn’t really harm the former ones either. What he has just said – are common truths floating around, repeated so many times, that everybody already knows by heart, and could be formulated by any decent journalist or a passer by – and it would have the same type of effect. The moment a politician deals with such concepts, he becomes a simple repeater (parrot), or a demagogue or a simple passer by. He does not shape political agenda anymore, he does not contribute to it in any way – he doesn’t even shift the balance from one way to another.
One point before talking about anything else: “the fact Vazgen is speaking on Public TV”. Is it indeed a fact? I watched the clip you provided but it was not obvious to me that he was talking specifically to H1. I tried to make it clear to myself, and looked at these sources:
http://www.echannel.am/index.php?topic_id=982
http://www.armenialiberty.org/armeniareport/report/ar/2007/11/81931389-30D2-4007-A0F0-3B85D97960B9.asp
http://www.a1plus.am/en/?page=issue&iid=54738
Neither of them specified “the fact Vazgen is speaking on Public TV”. Please clear it for me. Thanks.
Watch this clip to the end – journalist exactly says, that this material is created by Haylur.
Artashes – I’m sorry I didn’t mention, that I watched it on Haylur, and then next day was thinking where to find the recording and upload, and suddenly I saw, that Uzogh has uploaded it on his channel 🙂
Also – following from the points I’ve made above, I have to remark, that I 100% support everything that Vazgen is saying in this material, and in fact I have already expressed such views earlier. However, as a politician, he has behaved so predictably, that it diminishes his value as an active agent in the political field.
Kronstadt: By the way, does anyone know what is the official number of NDU members?
Probably 1.
Uzogh, do you have any input in Haylur reporting or do you do the technological aspect of it (Youtube, blogs, etc.)?
Observer,
The fact that you watched it on Haylur does not mean that Vazgen Manukyan gave his press conference (or whatever it was) for Haylur. I tried to get from various sources whether he “was speaking on Public TV”, OR Public TV simply relayed some excerpts from the interview/press conference that suits the authorities’ purpose. Obviously, there is a big difference between the two (Osama bin Laden doesn’t “speak on CNN” when CNN relays clips featuring him). Neither of those sources identified the origin of information, and I asked you to clarify it. In response, you just said that you watched it on Haylur (which was obvious from the clip itself). That, of course, doesn’t answer my question…
2) On the substance. If you consider that, for example, the phrase “These authorities must leave, that is unavoidable but who is coming instead? I see that the same forces will be in power… So, should we take the same carousel all the time?” is something that “everybody already knows by heart, and could be formulated by any decent journalist or a passer by”, you are, unfortunately, sadly mistaken. Look at the LJ community: only a small minority unequivocally adheres to the seemingly obvious position that the two successive regimes are qualitatively the same shit.
Artashes – Haylur avoids covering press-conferences by opposition figures. Vazgen Manukyan was blocked out of Public TV since April-May 2007. He was censored out because he was an opposition figure.
Now, suddenly, Levon starts appearing on Public TV (which is really suspicions), and then – Vazgen(!) and Artur(!) appear on Public TV as well. From what I know and understand of the inner workings of the Armenian broadcast media nowadays, when an opposition figure appears on TV – that has a special significance.
Of course I might be wrong, that is exactly why I write about it on a blog, not in a newspaper, because for me the blog is an area to discuss issues of interest to me, and listen to opinions from other people, who might in many cases have a superior understanding or comprehension of the situation. Hence, discussions like this help me enrich my understanding of situation around.
Speaking of that – and coming to your second point: please be careful when comparing the opinions of the LJ community to the general opinion of the nation. The thing is – the LJ community is not representative of the people in general, although it comes really close. The LJ community, as I see it, is composed of mostly young, educated, middle class young people, who are usually quite satisfied with life as it is, and who, more often than not, bare strong influence of the Russian culture, language and news media, even though they might be strictly anti-Russian in their views or the opposite.
What I mean to say is – although the LJ community might not express the idea: “These authorities must leave, that is unavoidable but who is coming instead? I see that the same forces will be in power… So, should we take the same carousel all the time?” like Vazgen is doing, the Armenian people OUTSIDE of the LJ community speak about it more often. In fact, as part of my professional responsibilities I am meeting, talking to a lot of journalists and a lot of common people, and that has been the prevailing attitude I have come across with. Naturally the narrow circle of people I’ve spoken to within the past month are not representative of the Armenian people in general either, however, I have at least two distinctly different visions of the situation, one from the LJ community, and one from a non-LJ community, which is more often composed of media professionals and common people in Yerevan, Gyumri and Vardensi, where I’ve had meetings/discussions on various issues, including politics recently.
Observer: can you refer to at least one case when LTP was on TV – be that Public TV, H2 or any other TV channel?
Yes, his rallies were “covered” by the TV, but that is not the point. He was never hosted by any of the Armenian TV channels! Not only him, but also, say, Alik Arzumanyan or Nikol Pashinyan.
So, yes, VM spoke as if exclusively for HayLur, and this was too sad. H1 chose such excerpts from his speech that made him look like a proponent of the authorities… 🙁 Did he intend to be viewed in such a way? I hope not.
In my humble opinion he must not be hosted on Public TV, until Nikol Pashinyan will address his excuses to management of PTV.
Mazd – we have been thinking about hosting LTP or Alik Arzumanyan on the “PressClub” TV show on Yerkir-Media TV and we will. It is just not quite the right time yet, don’t you think?