President Serzh Sargsyan meets with Public Council representatives

Today, President Serzh Sargsyan met with the representatives of the Public Council of Armenia. In addition to the Council members, representatives of sector-specific committees, sub-committees and territorial organizations were present at the extended meeting.

Considering that the Public Council’s terms of reference and the terms of powers of the President of the Republic of Armenia were going to expire in the near future, and this was the last meeting of President Serzh Sargsyan with the representatives of the Public Council, Public Council Chairman Vazgen Manukyan reported on their activities implemented over the past period. The meeting participants presented their concerns, pointing to the problems collaboration in different spheres and came up with recommendations for their solution.

In his speech, Vazgen Manukyan attached importance to the establishment of the Public Council in 2008 with a view to promoting political dialogue in the country and thanked the President for the opportunity to form a new political culture, raise issues of concern to civil society, discuss them and propose solutions.

The President of the Public Council expressed the hope that as a result of new constitutional amendments, as well as the formation of a new Public Council, it would be possible to achieve better results in the improvement of the overall situation and the development of civil society, based on the standing Council’s experience.

Highlighting the numerous meetings held with the Public Council over the past few years. Serzh Sargsyan noted that they were very useful and provided a good opportunity to discuss various issues, express views and hold public debates in an open atmosphere. President Sargsyan attached importance to the Council’s decade-long activities and thanked its members for the work done over the past ten years.

“We have indeed come a long way together and the Public Council has played a very important role in the development of our society and sound organization of public life. Taking the opportunity, I would like to thank you all for your efforts.

I remember that for some time, perhaps two or three years after the Council’s establishment, at one of the meetings with Mr. Manukyan, he said maybe we will not continue to work, maybe it is not effective and visible. I was convinced that even if not visible to many, their mission was nonetheless useful first and foremost to our society. That was our last talk on that topic.

Then we talked about something else: perhaps there is a need to give the Public Council a constitutional status, adopt a law and so on. Today, I can say that these problems are solved and are solved in a good way.

Over the past years, I always felt your presence next to our State, since the raising of issues that call for prompt response implies supporting the statehood because the problems were raised in an effort to make life better, and not out of ill-will in a bid to deliberately misinterpret the reality.

During these years, there has been no issue relevant to public life in Armenia, on which the Public Council did not express an opinion, and on which no discussions were made. Moreover, the Council discussed many issues at its own initiatives and suggested solutions.

I do not mean that we have accepted all of them, or your opinions were definitely important, but what matters most is that problems have been formulated. As scientists say, to solve a problem, first of all it should be formulated very accurately. If you make a mistake, it cannot be solved, and it is obvious in mathematics.
I have to extend a special vote of thanks to Public Council Chairman Vazgen Manukyan not only considering the formation and activities of the Public Council, but also for his role in our modern history.

Mr. Manukyan was one of the most prominent figures of our nationwide movement, a pivotal figure in the Karabakh movement. He used to hold the posts of prime minister and defense minister in crucial moments.

Unfortunately, in our reality - and I think for a long time now - these posts have had a different meaning for many people. The point is that many perceive them as an opportunity to get some benefits.

Many do not understand what it means to assume the office and responsibility of prime minister or defense minister. It is first of all a service, a voluntary service to the homeland. Of course, there are many opportunists holding different positions, there are many people seeking other goals, but the real calling should be absolutely different. And in this respect, I would like to thank Vazgen once more and emphasize once again that to my firm belief, at least the Public Council would not have had today’s standing if it were not for Vazgen Manukyan’s leadership with his perspicacious mindset and broad-mindedness.

This is extremely important. I can state for sure that our Public Council has been established as an important platform for discussing and addressing controversies in our public life. We faced many serious challenges ten years ago in 2008.

You may remember those times. Today, at least we can talk about another Armenia. Together with you, we have made a lot of effort so that at least some of the enmity and ill-will could disappear in the larger part of our society.

You may remember that ten years ago as we turned on the TV, we could hear for example that the Council of Europe decided to apply sanctions against Armenia, or we faced an adverse ruling on the part of the European Court and so on.

Thank God, we are in a state today when we are fully accepted by both the East and the West. And this is the greatest achievement of our society. When international analysts say that Armenia has managed to be a reliable partner both for Russia and the West, I think this is also due to your efforts. We have successfully reformed the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, and now we are in the final stage of transition.

Naturally, Vazgen Manukyan would say that he still does not know whether it is for the better or the worse. I want to address Mr. Manukyan with a rhetorical question: when you initiated the Karabakh movement, were you confident that everything would be OK, did you realize all the difficulties ahead of you?” the President of Armenia said at the beginning of the meeting.

President Sargsyan also touched upon the advantages of the parliamentary system and emphasized that everything will be done to institute parliamentary democracy in the country, which may open up new perspectives for public life in Armenia and therefore, for the Public Council. Serzh Sargsyan assured that he will continue to work with the Public Council with great pleasure, looking forward to continued and active work.

The President of the Republic of Armenia dwelt on those issues referred to in Vazgen Manukyan’s introductory remarks: ensuring free competition in the economy, improving the educational system, securing the independence of the judiciary and other aspects of State policy in a number of areas. The President spoke about the achievements, the challenges and the ways of coping with them.

In conclusion, Serzh Sargsyan answered the questions of interest to meeting participants.