People must regain right to statehood and homeland - Raffi  Hovhannisyan 

ArmInfo.The Armenian people is now facing the disappearance of the Third Armenian Republic, Chairman  of the Heritage party Raffi Hovhannisyan told a press conference on May 26.  

On May 26, 105 years ago, the Battle of Sardarapat shaped the  Armenian people's destiny and enabled the Armenian people to have its  own state. Political figures and clergymen, the whole people, stood  up in defense of their homeland. However, with the incumbent  authorities pursuing their policy, all the grounds are available to  state that the Third Republic will be the last in the Armenian  people's history, Mr Hovhannisyan said. 

Five years ago the country experienced a commendable revival thereby  responding to the former authorities' failures. 

"Regrettably, however, the popular struggle has been privatized by an  individual and a group of individuals, who aimed at implementing  specific programmes," Mr Hovhannisyan said. And now that five years  have passed the people are "in an unprecedented stupor" on the way  toward losing statehood. In fact, it is a process of committing the  first genocide and surrender of the Armenian people's sovereign  territories. 

"He [Armenia's premier] is openly stating that, pointing out a need  for ceding the country's sovereign territories. He intentionally  caused the country to suffer numerous casualties among servicemen and  civilians and committed numerous violations of the Constitution. In  fact, that person has lost its legitimacy and turned into a national  disaster. He will bring down a new war on the Armenian people. And  what are we doing to protect ourselves? What are government bodies  doing to prepare the country for a new war?  We ourselves brought  this domestic disaster to power, and we have to cope with it not to  be deceived once again, especially since all they are doing is aimed  at defending their own power," Mr Hovhannisyan said. 

The incumbent authorities' actions must not be compared with the  former authorities' failures. Despite their failures, none of the  former Armenian leaders surrendered Artsakh or caused border  violations. 

"The incumbent authorities are ready to sell their Homeland only to  remain in power. They was to turn Armenia into a disabled state,  surrendering it part by part to our genocidal enemies thereby  becoming accomplices in the very same genocide. To prevent such  developments, the relevant government agencies must have their say,  within the law, to prevent civilian confrontation. Otherwise, the  people must restore their right to statehood and homeland," Mr  Hovhannisyan said.