Appeal to His Excellency, President of the Republic of Armenia, Armen Sarkissian
Your Excellency:
The developments taking place throughout Armenia in recent days compels us to appeal to you directly and request that you exercise to their full extent the powers bestowed upon you by the free people of Armenia. Your name, Mr. President, throughout the last three decades has been synonymous with patience, virtue and fairness – both in Armenia and abroad – and as the first President under the recently adopted parliamentary system of government, we are confident that Armenia made the right choice in electing you as its head of state.
Indeed, Mr. President, your elevation to that position could not have come at a more crucial time. Today, right now, in the streets of Yerevan, one of the most existential chapters of our young state is being etched into history. The choice is between a fledgling democracy and an entrenched kleptocracy, and while the former will have its challenges, the latter has proven to be a slow and steady erosion of not only the Armenian state and its institutions, but also our collective history and legacy as a survivor nation.
This morning, two days before the sacred 24th of April, the newly-appointed Prime Minister issued an open challenge to not only his opponents, but to the freedom loving people of the Republic of Armenia, threatening bloodshed in response to the peaceful demonstrations requesting his resignation. Within an hour of the Prime Minister’s threat of violence at least three members of parliament, despite their immunity, were forcibly detained while peacefully marching and remain under arrest.
Thus, Mr. President, fully trusting the integrity and character of your person and entrusted in your position as Armenia’s head of state, we implore you to denounce the use of force by the authorities against peaceful protesters, to condemn the Prime Minister’s threat of violence against his own constituents, to call upon the authorities to exercise restraint, to demand the release of the three members of parliament still being detained, and to insist that the parties seek peaceful solutions to the crisis of confidence created by the Prime Minister’s incendiary and irresponsible comments.
Open letter from LA Armenians
