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THE HERITAGE MANIFESTO 30 May 2005 We the citizens of the Republic of Armenia, uniting around Heritage, a national liberal party, believing in our strength and sharing a commitment to live with dignity and according to traditional-conservative family values in a free and sovereign country, seek through our hard work and in our own Homeland to achieve a life of well-being, to free ourselves of fear of poverty and old age, to enjoy a peaceful future, and to bolster confidence in our security. We enter the political realm in order to restore the hope for a prosperous and developed Homeland and to reaffirm the nation’s ownership of its own destiny. We enter the political arena with realistic and viable programs born of a decade of academic and applied policy research—and with the unshakable will to bring them to fruition in the 21st century. The past several years have once again confirmed the need in the political system for new thinking, new ideas, and new people—individuals who are willing and able to address the critical issues facing the country, as well as to prove through work the concepts and precepts they advocate to the public. We stand with our people and behind our words. We have resolved to take part in all political processes taking place in Armenia. We are a coalition based on a shared commitment to common ideals, and we are determined to remain active within the political domain and to assume a crucial role in every aspect of politics. We are ready to shoulder the responsibility for the state of the nation. Our path does not accept political surrender, easy dissolution, or situational accommodation for any short-term political gain. Liberty and democracy, the rule of law, civic rights and the equality of opportunities and accountability, justice and solidarity have no alternative in Armenia. We have full faith in the integrity of our road to a democratic transformation in the new era.
Who are We? We are Committed to the National Ideal We are advocates of a strong state and a strong government that faithfully serve their citizens, whose supreme value is the individual, his and her rights and personal dignity. The key objective of our statehood is the realization of the historically-cherished Armenian Dream. We are committed to do our utmost to support our nation’s development and advancement. And we are determined to face down any challenge threatening its sovereignty or statehood. Patriotism for us is not an end in itself, nor is it a mere sentiment. It is a way of life and course of action that guides us every day and every hour as a solemn duty and sacred creed. For us patriotism is a calling and a guarantee for a dignified, free, and happy life for one and all in our Homeland. We serve as a pillar of trust in the progress and prosperity of our national home, endorsing each and every step, substantial or small, toward the fulfillment of that promise. We are a force concerned about the challenges that accost our newly independent state and competent to offer our own solutions to them. We are a Democratic Opposition We are the opposition to any and all authoritarian, totalitarian, clan-based, or anti-national authority. We are against the privatization of authority, the imitation of elections, and the settlement of political contradictions by force and violence. We are against the corrupt political and economic system and the unchecked authority of the head of state as stipulated by the terms of the current Constitution. We oppose the appointment of officials on the basis of personal loyalty, as well as the delegation of authority to men in shadows. We are against any conduct of conformity with corruption and bribery. We are against pseudo-patriotism, partisanship, and self-promotion. We are the opposition to any political force of such demeanor and void in values. We are a Consolidated Force for Transformation We are proponents of a modern market economy with a strong social sector and a minimal but efficient regulatory role for the state. Our programs and policies aim to provide a way out of the current state of affairs. They are programs of public and private welfare, pride, and hope for all. We Bear the Best Values of Armenian Culture We are a force in communion with the concerns of the Armenian people, fully cognizant of its will, and in harmony with it. We are the masters and carriers of the Armenian nation’s cultural, spiritual, historical, and political values. All of these are ours, and the contemporary Armenian must be their keeper, cultivator, and developer. We are a Political Force Representing All of Society We represent the interests of the entire Armenian public—rank-and-file citizens, workers of all collars, tillers and servants, doctors and teachers, the intelligentsia in sum, and all other social strata. We do not favor the division of Armenian citizens into allies and aliens based on their speech, association, creed, ethnic background, or other criteria, nor do we support the establishment of political associations based on regional compatriotism.
Our Principles in Politics Many erroneously think that politics are dirty and immoral. They are immoral to the sole extent of their practitioners’ lack of integrity. We will strive by our own example to prove that politics can be ethical and largely untainted. One should embrace politics with a pure spirit and clean hands and with the conviction that the ends do not justify the means. The methods of achieving political goals are as important to us as the ends themselves. Lawfulness must never be subject to expediency. We find it untenable to secure the well-being of a group of people at the expense of others’ suffering, violated rights, and uncertain future. We are against an artificial leveling of society, but at the same time we do not accept that a small elite group of people should bloom and prosper against a backdrop of mass poverty. We consider unethical the offer of false promises to voters; in politics we say and do that which we truly believe. We reject all forms of populism as variations on political dishonesty. Politics must be rational. Every political measure must calculate the prevalent and potential effects on people. Makers of inconsistent foreign and domestic policy, both past and present, must realize that our country is not an experimental field, and each failure could trigger a population exodus by the thousands. Man must exercise one of his most important rights—planning his life—and for that, the democratic process must safeguard political substance. Every individual must be confident of her tomorrow, and the nation of her future. It is past time to put an end to dilettantism. And it is imperative to understand that wealth improperly accumulated is not a sufficient qualification to reach the post of president, minister, or member of parliament, and that the country must not be ruled by the relatives, neighbors, or countrymen of those in power. The nation must be governed by professionals who are not only qualified specialists but also decent individuals in life and human relations, individuals who are faithful to their code of professional conduct and who themselves obey the rules and regulations that they adopt for all.
What are Our Political Perceptions in Foreign Relations? We hold that national sovereignty is the highest value of the Armenian body politic. All of our relations with foreign partners and organizations must flow exclusively from the vital interests of the Republic of Armenia. European integration, bilateral relations with European countries, and Armenia’s accession to the European Union should become the principal directions of Armenia’s foreign and domestic policies. We are adherents of close cooperation with our traditional friends in Russia and other CIS member-states. Our agenda also contemplates the priority of forging a fruitful multidimensional collaboration with our contemporary partner in the United States. In the same vein, we want Armenia to have robust relations with China, India, and its regional neighbors, particularly Iran and the Arab world, Georgia, and Israel. We advocate Armenia’s establishment of neighborly relations with all, and the formation of a peaceful geopolitical environment in the area and the world beyond. It is crucial to strive to solve all outstanding problems with neighbors in a spirit of peace. We concurrently maintain that absolute security cannot come to the region as long as divisive issues, including the legacy of the Genocide, have not found their comprehensive resolution. This entails in particular a complete regulation of Turkish-Armenian relations. Mountainous Karabagh should thrive as a democratic, sovereign entity with the prospect of becoming part of its Motherland under peaceful circumstances. We rule out unilateral concessions, whether qualitative or spatial, in the Karabagh negotiations. We favor a settlement of the Karabagh conflict that:
With What are We Dissatisfied? The key pressing issue facing the newly independent Armenian state is the achievement of true democracy and rediscovery of the national creative edge. Current conditions in Armenia demonstrate that the fundamental principles of the political and public systems are either inoperative or inadequately assessed by the very forces and institutions that are called upon for their implementation. Hence, they are misconstrued, and the reality of the social, political, economic, and cultural life of state and society continues to be distorted. In this connection, solutions to basic issues coalesce into a demand for systemic and conceptual transformation, which requires gradual and long-term realization of the relevant processes. In the guise of democratic and liberal reforms, an oligarchic system of authority has emerged in Armenia. This, like a totalitarian state, is at odds with the public’s expectations. Lack of protection against state arbitrariness, poverty, and lack of confidence in one’s future, regression in matters of science and culture, populist rhetoric and bureaucratic red-tape, corruption and inaccessibility of authorities, imperfection of laws, and society’s inability to impact governmental decisions—these are but a few of the accumulated challenges in modern-day Armenia.
What Do We Want? We want to see Armenia as a civilized and prosperous state that is accepted by democratic countries as one of their own. A state that anchors its domestic and foreign policies in the national interest and underscores the supremacy of human rights, democracy, and other benchmarks and aspirations common to all mankind. We are certain that Armenia shall become such a nation in the days of our lives. We want to make Armenia a state where the supreme value for its citizens and their society is freedom—freedom based on personal initiative, dignity, education, material independence, and a sense of high responsibility for the future of the nation. We want to turn Armenia into a state where the interests of citizen and society are paramount to the personal gains of their leaders; where the public is capable of empowered self-organization and defense of its rights; where each and every one realizes his and her responsibility for the past, present, and future; where the national wealth belongs to all citizens and not just the parochial interests of a few; where people strive for justice and apply the good of social solidarity; where authority is open before society and its main function is the absolute protection of constitutionally-enshrined human and civil rights.
We Propose a Transition From a Society of Mass Poverty to One of Inclusive Security Stable democracy is impossible without an economically secure society. We will never tackle and surmount our various crises unless we eradicate poverty, increase incomes, and reduce social polarization. Liberty and a dignified life are inextricable concepts. We propose to:
From Social Inequality to Social Harmony The peculiarity of the current situation in the social sphere is that the state refuses to assume its constitutionally-mandated obligations. This results in sharpened demographic dilemmas, low wages and pensions, inaccessible health care, and inefficient social welfare. We propose to:
From a Criminal to a Social Market The expansive reach of the shadow economy, the monopolistic standing of circles in the service of the authorities, and the state’s unnecessary interference in the affairs of commerce and business result in social polarization, an increase of distrust in the state, and an uncontrollable rise in prices—all of which impede the legitimate development of entrepreneurship and spur criminality and corruption. We propose to:
From Security for Authorities to Safety for Citizens Crime and terrorism, endemic conflicts of interest and an unjust judicial system, and the arbitrariness of law enforcement and other power structures are the unmistakable manifestations of the fact that in our republic, security for the ruler remains superior to that of the average citizen. We propose to:
From Managed to True Democracy The privatization of national authority and its disfiguration into a business endeavor based on best profit are the adverse consequences of our track record over the last decade. Permissiveness for the privileged, dehumanizing rat races of bureaucracy, various demonstrations of the centralization and “clanization” of authority, restrictions on media freedom, “telephonic” and other varieties of judicial injustice. These constitute the short list of anti-democratic phenomena we confront in our everyday life. In the past years, they have been revealed in magnified form through widespread election falsifications, flagrant violations of citizens’ natural rights, and a blatant disregard for the free expression of their political will. The state will begin to serve society solely under its pressure. We propose to:
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