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Zaruhi Postanjyan puts into circulation draft declaration on the right of people to revolt

Politics
zaruhi

Draft Declaration of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia on the Right of the People to Revolt The people are the only source of any power. Power in Armenia belongs to the people. The people exercise their power through free elections, referenda, as well as national and local self-government bodies and officials. This prominent provision of law has been unattainable for the citizens of modern Armenia for a quarter of a century. The public and state government institutes designated for exercise of public authority in Armenia, viz. the president, the government, the parliament, were not formed through free elections and thus are not administered by legitimately authorized officials. Judicial power also has not been formed through legitimate mechanisms, therefore cannot serve the people. The usurpation of power by any organization or individual constitutes a crime. This prominent provision of law has also been violated in Armenia for more than two decades. Usurpation of power has been committed by Levon Ter-Petrossyan, Robert Kocharyan, Serzh Sargsyan and their attendant political organizations. The established system was a relapse into the modified Soviet totalitarian political system and pursued policy contradicting the interest and goals of the Armenian people. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men [public authority], deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends it is the right of the People to alter or to abolish it and to institute a new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” The Armenian people did not bestow legitimate power on Levon Ter-Petrossyan or Robert Kocharyan, or Serzh Sargsyan, or on their attendant National Movement and the Republican Party. They usurped the power. In their fight against the usurpers people have used and exhausted all possible means and are exercising their right to revolt as the last resort. After the April War in 2016 it is the duty of each and every person in Armenia to withstand any order that violates human rights, freedoms and their guarantees, as well as it is their right to use force to be able to prevent aggression. It is the duty of the Armenian society to abolish, through revolt, the political system unbefitting its interest and goals. Through revolt and resistance it is possible to prevent the disaster - Turkish and expansionist attacks threatening the Armenian people with genocide and expatriation anew. The distinguishing characteristics of the revolt and resistance of 2016 are national liberation and national goals – the struggle against colonization, the restoration of territorial integrity and the establishment of democracy and constitutionality. The revolt and resistance of 2016 announce elimination of dependence upon other countries and creation of independent, unified Armenian state. The demand of the revolt is to create independent Armenian statehood based on the principles of national sovereignty, democracy and republicanism. The rule of law envisages guarantees against tyranny, usurpation of power and change in the constitutional order without the consent of the people. The widely-known right to revolt is such a guarantee. Hence, the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia:

  • Expresses solidarity with the demands of the revolt of the “Sasna Dzrer” group,
  • Condemns repressions against the participants of “Sasna Dzrer” national revolt,
  • Calls for immediate release of all prisoners of conscience, as well as abatement of criminal prosecution against them.
Grounds for the Draft Declaration of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia on the Right of People to Revolt  The right to revolt as a natural and unalienable right is an important achievement of the period of Enlightenment later reflected, for the first time, in the US Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of the Great French Revolution in 1789 as a source of law. The norms of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of the Great French Revolution were expanded when being integrated into the Constitution of France in 1793. The lack of respect for the key principles of civil society in Armenia and the violation of the fundamental rights and freedoms of the entire nation are the main causes for laws being paralyzed, thus leading to urgent exercise of the people’s right to revolt against  the Government violating their rights. “Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.[1]” When a Government does not comply with the law, the principle of resistance becomes operational assuming practical importance through exercise of the legitimate and lawful right to revolt and making it an urgent duty. “Let any person who may usurp the sovereignty be instantly put to death by free men”[2]. “Resistance to oppression is the consequence of the other rights of man”[3]. “When the government violates the rights of the people, insurrection is for the people and for each portion of the people the most sacred of rights and the most indispensable of duties”[4]. “Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law”[5]. The right to revolt with a goal of generating resistance against tyranny is an integral part of the legal system of a democratic state. Without exercise of such a legal provision it is impossible to protect human rights in the Republic of Armenia. Before the National Revolt on 17 July 2016, there almost always were persons persecuted and convicted for their political views, but from that day on their number drastically increased, amounting to around a thousand. As of today there are around a hundred citizens officially persecuted for their political views. Some of them were put to jail before 17 July 2016, some of them – during the revolt and upon completion of its first phase. It is obvious that criminal prosecutions are legally groundless, as actions of the persecuted lack constituent elements of offence as envisaged by the criminal law. None of the confined, either before the National Revolt or after it, has been imprisoned on the basis of the law and fair court decisions. During the Revolt the participants of peaceful protests, becoming targets for the authoritarian regime, were subjected to criminal persecution and imprisonment on false charges as supporters of the armed group or organizers and participants of mass disorders, while charges fabricated against the members of “Sasna Dzrer” group included illegal carrying of weapons, taking of hostages and seizing of buildings. However, the real organizers of “mass disorders”, “initiators of armed groups”, as formulated by the regime, are the police of the Republic of Armenia and their attendant criminal civil security squads, and the representatives of the authoritarian regime of Armenia are the ones who have seized weapons and buildings and taken hostages. [1] The Declaration of Independence is the statement adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 4, 1776  Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. [2] Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen from the Constitution of Year I (1793) Let any person who may usurp the sovereignty be instantly put to death by free men. [3] Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen from the Constitution of Year I (1793) Resistance to oppression is the consequence of the other rights of man. [4] Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen from the Constitution of Year I (1793) When the government violates the rights of the people, insurrection is for the people and for each portion of the people the most sacred of rights and the most indispensable of duties. [5] The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) 1948 Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law.