On December 28, 1994, RA President Levon Ter-Petrosyan announced the temporary suspension of the Armenian Revolutionary Alliance Party. The reason was that the security bodies discovered the "Dro" terrorist organization in the ARF, which had already committed several murders. Moreover, the activities of the ARF in Armenia did not comply with the Law on Socio-Political Organizations. The structure was also accused of drug trafficking.

In his press conference on January 11, 2008, Ter-Petrosyan addressed the reasons for the suspension of the ARF. Radar Armenia presents an excerpt from Levon Ter-Petrosyan's press conference.

"One of the most basic accusations against me was that during my rule, a party was closed, newspapers were closed, and trials were held. Everything is correct. We were closed, and rehearsals took place. However, this fact does not mean a crime or felony. It is necessary to determine why they were closed and whether they were approached by law. In all countries of the world, there are laws on the activity of parties, which provide for cases of termination of their training. These laws have been implemented in many countries, such as Spain, Russia, etc. In Germany, the activity of parties carrying communist or Nazi ideology is generally prohibited. But no one thinks to say that these are not democratic countries or that their authorities have committed a crime. If there is a law, then it can be enforced. According to Armenian legislation, it can be closed if the party violates the law. There needs to be some clarification of terms here. Dashnaktsutyun was not closed, but its activities were only temporarily suspended. Six months were given to bring the party's activities into line with the current law of Armenia.

The question was straightforward. According to our law, parties' leadership cannot be composed of foreigners. Most of the governing bodies of Dashnaktsutyun, the bureau, and the congress were Diaspora Armenians. This was the problem. The court did not accuse that party of either drug dealing or terrorism. For some reason, people unwittingly mix history, confuse, create an impression and atmosphere, and then make attributions.

One accusation was presented to Dashnaktsutyun, demanding to correct the statutory disorder. Its activity was temporarily stopped by the president's decree and the court's decision. Thus, the effect of my decree lasted ten to fifteen days. I had that right. At that time, although there was still no constitution, there was a constitutional law on the president of Armenia.

The president was given the right to apply some restrictions on constitutional freedoms in situations involving danger to the state. The decree, as it was said, was followed by the second legal action, the court ruling, in which the party was required to comply with the law of Armenia within six months.

However, that demand still needs to be fulfilled by Dashnaktsutyun on time.

In 1997, I, on my initiative, started negotiations with Dashnaktsutyun to resolve this issue. Three rounds of talks took place. The Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to the United States of America, Shugaryan, on my behalf and my behalf, applied to the Dashnaktsutyun Bureau with a proposal to start negotiations on reopening the party. The subject of the problem was not political compliments but legal solutions to restore the activities of Dashnaktsutyun in Armenia.

Thus, the first round of negotiations took place in Washington, the second in Yerevan, in which Babken Ararktsyan, Alexander Arzumanyan, and Shahen Karamanukyan participated on our side, the third in Amsterdam, led by Alexander Arzumanyan. Unfortunately, due to the change of government, that process continued.

But that, in the end, it had its result.

Today, Dashnaktsutyun has brought its charter into line with the law of Armenia. It is the creation of the Supreme body, which did not exist in the 120 years of the Federation's activity. This was the legal solution found by the joint efforts of the state and the Federation, a solution in which we also have a stake.

As for the assessments and accusations that have been made regarding the relations between our government and Dashnaktsutyun, they are purely political. Meanwhile, the issue should be considered on a legal level because the presidential decree and court rulings are legal acts.

By the way, regarding the trial in the "Dro" case, they say that the court did not prove the guilt of Dashnaktsutyun. The preliminary investigation and the prosecution did not bring any charges against Dashnaktsutyun. Accusations were brought against specific individuals for specific crimes.

There was no federal trial in Armenia. Therefore, since we are talking about purely legal acts, the existing questions regarding their legality should be resolved only by lawful means. If people think the court's decision was wrong, they must go back to the court for a review or an acquittal. There is no other way.

I recently learned that Robert Kocharyan canceled my decree of December 1994. But there wasn't a need for that. That decree was invalid from the moment of the court ruling. In other words. after just fifteen days, that decree was no longer effective. My approach to any legal issue (including the 1996 elections) is this. Disputes related to legal matters are resolved exclusively through legal processes. If there are such processes, I will only be happy."