Robert Kocharyan says that if elected prime minister of Armenia on June 20, one of his priorities will be to restore the combat capabilities of the country’s armed forces.

Kocharyan, who served as Armenian president from 1998-2008, leads the newly formed Hayastan (Armenia) bloc that will field a slate of candidates in the June 20 snap parliamentary election. (The Hayastan bloc includes the ARF - Dashnaktsutyun and the recently created Reviving Armenia party.)

During a live broadcast today, alliance representatives presented the general platform of the Hayastan bloc, focusing on education, healthcare and culture.

The bloc’s platform is entitled “365 Days. The Future Starts Today”.

Representatives, in turn, approached the microphone while an audience of supporters sat silently in the large hall, clapping after each presenter wrapped up their ten-to-fifteen-minute speeches.   

Kocharyan said a powerful military is needed to maintain “a dignified peace”.

Turning to the National Security Service, Kocharyan said the agency will no longer serve as a government tool to harass the political opposition. Kocharyan supporters accuse the government of using intimidation tactics against them.

"The NSS should again deal with the security issues of the country, and not carry out stupid tasks, such as looking for the devil, checking cash register receipts or persecuting the opposition,” Kocharyan said.

Former Armenian Deputy PM Armen Gevorgyan opened today’s program by saying that the Hayastan bloc seeks to consolidate all possible resources of the country, parties and individuals alike, to revitalize and reform the country.

Gevorgyan confessed that the bloc’s platform is general in nature, lacking many specifics, because members still do not know the depth and details about the problems facing the country.

"As a basic strategic idea, we must state that the greatest capital of our country is the human being. This should be the cornerstone of our long-term development perspective. Only in this way can we create a modern and secure state. In the last 3 years, one of the biggest failures has taken place in this issue - the devaluation of a person as the highest value, the most expensive capital,” said Gevorgyan, who also served as the Secretary of Armenia’s Security Council during Kocharyan’s presidency.

Independent MP Anna Grigoryan, who serves as Deputy Chairman of the Reviving Armenia party, presented the general outlines of the bloc’s education agenda, saying that education and science would be key priorities if they come to power.

“In parallel with an increase of salaries, the state must ensure that teachers continue to grow professionally. The state must not scrimp on school and education,” Grigoryan said.

The bloc plans to increase funding for science, technology, rhetoric, mathematics and Armenian Studies by up to 50% per student.

Turning to healthcare, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Armen Charchyan, said that is necessary to develop a national health development program, assessing the personnel and material-technical potential both in the short and long terms.

Charchyan said the health sector must prepare to meet the challenges posed by possible future military conflict.

He claimed that Armenia’s healthcare system would meet European standards over the next five years if the Hayastan bloc governs the country.

ARF Supreme Council member Lilit Galstyan, speaking about the role of culture, said that a Hayastan bloc government would increase financial support to cultural institutions and would intensify work to preserve historical and cultural monuments.

She said that the potential of the diaspora will be realized, and that the government will support organizations working to preserve Armenian identity.

Galstyan said the Hayastan bloc would restore a separate Ministry of Culture.