ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
May 4, 2004 Tuesday
Armenian opposition say to refrain from protests until May 14
By Tigran Liloyan
YEREVAN
Armenian opposition will refrain from meetings, marches or other mass
actions and is ready to organize discussions with the government and
political parties on the ways of ending the current crisis, Albert
Bazeyan, one of the leaders of the oppositionist Republic Party, told
a meeting in Yerevan.
Opposition forces took that decision as a sign of respect for the
resolution on the situation in Armenia that the Council of Europe had
issued April 28, he said.
The document contained, among other things, a call for dialogue
between the government and the opposition.
Bazeyan recalled that President Robert Kocharian’s resignation
remained the oppositionists’ chief demand.
He reiterated the claims that Kocharian was an illegitimate leader
since he had come to power due to “amassed electoral violations”.
The authorities say, in the meantime, that the oppositionists are
displaying political extremism and insist that dialogue be held in
the walls of the national parliament.
Despite rainy weather, the meeting gathered about 8,000 participants,
who thronged through the central streets towards the building of the
Prosecutor General’s Office, where they demanded to release from
detention some of the opposition activists.
Police reinforcements were drawn to the Presidential Palace.