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| 13:57:24 | 08-07-2005 | Social |

PRAYER AGAINST SOCIAL CARDS

In half an hour the fate of the people on a sit-down strike opposite the
Government building will be known.

The citizens renouncing the social cards have been on a strike for two weeks
demanding a possibility to receive their old-age pensions and wages without
the cards. To note, they have been deprived of the possibility to receive
pensions for 6 months already.

As always, at 10 a.m. they were gathered opposite the Government building
and waited for the answers to their demands. At about 11:15 a.m. the
representatives of the participants of the meeting entered the building to
hold negotiations. They came out in half an hour. Meanwhile, the
participants who claimed to be believers of the Armenian Apostolic Church
prayed, asking the Lord to save them from `the devilish cards’.

Khachik Stamboltsyan informed those waiting for an answer that
`Representative of the Government Hranoush Kharatyan will go to the Social
Ministry and represent our demands. If they meet our demands, it will mean
that God blessed us and we won’.

According to him, the demands are the same: there are three dangerous
articles in the Law on Individual Data – N3, 6, 13. Two of them must be
eliminated, and the third must be changed. The cards must be without a bar
code, and if there are people who do not want to have it, their individual
data must be processed in another way.

By the way, deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Arayik Petrosyan
claimed that as soon as an agreement is reached, people will get their
old-age pensions. As for legislative reforms, they will take place later.