RAFFI HOVANNISIAN: "ALL PARTIES MUST BE GIVEN EQUAL CONDITIONS FOR
HOLDING FREE AND FEAR ELECTIONS"

YEREVAN, MARCH 9, NOYAN TAPAN. Today everybody, from the ruling forces
to strongest opposing one, speaks about the necessity of holding free
elections. But, as "Zharangutiun" (Heritage) party founder Raffi
Hovannisian stated at the March 9 press conference, to turn speech
into deed, all parties must immediately be given equal conditions
first of all to communicate with the society with the help of media,
and in the second turn, to solve organization issues. He stated that
at present the Zharangutiun" party is not given possibility to open
offices in the marzes and to get halls for meetings with the people.
Touching upon not uniting of the Armenian opposition, R.Hovannisian
mentioned that the life is ahead, and unification of opposing forces
may happen both after the parliamentary elections and on the threshold
of the 2008 president’s elections. He also mentioned that during the
recent months the majority of Armenian TV companies persistently does
not cover his press conferences, and the Public Television selectively
broadcasts only unsuccessful frames. R.Hovannisian sent a "brotherly
and civil" greeting to those who attemp to arise problems of the human
rights, particularly, of protection of the right of liberty of
expression in international instances. In his words, those instances
are really interested in holding free and fear elections in
Armenia. "I want such a generation of journalists which, estimating
its own independence, will stand upper the level of instructions and
orders," R.Hovannisian said.