RADICAL OPPOSITION OPTS FOR COURT ACTION
By Emil Danielyan
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
May 18 2007
Armenia’s most radical opposition groups said they will join more
moderate opposition parties in contesting the official election
results in the court as they again rallied thousands of supporters
in Yerevan on Friday.
The move came as another indication that the Hanrapetutyun and Nor
Zhamanakner parties and the Impeachment bloc will avoid a potentially
violent confrontation with the Armenian authorities for the time
being. Nor Zhamanakner already announced on Thursday that it will
ask the Constitutional Court to annul the official results of the May
12 parliamentary elections that gave a crushing victory to political
allies of President Robert Kocharian.
Hanrapetutyun leader Aram Sarkisian and another prominent
oppositionist, Stepan Demirchian of the People’s Party of Armenia
(HZhK), told about three thousand supporters that they will also file
separate lawsuits.
"We are preparing documents to appeal to the Constitutional Court, and
we will need your support. We have to stand firm and be consistent,"
Sarkisian said in his speech at the rally held in the city’s Liberty
Square.
"I promise all of you, all international observers, the entire world
watching Armenia that we will submit such facts that will leave no
doubts that the elections were rigged," he said, promising a "tough
fight" in Armenia’s top court.
Still, Sarkisian made it clear that he and other radical oppositionists
continue to regard street protests as the main means of political
struggle. "I don’t expect the Constitutional Court to rule in our
favor," he said. "Make no mistake about that. This Constitutional
Court will never make such a decision … In that court, we will
simply prove our righteousness to everyone."
"We will certainly win," declared Nikol Pashinian, a young Impeachment
leader who held a two-day sit-in in the square to try to attract for
the opposition campaign.
The opposition trio have so far failed to pull crowds big enough to
threaten the Kocharian administration’s hold on power. Many opposition
activists and supporters are clearly demoralized by Western observers’
positive evaluation of the authorities’ conduct of the elections.
Also addressing the crowd were Demirchian and Heghine Bisharian,
a leading member of former parliament speaker Artur Baghdasarian’s
Orinats Yerkir Party. The latter also intends to appeal the election
results in the Constitutional Court despite winning more parliament
seats than any other opposition force.
"We will fight with all opposition force for a free and democratic
Armenia," said Bisharian.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
