Pacific Daily News, GUAM
March 23 2008

Armenian protesters gather on Good Friday

By Frale Oyen

Editor’s note: This story was written on March 22 in Yerevan, Armenia

The protesters returned on Good Friday, the day after the soldiers
left the Armenian capital, Yerevan.

The start of the Easter weekend saw thousands of Opposition
supporters again taking to the streets, silently walking the route
used in earlier protests.

The state of emergency imposed three weeks ago was lifted on March
20.
The following day, Opposition supporters gathered late in the
afternoon to form a human chain across central Yerevan. Some lit
candles. Others held high the pictures of those who had died or who
had been arrested on March 1 when demonstrators, who had been
protesting the outcome of last month’s presidential elections,
violently clashed with police. Eight people died and more than 100
were injured in the confrontation.

According to the official results, Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan, who
garnered nearly 53 percent of the vote, was declared the Republic’s
next president. He replaces outgoing President Robert Kocharyan, who
leaves office on April 9.

Opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan, who came in a far second,
insists the elections were rigged and that he was the rightful
victor.

Although demonstrators and police were determined to avoid a repeat
of the events of March 1, the atmosphere was tense.

No one was sure whether the Good Friday demonstration would spark a
harsh reaction from the security forces, who, dressed in riot gear,
watched silently from the sidelines. Some urged protesters to
disperse. Others filmed those lined along the Northern Avenue in
central Yerevan. Across the street is Liberty Square where hundreds
of Opposition supporters, who had camped out since Feb. 20, were
forcibly ejected on March 1.

Although startled by the heavy police presence, the demonstrators
refused to be cowed.

"We have a right to be here," said 70-year-old Rema Azaturyan. "I am
Armenian. Those who died were Armenians. I should be here."

The demonstrators had gathered along the route to hold a peaceful
vigil for the dead and to call public attention to the more than 100
Opposition figures who have been detained since March 1.

"I am tired of living in fear," said a 52-year-old Teryan resident,
who had been beaten by police while demonstrating outside the French
Embassy and who feared further retaliation should she give her name.
"People think that Armenia is a democratic country but it is not."

Others are not sure what to make of the events that have unfolded
over the past three weeks.

"My soul is aching," said Shushan Kocharyan, 27. "I can’t sleep at
night thinking of what will come after. It worries me. People can’t
speak easily together. We can’t gather. It is terrible. I don’t know
what to do, how to help those families who lost their sons. I can’t
believe that all this is happening here, just near me."

As evening fell and word spread that, despite a few skirmishes, the
Good Friday vigil had ended peacefully, city residents breathed a
collective sigh of relief.

The question now is: What will happen next?

Frale Oyen and her husband, Fredrik, currently live in Yerevan,
Armenia. She worked for the Pacific Daily News from 1989 to 1995. He
works for HSBC Bank.

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