NATIONAL MOVEMENT’S JUNE 20 RALLY TO TAKE PLACE NEAR MATENADARAN
Noyan Tapan
Ju ne 18, 2008
YEREVAN, JUNE 18, NOYAN TAPAN. The National Movement’s rally scheduled
for June 20 will take place near Matenadaran. Levon Zurabian, a
representative of the Movement, the former Spokesperson of the first
RA President, informed journalists about it on June 18.
He said that it had been announced about holding a rally on June 20
in Liberty Square with the agenda of discussion of the process of
fulfilment of the requirements of PACE Resolution N 1609 as far back
as on May 12. However, the Mayor’s Office rejected L. Ter-Petrosian’s
application with the motivation of holding an event under the title
Little Citizen of Yerevan in Liberty Square on that day.
In total, as L. Zurabian mentioned, after the March 1 events the
authorities have rejected 45 applications on holding a rally submitted
by the National Movement. L. Ter-Petrosian’s representative applied to
the court with the lawsuit of invalidating the rejection of the last
application, but, according to him, the court passed an "obviously
unfair" resolution.
L. Zurabian said that the Movement condemns the attempt to use children
for political purposes. "Keeping Liberty Square surrounded for more
than three months, the administration cowardly hid itself behind the
troops and police forces. Now it has gone further and has decided
to take an extremely immoral step, to hide itself behind children,"
the National Movement’s statement read.
As the Movement is not able to gather its supporters in
Liberty Square, the rally will take place in the territory near
Matenadaran. L. Zurabian said that the organizers have proposed the
authorities appointing official representatives of Mayor’s Office and
Police, who, constantly keeping in touch with the Movement leaders,
will ensure the natural course of the rally. Representatives of
foreign Embassies and international organizations have been invited
for participating in the rally and observing it.
Excluding a conflict between the authorities and the opposition,
L. Zurabian said that the Movement leaders will do their best to
control the process of the rally. "Unless we manage to control the
people, the responsibility cannot fall on us," he stated.