Interfax News Agency, Russia
June 21 2008

Armenian opposition leader suggests giving hero titles to March 1 victims

YEREVAN June 21

After lengthy talks in Yerevan the authorities have finally agreed to
permit a rally of the Pan-Armenian National Movement led by Armenian
ex-president Levon Ter-Petrossian, the biggest one since the March 1
events

At the rally Ter-Petrossian spoke of the objectives of the event, an
Interfax correspondent reported from the scene.

"The goal is to show to the world community and the authorities that
despite assessments given to the February 19 Armenian presidential
election, the liberal Armenian public defies these elections and does
not recognize Serzh Sargsyan as Armenian president. Secondly, we want
to show to the bureaucrats in the Council of Europe, the European
Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) that the Armenian people are not something of a third class, as
they are accustomed to believe. Armenia’s respectable image has
recently been damaged in the eyes of the international
community. However, this ranking is to a large extent applicable to
the current authorities. Our image, on the opposite, has been raised
thanks to the fight of our people," Ter-Petrossian said.

The main demand of the opposition remains the release of all political
prisoners. "If Serzh Sargsyan fails to release all political prisoners
before the PACE (the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe)
session, I will personally ask the Council of Europe not to raise the
Armenian issue at a PACE urgent meeting and not to impose any
sanctions against our country," the ex-president said.

As regards the current situation in the country, he said: "Since this
situation is the result of the election, the only solution to it is to
hold early parliamentary and presidential elections." Ter-Petrossian
also said he was ready for a dialogue with the authorities, which
however must be based on democratic principles. "We are ready for a
dialogue, but it should be bilateral and should not contain
speculative elements. Why wound not you want a dialogue, what are your
fears? And today you showed your fear by filling Yerevan with troops
and military hardware. Today’s Yerevan is not much different from
Baghdad," the politician said.

As for the March 1 events, the opposition leader said that according
to the media, the opposition rally was dispersed by forces that
included the Nagorno Karabakh riot police. "If these allegations prove
right, then the Karabakh president will be announced persona non grata
in Armenia. By acting legally we will eventually make sure that former
Armenian president Robert Kocharian appears at the Hague Tribunal,"
Ter-Petrossian said.

The situation in Armenia is not easy, because the "Tatar-Mongol regime
opened fire against its own people on March 1. Sooner or later they
will have to be held to account by these people," Ter-Petrossian said.

He suggested that the authorities give posthumous titles of the
National Heroes to all who died on March 1, just like former Russian
president Boris Yeltsin did to the victims of the 1991 Soviet coup
d’etat attempt.

Ter-Petrosian has also urged to renounce a hunger strike as a method
of struggle, saying that the struggle will continue in the form of
rallies. "We do not need permissions for holding rallies, because the
law requiring it is unconstitutional. We will certainly ask the city
authorities merely to observe the formality. But then we will hold our
rallies at any time and any place. Our next rally will take place on
July 4," Ter-Petrosian said.

kk

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress