ARMENIAN OPPOSITION DEMANDS FRESH ELECTION AT RALLY – TV

Armenian Public TV
July 4 2008

[Presenter speaking over video of the rally] The rally of supporters of
Levon Ter-Petrosyan started today with a 45-minute delay. Ter-Petrosyan
came to the tribune at 1930 [local time; 1430 gmt] accompanied by
the leader of the People’s Party of Armenia, Stepan Demirchyan,
and the leader of the Republic Party, Aram Sargsyan.

Seven speeches and four statements were planned. Suren Surenyants
[a top member of the opposition Republic Party], who was leading the
rally, said that the Russian union of their [probably of the opposition
Popular Movement] movement has joined them, which like other speakers
at the rally has demanded the conduct of an extraordinary election.

The publicist Tigran Paskevichyan, and the member of the Heritage
Party, Zoya Tadevosyan, have made speeches. They have criticized
the latest resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe [which said that the Armenian government has made certain
progress in carrying out the recommended democratic reforms]. The
deputy chairperson of the People’s Party of Armenia, Grigor
Harutyunyan, and Ter-Petrosyan’s former spokesman, Levon Zurabyan,
have made speeches as well. The speakers said that a few supporters
of Ter-Petrosyan, as a sign of protest, are going to start a sit-in
protest action until the next rally. The rally is not over at the
moment; Levon Ter-Petrosyan is making a speech now. We will broadcast
the full information on the rally in our night bulletin.