ARMENIAN OPPOSITION PARTY CRITICAL OF DASHNAKS’ ANTI-TURKISH PROTEST PLANS

ArmInfo News Agency (in Russian)
Aug 29 2008
Armenia

Yerevan, 29 August: "The authorities are obliged to provide conditions
to all political forces for holding rallies. I respect the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation – Dashnaktsutyun’s [ARFD] right to hold
rallies, however, I assess negatively a possible anti-Turkish protest,"
a top member of the opposition Republic Party, Suren Surenyants,
told journalists at the Tesaket club today.

He said that on the one hand, the ARFD joins the governing coalition,
on the other hand, it is critical of the president’s initiative to
invite the Turkish president to a football match in Yerevan. "If the
Turkish president’s arrival in Yerevan is so important for the ARFD,
then let them withdraw from the governing coalition and criticize
the president," Surenyants said.

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation – Dashnaktsutyun intends to
stage a rally on 2 September on the independence day of the Nagornyy
Karabakh republic. ARFD representatives have also repeatedly stated
their intention to hold a protest in case the Turkish president arrives
in Yerevan. The Yerevan mayor’s office did not sanction the 2 September
rally of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation – Dashnaktsutyun.