HOVHANNES HOVHANNISIAN: YEAR 2008 WILL BE WRITTEN IN ARMENIA’S HISTORY AS A BLACK YEAR

NOYAN TAPAN

Dec 23, 2008
YEREVAN

Hard and tragic events happened in 2008, and year 2008 will be written
as a black year in Armenia’s history.

Hovhannes Hovhannisian, the leader of the Liberal Progressive Party
of Armenia, stated at the December 23 press conference dedicated to
summing up the 2008 political year.

According to him, 2008 started with a great people’s awakening, which
however finished with the March 1 and 2 terrible slaughter. "It was
an unprecedented crime against their own people. As far as I know,
no country member of Council of Europe has experienced such events,"
H. Hovhannisian stated.

He said that a new political category, political prisoners, appeared
in Armenia after the March 1 events, which make Armenia similar with
Chile in the 70-s. Meanwhile, according to him, all efforts of the
authorities aimed at exterminating people’s struggle were in vain:
the Armenian National Congress uniting 16 political parties, dozens of
NGOs, thousands of people became really a mighty political institution,
which will be a serious guarantee for establishment of democracy.