ARF INITIATES PROTESTS AGAINST ARMENIAN-TURKISH PROTOCOLS

Yerkir
15.09.2009 16:02
Yerevan

A sit-in demonstration and a hunger strike, organized by the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation Supreme Body of Armenia, began outside the
buildings housing the Cabinet and the Foreign Ministry this afternoon.

The participants chanted "No to the preconditions" and "Nalbandian
leave" before starting their demonstration.

ARF Supreme Body representative Armen Rustamian told those gathered
outside the House of Government that the sit-in and the hunger strike
will go on until the contents of the Protocols is amended.

"These demonstrations are meant to reject the pre-conditions forced
on us, and demand that the provisions of the document that jeopardize
the Armenian interests are reviewed," Rustamian said. "No matter how
hard the government is trying to say that there are no pre-conditions
in the document, we believe it serves the Turkish interests. The say
the Kars Treaty is not mentioned in the protocols; then why does it
say that we recognize the borders? These borders are described only
in the 1921 Kars Treaty, no other treaty speaks of the borders."

Vahan Hovhannisian, a member of the ARF Bureau and the leader of
the ARF faction in parliament, said the protests will continue as
long as needed. He said he didn’t rule out the possibility of using
force against the participants o f the demonstration, saying, however,
that there will be adequate retaliation. Hovhannisian will also join
the hunger strike.

Kiro Manoyan, the director of the ARF Bureau’s Hay Dat and Political
Affairs Office, said the authorities have no intention to amend
the protocols and that they are trying to impose their opinion on
the people.

"We are not given a chance to present our concerns to the people,"
he said. "There are two key provisions that raise our concerns:
the recognition of the borders and the establishment of a commission
tasked with history issues that would enable Turkey to discuss the
issue of the Genocide."