FOUNDING PARLIAMENT: DEMANDING “ISOLATION” OF ACTIVISTS CALLING FOR APRIL 24 RALLY “NONSENSE”
POLITICS | 20.04.15 | 09:57
A radical opposition group seeking regime change in Armenia has struck
a defiant note responding to the statement by a senior member of the
ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) who said over the weekend that
those who call for holding protests on April 24 should be “isolated”.
Vahram Baghdasaryan, the leader of the RPA’s parliamentary faction,
said in an interview with RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on Saturday that
the ruling party was not afraid of the challenge launched by the
Founding Parliament, but still considered that “the people who have
Armenian names in their passports, but show such an attitude towards
April 24, should be isolated.”
Baghdasaryan was reacting to the appeals made by activists of the
Founding Parliament during a Friday rally in Yerevan’s Liberty Square.
They, in particular, said that despite the arrests of five leading
members of the group they were determined to launch nonstop
anti-government rallies on the day when large-scale public events
are planned in Yerevan to mark the Armenian Genocide Centennial.
The Founding Parliament members and supporters emphasized, however,
that their protests were not intended to diminish the significance
of the day, but were only aimed against the current regime that they
consider to be “antinational”.
In a statement released on Sunday the Founding Parliament voiced
concerns that the statement made by the senior representative of the
governing party could mean more persecution of its members in the
coming days.
“Making a demand to isolate those who call for a rally on April 24 is
a nonsense both politically and legally, as holding a rally is a right
guaranteed by the Armenian Constitution and international treaties,”
the group said.
“No illegal step and repression on the part of the regime can stop
the course of the movement,” the Founding Parliament concluded.
Authorities in Yerevan approved the Founding Parliament’s bid to hold a
rally in Yerevan on April 24, but suggested that it gather its members
in the area near the Erebuni Museum on the outskirts of the city.
Still, there appears to be an overwhelming body of opinion in Armenia
and across its political spectrum that no political protests should
be held on the day when the nation will be mourning the deaths of
1.5 million Armenians in Ottoman Turkey on the 100th anniversary of
the Genocide.