We rob you, go to casinos but we keep Karabakh: Authorities justify their stay in power (video)
Addressing the ralliers in Armenia’s Vanadzor city, head of the Armenian National Congress (HAK) faction Levon Zurabyan said their primary goal is to change the authorities in Armenia. He urged everyone to join their mass rally in Yerevan on October 10, fetching with them umbrellas. “Umbrellas have become icons and symbols of Hong Kong's street protests,” he said. Speaking about the 12-point demands submitted by the opposition to the government, Mr Zurabyan said they first of all demand that the authorities put an end to monopolies. “We should join efforts and topple these authorities and create an atmosphere of fair competition in Armenia. We already feel disgust from our words because we have been saying the truth for the hundredth time,” he said. The HAK lawmaker says ‘we are dealing with the same disaster' and the authorities justify their stay in power in the following way: “You are right, we rob you and go to casinos but we keep Karabakh.” Mr Zohrabyan said it was not accidental that he spoke about it. “I have just returned from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) where the Armenian delegation has sustained a humiliating defeat. PACE is preparing a report entitled “Escalation of violence in Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied territories of Azerbaijan” which means PACE already views Karabakh as an occupied territory of Azerbaijan. Never have we come across such a formulation in any international document, and the entire responsibility for this mess lies on our clumsy authorities,” he said. Speaking about Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan’s statement that if the opposition wants to see the repetition the March 2008 deadly clashes, it will never happen, Mr Zurabyan said, “Hovik Abrahamyan and Serzhik Sargsyan, do not frighten us with the March 1 clashes! Where can you escape when people stand up? What mouse hole will you enter?” At the end of his speech, Mr Zurabyan urged the attendees to unite and show [on October 10] their real power for the sake of Armenia’s security, defense and well-being.
