Lyudmila Ter-Petrosyan: We have a tradition of celebrating the holiday together (video)
March 8 began with congratulations and wishes for peace and happiness in the family of Armenian first President Levon Ter-Petrosyan. “Of course, he did not say a long speech. We just have a tradition of celebrating the holiday with our family members. Levon Ter-Petrosyan loves women very much. He loves me and his granddaughter, Lucia. That is why we received the first congratulates from him,” Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s wife, Lyudmila Ter-Petrosyan, said to A1+. The electoral alliance set up by Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s Armenian National Congress (HAK) and Stepan Demirtchyan’s People’s Party of Armenia (HZhK) celebrated March 8 under the slogan “Women for Peace.” The event was also attended by the bloc’s candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections. March 8 is a double holiday for HAK member Aram Manukyan who celebrates his birthday today. “When I was a schoolboy, I was ashamed that I was born on this day. But when I grew up I understood that it is an advantage, a gift from God,” he said. March 8 was removed from the calendar as a day of protection of working women's rights in the 1990s when the Pan-Armenian National Movement (HHSh) was in power. “We did a wrong thing, I admit our mistake. At least, the current authorities have done something good; they have restored the holiday. This is indeed a national holiday,’ Mr Manukyan said. The bloc’s candidates also gave flowers to the participating women, noting that the Movement would not be so strong in 1988 but for its female leaders and key figures. “I do not understand why we should congratulate women on March 8. We should congratulate ourselves for enjoying the happiness and love the source of which are women,” said Levon Zurabyan. “Women affiliated with the HAK and HZhK have always been active and even selflessly fought for justice,” added HZhK leader Stepan Demirtchyan. Women candidates make up more than 50 percent of the bloc’s proportional representation list. Being mothers, women have always longed for peace, remaining a symbol of peace themselves.
