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OPPOSITION TO HOLD RALLY ON MARCH 1

Politics


Though Yerevan Municipal authorities have banned an opposition rally in the city center on the first anniversary of the March 1 deadly clashes, the opposition is going to hold it, representative of the Armenian National Congress (HAK), Spokesman for Armenia’s first President Arman Musinyan announced today. The opposition is likely to rally its supporters outside the Matenadaran institute of ancient manuscripts or Northern Avenue.


Remind that on Monday, February 9, the opposition formally notified the Yerevan mayor’s office about its intention to hold a rally on March 1.


Under Armenia’s law on public gatherings, the municipality has three days to accept or reject an application from a rally organiser. Its failure to respond to applicants in writing within the 72-hour period amounts to an official authorisation of a demonstration.


Musinyan says Artak Zeynalian, the Hanrapetutyun representative, denies receiving any letters from the mayor’s office in due order. “Since we did not get a copy of the decision about the rejection of our application within 72 hours we consider our desire to hold a rally by the Matenadaran to have been accepted. The March 1 rally will therefore go ahead at 3:00 p.m. and be followed by a march to the scene of the clashes between security forces and opposition protesters that left ten people dead,” said Musinyan. The details about the rally will be given later, added Musinyan.


Musinyan also referred to the high-profile trial on the case against seven oppositionists. The ongoing adjournments of the trial evidence that “the authourities do not want to hold an open lawsuit and do their utmost to “mess up” the trial.”


I want to remind that the criminal case has stuck in the authorities’ throats. They fully realise that their spurious attempts are doomed to failure. They take every effort to mislead the trial,” says Musinyan.


Musinyan says they will run for the Yerevan mayor. Generally, they will participate in all processes underway in the city but according to the first president’s spokesman, the issue hasn’t yet been put on the HAK agenda.