L.Zurabyan: “Opposition gives the last chance to the authorities”
Opposition, public and the authorities are preparing for the March 1 rally, coordinator of the Armenian National Congress (HAK) Levon Zurabyan said on February 25.
"On March 1, the opposition has a message to convey to the public: any violence against people will be backfired," Zurabyan told reporters on Friday.
"The authorities are scared of the upcoming rally and take all possible measures, including summoning opposition activists to police stations and calling on them to refrain from any actions. We are starting a season of rallies to show the authorities that the opposition will not allow repetition of March 1, 2008 tragedy," he said.
Zurabyan assesses the domestic developments against the background of anti-government protests in Arab states.
"The international community comes to realize that murders, despots and dictators who use guns against their people have no place in this world. The Libyan clashes are a good example of this," he said.
The HAK representative says that the situation would be different if the international community did not turn a blind eye to the deadly events of March 1, 2008, in Armenia.
"The world was sleeping then and preferred to neglect the deadly clashes taking place in Armenia. For three years, we have led our struggle in full isolation. Thanks God, the international community began to understand that people like Gaddafi and Kocharyan should be brought before The Hague Court."
During the March 1 rally, the opposition will call for extraordinary elections. It will be the last chance for the authorities to resolve the problem peacefully.
Speaking about the meeting of HAK Leader Levon ter-Petrosyan and EU Special Representative for South Caucasus Peter Semneby, Levon Zurabyan said, "During the meeting Levon Ter-Petrosyan said that any tyranny leads to conflicts. Dictatorship is a conflict in itself which arouses a conflict between the regime and people; its explosion is fraught with unpredictable consequences."
"Any conflict can be settled either by peaceful negotiations or war. I am hopeful that the government will have the wisdom to choose the first option. Extraordinary elections are inevitable in Armenia as people are no longer able to tolerate injustice," Zurabyan said.
He labeled the coalition memorandum as a frivolous document aimed at strengthening the authorities.
