L. Ter-Petrosyan: “I'm addressing the 50,000 here"
"The HAK is fully overseeing the social and political processes taking place in the country," said HAK coordinator Levon Zurabyan during the HAK's rally today.
"The people no longer want to tolerate the existence of this regime," said Zurabyan. He also touched upon the events of March 1 and their significance for Armenia.
"If there was a normal state mindset, talks would begin to get out of the political situation," said Zurabyan and mentioned that there is still time for initiating political dialogue.
"Dialogue with these authorities can begin before the movement gains momentum, but there will not be an opportunity for that later. That is why we have to be resolute during our struggle," said Levon Zurabyan.
In his speech, leader of "Republic" party Aram Sargsyan said he wasn't going to talk about the events of March 1 and their effects.
"I believe that the release of the political prisoners is not up for political bargain," said Sargsyan. The leader of "Republic" party spoke about the events in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya and indicated that changes in ideology and worldviews took place within a month. He also said if the inflation continues, the situation of the country may get out of hand.
"If the authorities want to see positive changes in the country, they have to release the political prisoners and hold special presidential and parliamentary elections," said Aram Sargsyan in closing.
Leader of the People's Party of Armenia Stepan Demirchyan underlined that the events of March 1 wouldn't have taken place if those responsible for the events of 2004 were brought to justice. "These authorities must step down immediately," said Demirchyan.
During Stepan Demirchyan's speech, members of "Heritage" party headed by leader Raffi Hovhannisyan came to the Matenadaran. The members didn't go up to the platform and only told "A1+" that they had come to take part in the rally as citizens.
Following Demirchyan was RA First President Levon Ter-Petrosyan, who presented a declaration consisting of 15 points. Ter-Petrosyan read the declaration and it was approved by a unanimous vote.
Due to the density of the crowd, a 50-year old man started feeling bad during the rally and was immediately transferred to the hospital.
The HAK's next rally will be held on March 17.
The police announced that there were only 10,000 people participating in today's rally.
