Levon Ter-Petrosyan sets deadline
During the opposition's March 1 rally we adopted a package of 15 demands. During the opposition's rally on March 17, we singled out three major demands urging the authorities to release political prisoners, lift the ban on opposition's rallies in Liberty Square and start investigation into the March 1, 2008 murders.
We did we focus on these three demands? We consider them to be the most important as even the PACE co-rapporteurs began to understand that the atmosphere cannot be corrected in Armenia unless these demands are met by the authorities. These are the main factors that poison the political arena in Armenia.
I must also speak about other two important issues which are largely debated in Armenian political circles. One of them refers to the wide-spread belief that the Armenian National Congress has monopolized the opposition. Only Armenians could think that the opposition field can be monopolized by a political force.
How could the HAK monopolize the opposition field -with the help of administrative resources, boundless finances, and information levers? Or should we have turned to foreign forces, intimidate our rivals and send them to prison?
If the HAK has been able to take a dominant position amid escalating political persecution and pursuit, the reasons should be searched for elsewhere.
Yes, today the HAK is a powerful force, capable of leading numerous people and rallying over 100 000 people.
We expect the authorities to meet our three demands before the opposition's next rally set for April 28. If they fail to meet the demands, HAK will be forced to drastically change its tactics. We are not imposing ultimatums but we want to warn that that our patience is not limitless. April 28 will either mark the start of a political dialogue or deepen the gap between the authorities and public.
