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Agence France Presse
September 9, 2011 Friday 5:39 PM GMT
Armenia protesters threaten political unrest
YEREVAN, Sept 9 2011
Around 6,000 protesters rallied in the Armenian capital on Friday,
calling for early elections in the ex-Soviet state and threatening
political unrest if their demands are not met.
The rally's leaders, angered by the arrest last month of an activist
accused of fighting with police, promised more radical demonstrations
if he was not released soon.
"We will be on the road to activating protests and mobilising the
people to force the authorities to hold early elections," Levon
Ter-Petrosian, a former president who leads the Armenian National
Congress opposition bloc, told demonstrators.
Dialogue between the opposition and the authorities began recently for
the first time since 2008, when 10 people died when protesters and
police clashed after disputed presidential elections.
But the talks were suspended after the activist's arrest, and in an
indication of continuing enmity, an opposition newspaper editor who
was briefly jailed for his involvement in the 2008 violence told the
rally to prepare for a potential uprising.
"A revolutionary situation has been created in Armenia. Everyone must
be ready," opposition journalist Nikol Pashinian told protesters.
The opposition bloc is trying to keep up the pressure on the coalition
government led by current President Serzh Sarkisian after winning
political concessions this year following a series of street protests.
But the number of people attending the rally however was significantly
smaller that the post-election protests in 2008, and analysts have
suggested that widespread political unrest is currently unlikely.
The next parliamentary polls are due to be held in the small Caucasus
country in 2012, with presidential elections in 2013, and the
authorities have repeatedly rejected calls to hold them earlier.
Armenia has gone through political and military turmoil since
independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, with a series of disputed
elections and a war with neighbouring Azerbaijan over the region of
Nagorny Karabakh.
September 9, 2011 Friday 5:39 PM GMT
Armenia protesters threaten political unrest
YEREVAN, Sept 9 2011
Around 6,000 protesters rallied in the Armenian capital on Friday,
calling for early elections in the ex-Soviet state and threatening
political unrest if their demands are not met.
The rally's leaders, angered by the arrest last month of an activist
accused of fighting with police, promised more radical demonstrations
if he was not released soon.
"We will be on the road to activating protests and mobilising the
people to force the authorities to hold early elections," Levon
Ter-Petrosian, a former president who leads the Armenian National
Congress opposition bloc, told demonstrators.
Dialogue between the opposition and the authorities began recently for
the first time since 2008, when 10 people died when protesters and
police clashed after disputed presidential elections.
But the talks were suspended after the activist's arrest, and in an
indication of continuing enmity, an opposition newspaper editor who
was briefly jailed for his involvement in the 2008 violence told the
rally to prepare for a potential uprising.
"A revolutionary situation has been created in Armenia. Everyone must
be ready," opposition journalist Nikol Pashinian told protesters.
The opposition bloc is trying to keep up the pressure on the coalition
government led by current President Serzh Sarkisian after winning
political concessions this year following a series of street protests.
But the number of people attending the rally however was significantly
smaller that the post-election protests in 2008, and analysts have
suggested that widespread political unrest is currently unlikely.
The next parliamentary polls are due to be held in the small Caucasus
country in 2012, with presidential elections in 2013, and the
authorities have repeatedly rejected calls to hold them earlier.
Armenia has gone through political and military turmoil since
independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, with a series of disputed
elections and a war with neighbouring Azerbaijan over the region of
Nagorny Karabakh.