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Prominent Opposition Activist Nikol Pashinyan Calls for a
`Constitutional Revolution'
09.10.2011 10:22 epress.am
Armenia's administration lasted 74 days without political prisoners,
said Armenian National Congress (HAK) senior representative, chief
editor of local opposition paper Haykakan Jamanak (`Armenian Times')
Nikol Pashinyan at the HAK rally on Friday. Pashinyan, who himself was
imprisoned on political grounds and granted amnesty only recently, was
referring to an Aug. 9 incident involving police and HAK activists
which resulted in several youth activists being detained, one of whom
- Tigran Araqelyan - has not yet been released.
According to Pashinyan, Armenia's authorities have no other way of
speaking other than in the language of torture.
The opposition activist said the situation in Armenia today is
revolutionary since the authorities are unable to resolve the people's
and the country's woes or to ensure development of the country and
democracy. Moreover, the authorities themselves are an obstacle to
this development.
If the authorities are not in a position to resolve these issues,
Pashinyan continued, then the people has to resolve them themselves.
Recall, Pashinyan was arrested in 2008 along with other opposition
activists for their role in the mass unrest following the disputed
presidential election. In a WikiLeaks cable released late last month,
a former US diplomat in Armenia said Pashinyan, `LTP's most radical
lieutenant,' `used extreme rhetoric to exhort protesters to fight.'
`Citizens now have to come out to the square and establish legality
and morality with their own hands. Revolution in Armenia is a vital
necessity, and I call upon each of you to prepare for constitutional
revolution,' he said.
Accoring to Pashinyan, this revolution can become a reality if a
500,000-strong crowd is gathered in (Liberty) Square and gives the
ruling authorities 24 hours to resign.
`We will leave Liberty Square today, but the start of the velvet
revolution will be heralded at one of the rallies soon... Leave today,
[but] return as a revolutionary leader, and herald the start of the
Armenian revolution right here,' he said.
`Constitutional Revolution'
09.10.2011 10:22 epress.am
Armenia's administration lasted 74 days without political prisoners,
said Armenian National Congress (HAK) senior representative, chief
editor of local opposition paper Haykakan Jamanak (`Armenian Times')
Nikol Pashinyan at the HAK rally on Friday. Pashinyan, who himself was
imprisoned on political grounds and granted amnesty only recently, was
referring to an Aug. 9 incident involving police and HAK activists
which resulted in several youth activists being detained, one of whom
- Tigran Araqelyan - has not yet been released.
According to Pashinyan, Armenia's authorities have no other way of
speaking other than in the language of torture.
The opposition activist said the situation in Armenia today is
revolutionary since the authorities are unable to resolve the people's
and the country's woes or to ensure development of the country and
democracy. Moreover, the authorities themselves are an obstacle to
this development.
If the authorities are not in a position to resolve these issues,
Pashinyan continued, then the people has to resolve them themselves.
Recall, Pashinyan was arrested in 2008 along with other opposition
activists for their role in the mass unrest following the disputed
presidential election. In a WikiLeaks cable released late last month,
a former US diplomat in Armenia said Pashinyan, `LTP's most radical
lieutenant,' `used extreme rhetoric to exhort protesters to fight.'
`Citizens now have to come out to the square and establish legality
and morality with their own hands. Revolution in Armenia is a vital
necessity, and I call upon each of you to prepare for constitutional
revolution,' he said.
Accoring to Pashinyan, this revolution can become a reality if a
500,000-strong crowd is gathered in (Liberty) Square and gives the
ruling authorities 24 hours to resign.
`We will leave Liberty Square today, but the start of the velvet
revolution will be heralded at one of the rallies soon... Leave today,
[but] return as a revolutionary leader, and herald the start of the
Armenian revolution right here,' he said.