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RALLY TIME: OPPOSITION LEADER WRAPS UP REGIONAL TRIPS AHEAD OF YEREVAN GATHERING
VOTE 2013 | 05.04.13 | 10:23
Photolure
By GOHAR ABRAHAMYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter
Opposition leader Raffi Hovannisian again called for a strong show
of support for his anti-government protests on Thursday as he wrapped
up his grueling four-day tour of Armenian towns and villages to meet
with provincial folks.
The second such tour undertaken by Hovannisian since the disputed
elections of February 18 and third overall this year included stops in
almost every major town of the country - north to south, east to west.
Everywhere the message was one: the presidential ballot was rigged in
favor of incumbent president Serzh Sargsyan and April 9, the day when
Sargsyan is due to be sworn in for a second five-year term, should
see a major protest in Yerevan that will eventually "inaugurate a
new Armenia".
"We will make history together in Liberty Square on April 9," stated
Hovannisian on the first day of his tour in Ararat, repeating the
message in other towns across Armenia.
The opposition leader has also called on the authorities not to dare
raise a hand against the people who, he said, "are peacefully and
constitutionally fighting for their victory".
Hovsep Khurshudian, the spokesman for Hovannisian's Heritage Party,
told ArmeniaNow that since April 1 the opposition leader has visited
all regions of the country and one of the purposes of these trips
was to drum up regional support for the Barevolution.
Hovannisian and his supporters call their current campaign
Barevolution, or Hello Revolution, advocating non-violent methods of
achieving a power change in the country.
"The post-election process has shown that attempts are needed to unite
the whole of the country and not just focus the political process on
and limit it with capital Yerevan," Khurshudyan told ArmeniaNow.
Some political observers have noted that fewer people have been
attending the latest meetings with Hovannisian organized as part of his
provincial outings, which they have linked to certain disappointment
among people with Hovannisian's actions.
But Heritage puts the shrinking attendance at meetings to threats that
were made to opposition activists and supporters by local government
bodies and law-enforcement authorities, as well as closed roads.
"This time the authorities have done everything for people not to
participate in rallies, but in spite of all this there have been
quite a lot of people attending these meetings," said Khurshudyan.
During Hovannisian's latest trips in many places police officers again
warned people against attending what they described as "unauthorized"
meetings. But the Heritage spokesman said the Constitution requires
no authorization for "moving freely and saying hello."
VOTE 2013 | 05.04.13 | 10:23
Photolure
By GOHAR ABRAHAMYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter
Opposition leader Raffi Hovannisian again called for a strong show
of support for his anti-government protests on Thursday as he wrapped
up his grueling four-day tour of Armenian towns and villages to meet
with provincial folks.
The second such tour undertaken by Hovannisian since the disputed
elections of February 18 and third overall this year included stops in
almost every major town of the country - north to south, east to west.
Everywhere the message was one: the presidential ballot was rigged in
favor of incumbent president Serzh Sargsyan and April 9, the day when
Sargsyan is due to be sworn in for a second five-year term, should
see a major protest in Yerevan that will eventually "inaugurate a
new Armenia".
"We will make history together in Liberty Square on April 9," stated
Hovannisian on the first day of his tour in Ararat, repeating the
message in other towns across Armenia.
The opposition leader has also called on the authorities not to dare
raise a hand against the people who, he said, "are peacefully and
constitutionally fighting for their victory".
Hovsep Khurshudian, the spokesman for Hovannisian's Heritage Party,
told ArmeniaNow that since April 1 the opposition leader has visited
all regions of the country and one of the purposes of these trips
was to drum up regional support for the Barevolution.
Hovannisian and his supporters call their current campaign
Barevolution, or Hello Revolution, advocating non-violent methods of
achieving a power change in the country.
"The post-election process has shown that attempts are needed to unite
the whole of the country and not just focus the political process on
and limit it with capital Yerevan," Khurshudyan told ArmeniaNow.
Some political observers have noted that fewer people have been
attending the latest meetings with Hovannisian organized as part of his
provincial outings, which they have linked to certain disappointment
among people with Hovannisian's actions.
But Heritage puts the shrinking attendance at meetings to threats that
were made to opposition activists and supporters by local government
bodies and law-enforcement authorities, as well as closed roads.
"This time the authorities have done everything for people not to
participate in rallies, but in spite of all this there have been
quite a lot of people attending these meetings," said Khurshudyan.
During Hovannisian's latest trips in many places police officers again
warned people against attending what they described as "unauthorized"
meetings. But the Heritage spokesman said the Constitution requires
no authorization for "moving freely and saying hello."