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HOVANISSIAN PROMISES NEW SET OF RALLIES
http://asbarez.com/113161/hovanissian-promises-new-set-of-rallies/
Friday, August 23rd, 2013
Raffi Hovanissian at Friday's rally in Yerevan
YEREVAN (RFE/RL)-Opposition party leader Raffi Hovannisian rallied
hundreds of supporters in Yerevan on Friday in what he called the
start of a new campaign of street protests aimed at changing Armenia's
government.
Hovannisian said that Armenian opposition and civic groups can achieve
regime change and thereby "save our country" as early as this year if
they join forces. "We can't carry on like this," he said. "We all know
that separately ... we won't achieve anything. That is why I propose
that we change our approach and methodology before it's too late."
"We must do it together and we must do it this year," the leader of
the Zharangutyun (Heritage) party told supporters in Yerevan's Liberty
Square. He said this applies to not only the opposition but also youth
activists demonstrating against higher public transport prices and
university tuition fees as well as veterans of the Nagorno-Karabakh
war campaigning for pension rises.
Hovannisian, who was President Serzh Sarkisian's main challenger
in last February's presidential election, announced that he will
hold another rally in the square on August 29 before heading to the
northern cities of Gyumri and Vanadzor the following day. He said he
will then proceed to the southern Syunik province to campaign for a
Zharangutyun candidate running for parliament.
"By September 23 we will have a new situation in Armenia," declared
Hovannisian.
Hovannisian already tried to bring the Sarkisian administration to
resign with street protests after the disputed presidential election,
which he says was rigged by the authorities. That campaign fizzled out
amid a lack of support shown by other opposition parties. The latter
complained that Hovannisian never came up with a clear plan of actions.
Those opposition groups made similar arguments when they responded
to Hovannisian's invitations to join his latest "civil assembly" in
Liberty Square. None of their representatives attended Friday's rally.
Hovannisian downplayed their absence. "My impression is that the
coming weeks and months will see a process of coordination," he told
journalists. "I know that that will be difficult, but broadly speaking,
everyone realizes that Armenia needs big changes."
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutiun), another
major opposition party, on Friday likewise announced plans to try to
consolidate the opposition for a new anti-government effort. Armen
Rustamian, a Dashnaktsutiun leader, accused the authorities of leading
the country to ruin.
"If they think that they have four or five years' time they are badly
mistaken," Rustamian told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).
"The trends which we can now see in the society can generate force
majeure situations. And I'm not even talking about external challengers
that are already visible."
From: Baghdasarian
http://asbarez.com/113161/hovanissian-promises-new-set-of-rallies/
Friday, August 23rd, 2013
Raffi Hovanissian at Friday's rally in Yerevan
YEREVAN (RFE/RL)-Opposition party leader Raffi Hovannisian rallied
hundreds of supporters in Yerevan on Friday in what he called the
start of a new campaign of street protests aimed at changing Armenia's
government.
Hovannisian said that Armenian opposition and civic groups can achieve
regime change and thereby "save our country" as early as this year if
they join forces. "We can't carry on like this," he said. "We all know
that separately ... we won't achieve anything. That is why I propose
that we change our approach and methodology before it's too late."
"We must do it together and we must do it this year," the leader of
the Zharangutyun (Heritage) party told supporters in Yerevan's Liberty
Square. He said this applies to not only the opposition but also youth
activists demonstrating against higher public transport prices and
university tuition fees as well as veterans of the Nagorno-Karabakh
war campaigning for pension rises.
Hovannisian, who was President Serzh Sarkisian's main challenger
in last February's presidential election, announced that he will
hold another rally in the square on August 29 before heading to the
northern cities of Gyumri and Vanadzor the following day. He said he
will then proceed to the southern Syunik province to campaign for a
Zharangutyun candidate running for parliament.
"By September 23 we will have a new situation in Armenia," declared
Hovannisian.
Hovannisian already tried to bring the Sarkisian administration to
resign with street protests after the disputed presidential election,
which he says was rigged by the authorities. That campaign fizzled out
amid a lack of support shown by other opposition parties. The latter
complained that Hovannisian never came up with a clear plan of actions.
Those opposition groups made similar arguments when they responded
to Hovannisian's invitations to join his latest "civil assembly" in
Liberty Square. None of their representatives attended Friday's rally.
Hovannisian downplayed their absence. "My impression is that the
coming weeks and months will see a process of coordination," he told
journalists. "I know that that will be difficult, but broadly speaking,
everyone realizes that Armenia needs big changes."
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutiun), another
major opposition party, on Friday likewise announced plans to try to
consolidate the opposition for a new anti-government effort. Armen
Rustamian, a Dashnaktsutiun leader, accused the authorities of leading
the country to ruin.
"If they think that they have four or five years' time they are badly
mistaken," Rustamian told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).
"The trends which we can now see in the society can generate force
majeure situations. And I'm not even talking about external challengers
that are already visible."
From: Baghdasarian