PRESS RELEASE
RAFFI HOVANNISIAN HEADQUARTERS
31 Moscovian Street
Yerevan, Armenia
Tel.: (+374 – 10) 53.69.13
Fax: (+374 – 10) 53.26.97
Email: [email protected]
Website:
16 April 2013
APRIL 9, 2013 – AN ACCOUNTING
One week has passed since the April 9 inauguration of a New Armenia.
Other political forces–and the media and analysts retained by
them–have had ample opportunity to circulate their own version of
events, often relying on misinformation and downright lies. We shall
not compete with them. We do feel, however, that we must give a brief
accounting to our people.
This is what happened on April 9, 2013.
At 12pm, as Serzh Sargsyan takes a false oath on the Bible in the
company of an elite entourage, Raffi K. Hovannisian presides over a
massive assembly of citizens at Liberty Square. more than 60,000
Armenians raise their right hand for the inauguration of a New
Armenia. They dissolve their bonds with the illegally elected
authorities and vow to struggle peacefully for democracy.
Raffi Hovannisian announces that a concert will soon begin and asks
that the Armenians reconvene at 6pm for a march through the streets of
their capital. He descends into the crowd, where he is met with the
voice of the people, which says: `Let us march now.’ Within five
minutes Hovannisian is at the podium again to announce that he will
listen to the voice of the people–he will walk with them now.
Hovannisian leads the Armenians down to Republic Square and then to
the statue of Miasnikyan–the setting of the tragedies of March 1,
2008, where he lays flowers and vows `Never again’–and then up to St.
Hovhannes Church, where he lights a candle, and then on Proshyan
Street toward Baghramyan Boulevard.
The people are stopped at the intersection of Proshyan and
Demirchyan–just on the other side of the walls of the presidential
dacha–by a police barricade reinforced by special units. After
refusing to grant access to Proshyan or Demirchyan streets, the police
eventually retract, giving passage to Hovannisian and his followers on
Demirchyan and down beside the Tumanyan House Museum (`Aprek erekhek
bayts mez pes chaprek’) and to Liberty Square.
There the concert is already finished, and Raffi Hovannisian announces
to the crowd that he will return at 6pm for the previously announced
march. Hovannisian leaves Liberty Square to organize his MPs to follow
reports of arrests and visit detained protestors in several police
precincts and to demand their release.
At 6pm a huge crowd has gathered again at Liberty Square. Raffi
Hovannisian announces publically that he will march up Baghramyan
Boulevard, pass the presidential office at Baghramyan 26, and lead his
people to Tsitsernakaberd to light candles for the 1.5 million who
were murdered in 1915 and the 1.5 million who have since 1991 chosen
to leave their country but who must and will return.
Hovannisian marches out of Liberty Square and toward Mashtots
Boulevard, where a police barricade has been set. Calling the
barricade unconstitutional, Hovannisian is the first to break through
the barricade. He leads the people onto the street. They march up
Mashtots and veer left on Baghramyan and proceed beyond the
intersection of Baghramyan and Saryan, where another police barricade
is set, but this one more strongly enforced by various special units.
After demanding that the Armenian people’s right to walk peacefully be
restored, and being refused again and again, Hovannisian begins to
walk into the barricade. He is on the frontline, alongside his wife
and son, his team, and supporters.
The police begin to push back the citizens, often using excessive
force. Several policemen beat Armen Martirosyan and smash his nose.
Arrests are made. Hovannisian is thrown to the ground. But he
continues on his knees to push through the barricade. His wife is
smashed between police shields and is cast to the ground. Her knees
are torn and bloody. She and her husband and son are stampeded by the
police, who continue to push and beat the Armenians. Hovannisian gets
up from the ground, defiant. He walks for the barricades again.
The chief of police now appears, and Raffi reaffirms his demand to him
and the generals gathered there. He pushes into them again. By this
time more special units have been brought. People continue to be
beaten and arrested. Seeing the violence around him, and the
disintegrating chaos (professional, government-sent provocateurs are
everywhere, untouched by the police), Hovannisian decides to lead his
people to Tsitsernakaberd using another route–through Saryan.
Hovannisian turns his back on the police and walks through the thick
crowd and toward Saryan with his bloody and bare-footed wife and son
and supporters. The chief of police and many of the police and much of
the crowd follow him.
At this time there is an organized campaign of misinformation.
Government men whisper that Raffi is now negotiating with the chief of
police and that he will be back soon. For this reason, thousands of
people, including many among Hovannisian’s team–Zaruhi Postanjyan,
Styopa Safaryan, Hovsep Khurshudyan, Tevan Poghosyan, David
Sanasaryan, and others–stay behind. They, too, assume that Raffi will
be back. They stand between the people and the police.
But the fact is that Hovannisian is walking to Tsitsernakaberd, with
thousands of people behind him. Almost at Tsitsernakaberd, as he
demands from the chief of police that all arrested protestors be
released, Hovannisian learns that thousands of people are still at
Baghramyan, and are defying police orders to move out of the street.
Individual activists are making speeches, and Hovannisian tells
Postanjyan to tell the people that he will come back to handle the
situation.
Immediately after lighting candles and praying with fellow citizens at
Tsitsernakaberd, Raffi urgently returns to Baghramyan to lead his
people. He rushes to the front lines again and faces the barricade
again, demanding that the right of passage be allowed. This is the
third time on April 9 that Hovannisian and his supporters have
demanded to walk on Baghramyan, and Hovannisian asserts to the chief
of police and generals and citizens that he will not move out of the
way and he will not tell his people to go home. The road must be
opened; the citizens shall walk.
Hovannisian stands firmly with his people until eventually the police
retract their previous statements that it is impossible to walk on
Baghramyan that day, and allows Hovannisian to lead his march up
Baghramyan.
In front of the presidential palace, the Armenians stand to sing `Mer
Hayrenik’ together. Then they proceed peacefully to Proshyan, walking
the exact reverse of the route they had wanted to walk earlier in the
day. They make a left at Demirchyan, right on Baghramyan, and return
to Liberty Square. There Raffi announces to the Armenian people that
the struggle will continue until victory.
ANALYSYS
Despite Hovannisian’s best efforts blood was spilled on the streets of
Yerevan. But it was his own blood, his wife’s blood, Armen
Martirosyan’s blood, and the blood of his closest supporters. And he
did everything to prevent any violence of a larger-scale. And he was
always on the frontlines–a true leader of his people.
Several times that day the police bowed to the people’s will–they
said they would not allow citizens to walk on Demirchyan around
2:30pm, then they did allow; they said citizens would not be allowed
on Baghramyan at 10pm, then they did allow–and, at the end of the
day, all protestors were released from police precincts.
On April 9, 2013, Raffi Hovannisian revealed his faith and dedication
to our struggle. He was, on the one side, a true president of the
people–administering the oath of unity and declaring the principles
of a struggle that is based on peace, but at the same time a
principled rejection of false authority. And he proved himself to be a
warrior: willing to struggle, to be on the frontlines, to stand
always–in body and spirit–as the leader of the people.
Raffi Hovannisian Headquarters
16 April 2013
Yerevan