Opposition rally slams authorities’ foreign, economic policies

Armenian Second TV Channel
Sept 18 2009

Armenian opposition rally slams authorities’ foreign, economic
policies

The opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC) held a sanctioned
rally in central Yerevan today, the state-owned Armenian Second TV
Channel reported on 18 September.

Ararat Zurabyan, the head of the opposition Armenian Pan-National
movement, who led the rally, told the rally that all of the 15 people
who are currently in prison on charges of organizing post-election
riots in March 2008 will be soon released as a result of the
opposition’s struggle, TV said.

The leader of the opposition Republic party, Aram Sargsyan; the leader
of the opposition People’s Party of Armenia, Stepan Demirchyan; and
the ANC leader, former President Levon Ter-Petrosyan, made speeches at
the rally, the Armenian Second TV Channel said. ANC coordinator Levon
Zurabyan spoke about the protocols on the normalization of
Armenian-Turkish ties, TV said.

Ter-Petrosyan criticized the authorities’ foreign, domestic and
economic policies in his about one-and-a-half-hour speech, Armenian
Public TV reported. "Exactly two and a half months have passed since
the ANC’s previous rally. And over that period almost nothing changed
in our country for the better," Armenian Public TV quoted
Ter-Petrosyan as saying.

Levon Zurabyan told the rally that former MP and businessman Khachatur
Sukiasyan, who is charged with organizing the 1 March 2008
post-election riots, was not attending the rally as he had been
summoned to the Special Investigation Service for questioning, the
Lragir.am pro-opposition website reported.

The opposition A1+ website reported on 18 September that police had
restricted access of minibuses and buses to Yerevan from a number of
Armenia’s regions ahead of the opposition rally.