Al Jazeera – Qatar
October 10, 2014 Friday 10:01 PM GMT
Thousands attend Armenia opposition rally
by: Cajsa Wikstrom
Protesters in the Armenian capital accuse the President of failing to
address corruption and call for his resignation.
Yerevan, Armenia – Thousands of people have gathered in the Armenian
capital to protest against the government, accusing it of failing to
address corruption, in the largest such demonstration in years.
Over 10,000 protesters rallied in Yerevan’s Freedom Square on Friday,
brought together by three of the country’s major opposition parties,
following a series of smaller demonstrations over the past two weeks
in cities across the country.
In between speeches by party representatives, protesters chanted
“Serzh, leave,” calling on the country’s president, Serzh Sargsyan,
who was re-elected in 2013, to quit.
“I’m tired of this government. It’s only working for itself, not the
people,” said Ashot Petrosyan, 61, who came to show his support for
the protest in front of the city’s iconic opera house.
Maria Titizian, managing editor of CivilNet, an independent online TV
station, said besides the large number of protesters, what made
Friday’s rally unusual was that three parties from Armenia’s normally
fragmented opposition came together.
“We’ve come to a point where a majority of the population is really
dissatisfied with the quality of living and the level of impunity and
corruption, and they’re desperate for change,” Titizian said.
“My concern is that changing the people on the top is not going to
bring fundamental change, unless there is fundamental institutional
change, impunity is eradicated and there is rule of law in the
country. We’ve had several cases of high-level politicians getting
away with crimes, just being assigned other portfolios,” she added.
Economic malaise
The small country in the Caucasus, that became independent in 1991
after the fall of the Soviet Union, is plagued by persistent
unemployment and low wages that push thousands of people to leave
every month.
“The level of emigration is a catastrophe,” said Lousineh Navasartian,
29, who stood near the front of the protesters. “And there’s
corruption at every level of society.”
In addition to general discontent with the government and the
president, the opposition is rallying against constitutional
amendments proposed by the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK)
party.
The opposition says that the purpose of the reform is to allow
Sargsyan to become a powerful prime minister after completing his
second and final presidential term in 2018.
“If the constitution is changed, the current government will just
expand its life cycle,” protester Petrosyan said.
Sargsyan’s HHK and an opposition party that has not joined the latest
protests, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun),
argue that the proposed amendments, that will limit the sweeping
presidential powers, are critical for Armenia’s democratisation.
Official results gave Sargsyan more than 58 percent of the 2013
presidential vote. His nearest rival, Raffi Hovannisian, garnered 36
percent and refused to concede defeat, alleging election fraud.
International observers said the polls lacked real competition as
several leading candidates had chosen not to run.