Radical Opposition Rally Attracts Thousands
Joint Opposition Campaign Rally, Liberty Square, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia for EurasiaNet 2007
According to various estimates in the media as well as local bloggers, Thursday’s joint rally staged by Impeachment, New Times and the Republic party attracted several thousand people to Yerevan’s Liberty Square. As usual, most of those attending were elderly, but RFE/RL says that the event, held to prepare opponents of the government for post-election street protests, was the largest held by any party to date.
They dismissed President Robert Kocharian’s warnings not to dispute the official vote results which will likely give his political allies a comfortable majority in the next National Assembly.
Meeting with university students in Yerevan last week, Kocharian warned that fresh opposition attempts to force him into resignation would meet with a tough government response. He also said the vast majority of Armenians oppose the kind of post-election “colored revolutions” that toppled the ruling regimes in neighboring Georgia and other former Soviet republics.
“The fact that so many of you are here is the reason why Robert Kocharian rushed to Yerevan State University and gave a speech there,” Hanrapetutyun leader Aram Sarkisian said in a speech at the rally in central Yerevan jointly held by his party, Aram Karapetian’s Nor Zhamanakner Party and the Impeachment bloc led by supporters of former President Levon Ter-Petrosian.
The full story is here.
Joint Opposition Campaign Rally, Liberty Square, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia for EurasiaNet 2007
Aram Karapetyan, Joint Opposition Campaign Rally, Liberty Square, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia for EurasiaNet 2007
Aram Sarkisyan, Joint Opposition Campaign Rally, Liberty Square, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia for EurasiaNet 2007
Comment by Onnik — May 6, 2007 @ 6:41 pm
Onnik - may I use a photo from here on Globalvoicesonline - with due credit to you of course?
Comment by Observer — May 7, 2007 @ 9:39 am
As I’ve said before on this blog, photos may be used for not-for-profit use as long as the full credit is also posted.
Comment by Onnik — May 7, 2007 @ 10:50 am
Thank you Onnik.
Comment by Observer — May 7, 2007 @ 11:51 am