The large unsanctioned opposition rally has started in Yerevan

Despite warnings from the police, that the first opposition rally since the tragic events of March 1, is unsanctioned, by 6 o’clock the crowd had started to gather around Yerevan’s Manuscript Museum (Matenadaran – a traditional location for rallies) and after negotiations with the police, who were initially blocking access to the free areas in front of the museum, the opposition had been allowed to hold the rally.

There had been technical difficulties – from what I understood, the opposition had been denied access to electricity outlets or electricity had been cut off ‘unexpectedly’ and they were busy installing a diesel electricity generator to power the sound equipment. By the time I got there – at about 19:30, the rally hadn’t started yet, some people had started to walk away because of quite unpleasant summer sun. Here and there groups of young people with flags were shouting “Miatsum”, “Hima” and warming up the crowd immediately around them. Riot police had chained the Mashtots avenue, keeping the street free for traffic. As the amount of people was too big to fit around matenadaran, many had stationed on the pavements around the Mashtots and Koryun avenues. The crowd stretched all the way down to Nairi Cinema theater, becoming more sparse as it went.

Levon Ter-Petrossian’s arrival at the scene was met with cheers and shouts. The rally started at around 20:00 with a short greeting and the remix of “Payqar, Payqar-Qochari”, sounding nostalgic after the February discotheque-rallies, the first speeches were about the A1plus victory at the European court and forecasts, that the PACE hearing on Armenia next week will note the lack of willingness by the Armenian authorities to resolve the situation and engage in dialogue with the opposition.

Estimating the crowd size is rather hard. According to RFE / RL – the head of Yerevan Police Department Nerses Nazaryan has stated 10,000, while Aram Z. Sargsyan estimated a figure of up to 50,000. From the rallies I’ve seen in the past, I’d say the crowd is clearly much bigger then the 10,000 figure – I think around 20,000 would be a realistic estimate.

Anyway – the size of the crowd is not important. What is important, is that the rally is peaceful, and hopefully there won’t be more violence. Really – please, please – we can’t afford another March 1 now. On the positive side though, re-establishing the right for peaceful rallies in Armenia is also a necessity and this rally has already achieved something significant – we, the free people of Armenia have the right to rallies, despite any amount of idiotic laws on rallies and demonstrations, and we also have the strength to reclaim our right, despite all efforts of police. That is exactly why I’m planning to go back to the site of the rally and re-claim my share of that very right to gather for people demonstrations!

Artur Papyan

Journalist, blogger, digital security and media consultant

52 Comments

  1. Ditord, I thought you are neutral blogger. But from your words it seems to me I am wrong.
    There is no “sanctioned” or “unsanctioned” rally. This is just a term used by the authorities to allure people.
    Do not use that word anymore if you are independent.
    Or you can use it in parenthesis.

  2. “On the positive side though, re-establishing the right for peaceful rallies in Armenia is also a necessity and this rally has already achieved something significant – we, the free people of Armenia have the right to rallies, despite any amount of idiotic laws on rallies and demonstrations, and we also have the strength to reclaim our right, despite all efforts of police.”
    Amen.

  3. Calling things by their own name does not make Observer less neutral. The rally was unsanctioned, whether you like it or not.

  4. Right, the rally was not sanctioned. However, Observer makes it quite clear that he does not approve of the restrictions on freedom of assembly. In fact, he is quite categorically against it.

  5. My toilet dosent work at home …LEVON LEVON LEVON

  6. Calling things by their name?
    Who decides what the name of the Rally is? Sanctioned or Unsanctioned? I want to know who decides that. If authorities then everything is clear. If Observer then independence of the blogger is under very big suspicion.
    If Observer follows what authorities say, then again everything is clear.
    Just read constitution, nothing else.
    When the blogger says “unsanctioned Rally”, this is not representation of the official view, this is just confirmation of the official viewpoint.
    So be careful with the words, because independence means to be both sided not one sided. But independence does not mean also JAILAM, who just wants to keep him or her just out of fire.

  7. Pics from yesterday’s rally on Flickr (2 pages):
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/24674184@N00/

  8. Hay – the rally was not sanctioned from the point of view of the current Armenian legislation. So I call it with it’s name. Simple.

  9. Real stupid Levon
    Again tataro-mongols.
    Again Karabaxci.
    Again exaggeration with number of people-200 000? What smoke in the mornings LTP?
    Joke about Gevorik was realy satisfied to Levon’s intellectual abilities.
    Bored,really bored.
    In my opinion there were aroun 15-18 000 people(police included)

  10. Levon again showed his class by the insulting and racist comments he made at this rally. We’ve realized long ago Levon to be of despicable character, but when is the small remaining minority of people who still foolishly follow him gone wake up and smell the coffee?

  11. my and many other’s independence ends where LTP’s begins…….. that’s it
    the Armenian Nation, Freedom of Speech, Democracy, blablabla
    LTP has nothing to do with this
    Also, the opposition is so much convinsed that they are the majority or that they represent the ALL ARMENIAN NATION, that some of them have started to send friend requests in the facebook community, and inviting to join this cause/group or the other. I have managed to ignore some of those already myself. What about those nasty and mean profiles and pictures in the so-called odnoklassniki, or the post-election curses in the blogs?! or face-to-face unbearable debates and threats or provocations ..
    And this seems even worse than what is going on in e.g. YouTube anti-Armenian videos made by azeries and turks.
    It seems, that somebody or some power has managed already to devide the nation, and the rule is just to follow. All these actions are blurring the true priority issues and misleading the nation.
    The only positive trend, not to sound cinical, seems to be the basis for a good research question.
    The independence of Armenians ends when you devide people into hay and tatar-monghols, mind this. This is levon-led PLANNED destruction of the Armenian society.

  12. The nation was already divided; the people at the rallies now were not united with Serzh/Robert, Dodi Gago, Toxmaxi Mher, Lfik Samo, Burnash Ashot, Mxchyani Muk before LTP’s return to politics and they are not united now. It’s absolutely bizarre to me that these people’s actions aren’t the dividing factor, but Levon talking about them is. And for the millionth time, Mongol Tatar refers to the type of the clan-dominated regime/system; it’s an internationally used term.
    As for LTP’s speech; those making comments should perhaps hear it first: http://files.filefront.com/part+1amp3/;10731855;/fileinfo.html (his speech starts at 1:20:00 mark in the clip).
    P.S.HHShi Gevorik would actually bring the level of intelligence of both the March 1st committee and the National Assembly up so I only welcome the move.

  13. game – you are right about the divisiveness. My hope lies in the majority of the people, even those who have been used by LTP etc to realize that no good change can come from those who rally others around evil intent and hate.
    Even the now bankrupt cries of “use me to break them” has worn thin. Armenians would be better served either 1) helping those in government who you trust to improve things from within or 2) helping those in opposition who are proposing policy change.
    The 2nd is probably harder as LTP has successfully co-opted much of the opposition stage and allure, but still just as important. There are plenty of people who are not in principle for the authorities who want change, yet are not ready to go for the “I’ll throw your baby out with the bathwater” approach that LTP offers. I sincerely hope that Armenia can generate a pro-Armenian opposition that helps hold the authorities accountable for action rather than just degenerate hate-calls for revolution.

  14. me – and for the millionth time, it is not “just an example from history” – it is a not-so-subtle wisecrack at the hordes from the east taking yours and my Yerevan. It is racist, it is hate-mongering, and it has ZERO positive place in Armenian political discourse today. I am saddened to hear the delusional young masses chant in glee reacting to such invective and such divisive anti-Armenian racism.
    Hopefully the numbers who support such negativity will continue to dwindle.

  15. Incidentally, I can’t stomach more than an hour of a demonstration these days so left, but just to say that when I was there I reckoned 7,000 people. The AP reporters said he reckoned 7-8,000. Not sure if the numbers swelled after I left, but Reuters, AFP etc are using the figure of “about 8,000” for the whole event while RFE/RL don’t use any other than police and opposition claims — not even “tens of thousands,” just “thousands.”
    I’d say a figure around 10,000 sounds more plausible in such a situation. Certainly, when I was there it was what I would describe as a small rally by comparing it to those I attended there in the past (including Ter-Petrossian’s one after the election and nothing compared to the 2003 Matenadaran rallies. Then the crowd stretched down to cinema Nairi. This time the crowd stretched down to the top of Mashtots.
    The corwd was also thinly made up and not a solid block of people. Still, 10,000 is a “normal” opposition gathering when there isn’t an election and I’m sure many more people couldn’t arrive. Some reports say roads into Yerevan were blocked and public transport halted. For sure the Yerevan-Ararat/Massis road wasn’t, but someone confirmed that there were problems elsewhere.
    Then again, Yerevan is a city of over a million so let’s consider 7-8,000, 10,000 or even 20,000 in that context. There is just no sign of any apparent critical mass in the capital.

  16. Onnik I expected you would start teh counting again 🙂
    Number dont matter. If even it was 10.000 that shows that there are 10.000 fearless people who went to a gathering which could end up like March 1st.
    People managed to force the “authorities” to allow them to gather which itself is an unprecidented achievment.

  17. antifa – what do you expect to come of these games? I mean, most of the dissatisfied people who want change stay as far as possible from rallies they know won’t change anything. Most of the dissatisfied know that LTP can deliver nothing better. I would guess that most of the 8-10k show up the way you slow down driving to watch a car crash. The disco-sideshow in the opera has now gone to the Matenadaran…thankfully few people are wasting their time on yesterday’s has-beens.

  18. Well, one thing I will say is that those people there were committed and dedicated, and for the first time in the ten years I’ve been here they believe in someone in ways I haven’t experienced before with other opposition attempts to remove the authorities. It’s also different in so much there are more youth present at such events. Even at the Impeachment/Aylentrank rallies at the beginning of 2007 they were noticeable by their absence. This time they are noticeable.
    Neverthless, although the delivery might sound “sophisitcated,” dressed up as it is as some kind of academic speech, the words are not sophisticated at all and are playing on exisiting divisions and traits in society — especially xenophobia. Anyway, we’ll see. Nothing prevented people living in Yerevan from going to the Matenadaran on Friday and the police for the most part were on their best behavior (not all of them, but most)
    The last thing the authorities need is another 1 March, but there is one school of thought that says it is precisely what the radical opposition needs. For sure, it is hard to imagine that with the summer now here and most people away or inside during the day that Ter-Petrossian can rally the 100,000 he needs to successfully challenge the authorities and call for new elections.
    But, I admit, one major slip up or catastrophe for the government, and who knows?
    Back to the numbers, however. What is interesting is that RFE/RL did not make an estimate which either means the demo was smaller than it hoped and “thousands” is actually just a vague term which is open to interpretation or that they’ve been instructed not to do anything other than quote official police estimates as well as what the organizers say.
    This is possible because there is one rumor from media sources going around that RFE/RL’s Yerevan was lambasted by the head of the organization for it’s pro-Ter-Petrossian bias during the presidential election campaign period. Anyway, 7 or 10,000, the numbers were small and a tenth of what Ter-Petrossian needs. Let’s see if he can gather 20,000 on 4 July. If he can, his movement has momentum.
    If he doesn’t then I suspect that everything is finished for this summer until the political silly season starts up again at the end of October.

  19. Antifa, I suppose I agree with your statement:

    People managed to force the “authorities” to allow them to gather which itself is an unprecidented achievment.

    These guys are dedicated and committed in more ways than I’ve seen before.

  20. […] halted in some locations outside the capital. Regardless, the rally was small by local standards. The Armenian Observer reports from the scene although believes the number of those attending was larger than that reported by Reuters, AP and […]

  21. I read his speech twice and listened to it twice and I couldn’t find any sentence that divides the people or that contains any racist remarks.
    Calling the regime banditocracy or comparing it to Mongol-Tatar governance has nothing to do with racism. The first is a criminal and the 2nd is a historical terminology.
    There is no infliction of hatred in the speech either. It is a speech that you can hear coming from an opposition politician in any western country.
    Feel free to quote a full sentence in case if I missed anything.
    The speech can be found at http://www.payqar.org/am/172/

  22. […] Ter-Petrossian, at a radical opposition demonstration staged Friday in downtown Yerevan. Meanwhile, The Armenian Observer and my The Caucasus Knot carries more coverage of the unsanctioned rally. Posted by Onnik […]

  23. Thanks ME for the audio recording.
    I have split the file to contain the LTP speech only and uploaded provided it at Payqar.org http://www.payqar.org/am/172/
    Had to make the file spilt to decrease the size so it could be uploadable and downloadable. I hope the other speakers and their audience will excuse me.

  24. wasn’t then LTP’s rule during the 1990s banditocracy or clan-based government?
    It was, with no major improvements or windows therein.
    Policy reform or change does not necessarily imply that the LTP-LED opposition is to come to win over today’s government.
    And the actions undertaken by LTP since the pre-election campaigns has seeded hatred, and racism , yes racism (we all know what is going on in Armenia, don’t we? and particularly in Yerevan, we all know what at this point opposition-prone people say about Karabakhtsi, or how they call some other people with power who come from regions) so this is RACISM within ONE CHRISTIAN nation, or isn’t boycotting Sirusho’s participation another reflection of hatred? just to give one very small example. LTP’s rule wasn’t that long time ago, and we all remember his failed governance, with lots of bandits around him.
    I don’t need to quote LTP’s speech, but I can quote Vazgen Manukyan’s speech when he said “if during the LTP’s rule, the opposition dared to organise such rallies, Vano would kill the organisers right in the Square”
    And to me it is not the matter of opposition and the Government. The morale and ethics and psychological state of our nation has been endangered already since 1988, we are all affected by war, earthquake, hunger and darkness, clan-based governance, assasinations, outmigration with outcomes of devisivness, misrespect, jealousy, hatred, inability to listen, ignorance and apathy.
    LTP revisited us to even more aggrevate what we already had…

  25. I agree whit antifa that there is nothing racist whit King Levons speech . I have analyzed all Adolf Hitler’s speeches as well and I can’t find any racist remark their either? That’s why I was so shocked when the majority of European Jews wear exterminated? Just to call people for Mongolian tartar which is a racist remark that hayastanchi use to call xarabaxchi is nothing racist . Levon was just trying to teach people history lesson and terminology of the words . Levons son is In Israel enjoying life as a Jew in his homeland , his father is trying to bring historic lesson to the Armenian people , teaching them terminology . AAAAAAAA is their nothing that this Armenian hero can’t do …….

  26. “game – you are right about the divisiveness. ”
    Is he/she? You speak of political discourse. What I’ve seen in the last few months is people representing pedestrian generalizations ( say, that Armenians disagree on the way the country should move forward) in such a way as to turn them into ground-breaking insights (“It seems, that somebody or some power has managed already to devide the nation”). Please. Armenians have been united once, in my, my parents’, my grandparents’ memory, and that was in 1988.
    Useful public discourse (which in fairness, I don’t see either of the sides engaging in) cannot be forged if every time we disagree there are outraged cries of Soros/Jewish/Mason/Zionist/Turkish/Azeri/American/European/Ukrainian conspiracies. This is exactly what Levon was talking about when he said that national ideology is a false category, and this is exactly what we still have come to grips with: Armenians cannot and will not think as one. Sure, there are things that are not up to debate: if Azerbaijan foolishly decides to attack Gharabagh tomorrow, Armenians will agree, as one, on the need to rise and defend it (and will do so), but allow people to luxury of not agreeing that their lives will improve under Serzh’s government (or as some intern at Serzh’s PR firm put it in his/her unintentionally hilarious editorial RFE/RL editorial, ” Taking our cue from the U.S. civil rights movement, I am confident in saying that, despite the challenges ahead in terms of our democratic development, we shall overcome”).

  27. As far as the crowd estimates go; the police put it at 10,000, and Aram Sargsyan said 50,000, so I’m guessing there were around 30,000 at any given time. Considering March 1st, the political terror of the last few months, the fact that public transportation to the capital did not work, that the police had declared the day before that they wouldn’t allow the rally (basically threatening with mass disturbances that never materialized), that there were rumors swirling about the army moving and the police being armed with martial weapons, and also the heat, I’d say that’s a pretty solid number, even if still lower than I expected.

  28. I read Levon’s speech and it’s a very insightful speech. I don’t know what the detractors here heard but I’m sure if they really read the text they would know that they are either wrong or dishonest.
    I found the analysis of the constitution quite helpful. I hope the lawmakers like Dod, et. al. read the constitution as well.
    Hopefully they will learn something if they listen Levon’s speech on Friday.

  29. Honestly, I do not think that Levon affects anyone anymore. Either people worship him or they view him as a has-been or just simply evil.

  30. mw, nowhere near 30,0000.
    7-10,000.
    It’s over for Levon unless at the next meeting he can attract 20,000 from a city with a population of over 1 million.

  31. “Honestly, I do not think that Levon affects anyone anymore. ”
    And yet here you are, insisting how irrelevant he is. And yet the rally is all the political “elite” talked about all last week. If he’s so irrelevant, then just ignore him.Simple, no? Everyone’s been talking about how marginal he is and how big of a political corpse he is since September. Frankly, you’re all starting to sound like Baghdad Bob a little bit.
    “It’s over for Levon unless at the next meeting he can attract 20,000 from a city with a population of over 1 million.”
    I’m sorry, what exactly will be over FOR Levon? What exactly will keep on going if he “attracts” 20,000 people (btw, that’s the number that Azg estimated)? Considering all the factors I mentioned plus the threats from the police (“Մեր դիրքորոշումը կլինի շատ կոշտ”and “Ոստիկանությունը թույլ չի տալու այն վայրում, որտեղ արգելված է, անցկացվեն հանրահավաքներՙ”), I think it went well and in no way reflects his real support base. In my opinion anyway…

  32. me- I think it serves many purposes to “talk about Levon all week,” most of them self-serving for various politicians, some for governmental types too.
    In simple terms Levon has become a religious cult leader who already has his converts, while the majority of the people are just turned off.

  33. One of the local newspapers wrote that the rally involved the “activists” of the Movement, and I agree with this viewpoint. If we take into account that
    a. the main routes to Yerevan were closed;
    b. employees in many state and non-state institutions were warned not to attend the rally, otherwise they would be fired;
    c. HayLur and all the other 15 hayluriks during 20+ days were spreading fear in order make people stay home;
    d. the headquarters of the Movement was significantly weakened as a result of arrests of opposition leaders and activists,
    the fact that the rally actually took place and that so many people participated, indicates that the Citizen of Armenia still struggles for changes and finds LTP as the most effective “tool” for changes to Armenia.

  34. Hey guys, especially those who do not like Levon, and those who are desperately want to count the exact number of protesters.
    I want to ask to ask you a question.
    Ok, lets say you are right and Levon is not the right choice, let’s sya he was clan leader in 1990s, and even let’s sya he is manipulating with people’s emotions for his political agenda. Ok, let’s assume for a moment you are right.
    Now, the question.
    What should I do, if I do not like RK, SS and their clan members? What should I do when I see the moral values of political and public behavior and Armenia life is so low that I cannot get along? What should I do, if Iam not protected in my country by the law? What should I do, if I see that the current rulers (most of them), educationally and mentally are so low-level that I do not believe that any change they offer is realistic? What should I do, if I hear the prime minister of my country that says our country is going to be the health care and financial center of the rgion, but he even does not know how to persuade even one Georgian to come to Armenia for basic helth check up or make minor deposit in our banking sector?
    What should I do, if I look the president of my country lies in front of whole nation? What should I do, when I am getting angry in my house watching public TV? and Etc. and etc.
    WHAT SHOULD I DO?

  35. Hay
    WHAT YOU SHOULD DO?
    Of course vote for Levon:)
    Imagine after 5 years Kocharyan will run for presincy and tell,that his biggest mistake was bringing Serge to power,and ask people to overturn Shumero-Akkadian brnapetutyun,and propose to claim the Mayor of Tegh village as a persona non grata?
    Furthermore Grisha Sarkissian will join to Kocharyan and Serge will put him in jail and Grisha will become political prisoner. Raffi, of course,will suport Kocharyan and send to his meetings Vardan Khachatryan.
    Kocharyan will ask Levon to join him,but after Levon refusal will name him as “takanq”. Levon will join to coalition of Serge,Raffi and dashnaks. And etc. etc.
    I am sure in this case you will vote for Kocharyan. Exactly for Kocharyan.

  36. Aramazd
    You mentioned
    a. the main routes to Yerevan were closed;
    b. employees in many state and non-state institutions were warned not to attend the rally, otherwise they would be fired;
    c. HayLur and all the other 15 hayluriks during 20+ days were spreading fear in order make people stay home;
    d. the headquarters of the Movement was significantly weakened as a result of arrests of opposition leaders and activists
    Where are the proves of what you wrote? Any links?
    Don’t be upset you were 200 000 thousand there(Levon Papa told) ,so far it was victory at that day.
    Iwas there also,so could I be considered as a movement activist?:)

  37. To Tigran Khachatryan
    I understand your irony and your point. But you do answer to my question, and I cannot accept your answer as serious one. In your answer I see hatred towards not only Levon, or me but towards those 350.000 people (official number) who voted for Levon.
    My advise, be serious, ans answer to my question. If you find the answer to my questions, you will redefine yourself and you will be cleaned of hatred and will become truly objective.

  38. Tigran and Hay,
    Please avoid name-calling or I will block your further comments.

  39. hay – To be honest, all of the problems or opinions you identify are probably better addressed dealing with things at a more “local” level. Clean up trash near your house, don’t give or receive bribes, support like-minded people to create something rather than tell everyone what you are against, etc.
    Going to one more or one less meeting by this clan vs that clan won’t make a bit of difference. You merely serve the interests of those who wish to perpetuate fiction that change comes from such gatherings.

  40. “Honestly, I do not think that Levon affects anyone anymore. ”
    And yet here you are, insisting how irrelevant he is. And yet the rally is all the political “elite” talked about all last week. If he’s so irrelevant, then just ignore him.Simple, no?

    Well, let me put it like this. If Levon’s rally was so monumental I would have stayed until the end. However, from what I saw it wasn’t so I left an hour after it started.
    Interestingly, I spoke to some people who supported Levon during the election tonight who know say a) they will not partake in his rallies and b( there is a game going on with Serge and Levon trying to shift the blame for everything on Kocharian.
    Then again, there are those that said it was a game from the outset.

  41. You’re acting as though LTP has alternatives to holding rallies. He was gifted the whole opposition field through the short-sighted political maneuvers of the authorities, and as such, he now has to carry that mantle. And that means demonstrations; he simply has no other line of action. The authorities have to do their part (try to improve people’s lives), he has to do his (declare that nothing is being done).
    Sure, he can wait till the parliamentary elections but even if fair elections were possible Serzh simply would not stand to see HHK not be the majority. Besides, the last time the parliament majority and the president were out of sync, a few ex-Dashnak “romantics” coincidentally decided to get rid of the “aryunaxum” bastards.

  42. to Tigran:
    Pigh jan, in fact the number of participants does not matter. At least for me it is of secondary importance. While what goes on in people’s hearts and minds is of primary importance.
    BTW, yes, you’re really an activist of the Movement! Seriously! You write about it more than me, Mher, Hrant and Nikol altogether! 🙂 And you should know the golden rule of PR: negative or positive, it is crucial that the topic is discussed and hot! So, thank you very much, Tik jan! 🙂 😛

  43. I do not see any response or discussion to my question. WHAT SHOULD I DO?
    This is serious question. It is not about not-giving bribes or cleaning my house or any other simplistic-demagogic answers. This is bigger and global.
    so, What should I do? I have to fight against whatever is wrong. How I have to fight? Politically and not personally. How to fight politically? Join the opposition.
    This is just very simple. Opposition is not my god, even the leader, but I have my agenda in this fight that I want to raise. It is my country, my family and my life.
    I do not see any ideological battle in this political crisis. The authorities do not want to be in ideological discussions, because it is not helpful for them.

  44. Hay – there are no ideological issues: the opposition wants power, the authorities have it. Joining this group fighting against that group has nothing to do with fighting against what is wrong. Obviously it is your choice to join or not join anything, but my own 2 cents are that joining a group of hate-mongering discredited political has-beens has little likelihood in adding anything of positive value to a semi-functional system.
    I am thankful that citizens’ memory of history dates back beyond a few years. Armenia needs to move forward and not backward in time. Reanimating corpses from the political past who will do everything to gain power seems like a bad move if we are looking for evolution. LTP, Kocharian, thanks for your service, time to move on.

  45. LTP has nothing to do in Armenia. Anyone joined him is betraying the memory of Armenian history,betrayin democracy,betraying the victims of Karabakh.

  46. AH,
    right. the tens of thousands of people are all “hate-mongering discredited political has-beens”. Whether you like it or not, the people that are rallying represent those sick and tired of living in Barbaristan. Ironic that LTP is the ‘leader’, yes. Frustrating to intellectual purists, obviously. Infuriating to the diaspora, you bet. But its reality so work to help it.

  47. ace- I never said that the people at the demonstrations are hate-mongering discredited political has-beens. I meant that the leadership of the radical opposition is.
    It is not about me liking it or not. I am sure that there are many frustrated in that group, as there are even more frustrated outside of the group. Many many people are sick and tired of living in an Armenia not of their dreams. That doesn’t mean that they will run to the architect of the evil system with real hopes that it will be changed this way.
    Thankfully most Armenians are not that naive.

  48. […] halted in some locations outside the capital. Regardless, the rally was small by local standards. The Armenian Observer reports from the scene although believes the number of those attending was larger than that reported by Reuters, AP and […]

  49. :)))) It did indeed :))))

  50. […] the opposition rallies continue: last week there was one in Gyumri, today the rally in Yerevan seems to have attracted less people then in the previous one. With summer heat driving people away from Yerevan and the holiday season killing all types of […]

  51. I was there on the 4th July, it was not 20.000!
    It was at least 25.000+ !
    (I dont support any Armenian political party)
    Here is a clip I uploaded from the 5th July:
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=i9p5QIAWubM

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