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Armenia's opposition forces demand power change

27 October 2014 [18:11] - TODAY.AZ
/AzerNews/

By Mushvig Mehdiyev
Armenian opposition "troika" of the Heritage, Armenian National Congress and Prosperous Armenia parties staged a rally in the capital city Yerevan's largest Liberty Square on October 24. The massive protest was held in line with previous rallies attended by tens of thousands of protesters on October 10.
A large number of people flocked again to the square calling for a better future, the organizer, an MP from the Prosperous Armenia party, Tigran Urikhanyan said.
Three main opposition forces have warned earlier in summer about the "politically hot" autumn in Armenia. They had promised to unite for a common cause against the ruling regime. Their regular addresses, statements and words turned into an action on October 10 when the great number of protesting Armenians rallied to express support for them. Power change was the unanimous aspiration of the demonstrators.
Leaders and attendees of the massive demonstration called for a power change as they did it two weeks ago. Armenian National Congress's Deputy Head Aram Manukyan said the freedom-loving people flocked to the Liberty Square to put forward a request for the change of authorities.
The "troika" leaders - Heritage's Raffi Hovannisian, Armenian National Congress's Levon Ter Petrosian and Prosperous Armenia's Gagik Tsaroukyan - addressed the rally to encourage their supporters.
In his speech at the rally, Armenia's former president, ANC leader Petrosyan said Armenia could be a democratic country based on the western values even within the EEU. "Although our membership at the EEU is an irreversible process, the country will live namely within the alliance in the foreseeable future. However, Armenia could succeed within the EEU only in the presence of a legitimate power, which we should achieve," he added.
Petrosyan noted that there is no sense of grieving or lamenting about the EEU entrance, which proves the failure of Sargsyan's policy. Vice versa, Armenia needs to roll the sleeves up, work and get the benefit by the advantages that it could get from the current integrating process.
On the contrary of Petrosyan's words, Heritage party Leader Hovanissian said his party was against Armenia's joining the EEU. "Heritage party rejects the EEU joining and Armenian-Turkish protocols. Serzh Sargsyan leads the country down the wrong path with his illegal signature," he noted.
Hovanissian added that it is important to form a democratic and legitimate power in Armenia in order to build equal relationships with Russia, the U.S., the EU, China and Iran.
The opposition leader also called for Sargsyan's resignation saying Armenia needs preterm presidential and parliamentary elections within the next six months.
After taking the microphone to deliver his speech, the Prosperous Armenia party's Leader Gagik Tsarukyan called for a new political quality in Armenia. He called for breaking the monopoly of the incumbent authorities, saying that the emerging movement was for a change of power in a peaceful way far from violent actions like Maidan protests in Ukraine earlier this year.

Tsarukyan repeatedly stressed that he will stay with people until the movement achieves success. He further urged the current leadership to comply with the troika's earlier demands concerning social and economic issues. Moreover, the PAP leader announced his decision to form activists' headquarters throughout Armenia that will be ready for mobilization whenever it is necessary.

Tsarukyan hinted to a possible sit-in at the next rally, but neither he nor the other two opposition leaders said anything about the next rally's date.
Consecutive protest rallies on October 10 and October 24 show the people in Armenia are taking a stand against the fruitless power of Sargsyan. Demanding a power change means being weary of the ongoing domestic and foreign policies that fail to press ahead the country. Thus, a majority of almost 3 million population are calling for a new ruling power.
The recent rally could shed light on real state of affairs in Armenia, as it divided the society into two conditional groups - one with an aspiration for struggling for a change of power and the one keen to preserve the current regime. At the same time, the disparity reigns in both camps, as there is not a unanimity neither within the state power nor within the opposition alliance.
Massive gatherings could from the first sight indicate the opposition's coordinated leadership and decisive unity, whilst the leaders themselves demonstrated that there are different positions within them. Petrosyan backed the EEU, while Hovannissian turned his back to the alliance.
That, unfortunately is preventing the opposition forces from adopting an identical approach and singing from the same song sheet.
URL: http://www.today.az/news/analytics/137227.html

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