Yesterday when the minor center of Yerevan was closed to the citizens because of the ceremony of inauguration, a lot of citizens gathered at the Square of Myasnikyan to honor the memory of the victims of March 1 events because April 9, the day of the inauguration of the president, is forty days from their death.
It was originally planned that the ceremony should have started at 2 p.m., however people have been setting flowers on the tiles of Myasnikyan’s statue since 11 a.m., burning incense and candles. As always, the police surrounded the statue of Miasnikyan with truncheons and shields.
However, the citizens crossed this chain and went up to the pedestal of the statue in small groups, which was surrounded by a tape because it is under repair, and laid flowers and burning candles in memory of the victims of the events of March 1. The number of people increased. People stood opposite policemen with shields and truncheons. Among the policemen was the deputy-head of the Police of Arabkir community Valeri Osipyan. He was the one, who was generally giving orders to the other policemen. After the number of people increased at about 12 p.m. new groups of policemen were brought to the scene. Osipyan was warning people to light candles and leave. However, people didn’t have any intention to leave and stayed near the statue till 1 p.m. Osipyan was ordering the policemen to push back the citizens from the statue. However, the policemen were lingering and were trying to explain certain things to the mourners.
The citizens kept standing there. Osipyan together with some other high-rank policemen were trying to push the citizens back. “Hey, I’m talking to you. Go to the people and put them down from the scene. Tell them to leave this place,” Osipyan was ordering. We tried to find out from Osipyan why the policemen were lingering to fulfill his orders. “Who told you that?” he said and asked the policeman standing nearby, “Hey are you not fulfilling my orders?” The policeman didn’t make a sound and lingered to the people. Osipyan flipped out because of our question. “You are not provoking people here. All I did asked the policemen to ask the people to leave.” The journalists would from time to time stand on the podium to follow the process from above. However, when Colonel Gagik Mazmanyan noticed that the number of people is increasing he ordered the journalists to get down the podium. “Why should I leave? I came here to light a candle and should stand here for awhile and commemorate the deceased citizens. I have two female students and don’t want them to leave Armenia and I want them to live in a normal country,” Anna Poghosyan told the policemen. The number of people increased. People stood opposite policemen with shields and truncheons and chanted “freedom”, “struggle all the way”, “free and independent Armenia”, “Levon president”. At that time the mother of Tigran Khachatryan, 23, killed on March 1 went up to the statue with the photo of her son, leant over the photo and started crying. As the number of citizens grew, the number of policemen grew as well. The head of the police of Yerevan Nerses Nazaryan went up to the statue wearing the uniform of general. People whistled and cried “shame on you”. Despite this, Nerses Nazaryan instructed the policemen to stand along the pavements not to let people block the traffic, went up to Davit Shahnazaryan and demanded to stop the action of protest because it is already illegal and disturbs public order.
The leader of the PPA Stepan Demirchyan told journalists that as a civil initiative people had come to pay the tribute to the memory of those who died over the tragic events in Yerevan on 1 March. "We joined them. I think there should be no serious incident", – Demirchyan said. 3000-5000 citizens crowded near the Statue of Myasnikyan continue shouting, “Struggle till the end,” “Serzhik, go away,” “Robert and Serzh, you are murderers,” “Your Excellency, robbers.” Leader of the “Hanrapetutiun” (Republic) Party Aram Z. Sargsyan, Levon Zurabyan, Artak Zeinelyan and David Shahnazaryan passed by the protesters minutes ago. They stopped for a moment, stretched out their hands and went to the Statue of Myasnikyan. Even independent MP Victor Dallakyan was there. The journalists asked Aram Sargsyan whether he met Levon Ter-Petrosyan and whether the first President was going to continue his struggle. “I have numerously met Ter-Petrosyan, maybe 2-3 times a week. I don’t think there is anyone in Armenia, who thinks that Ter-Petrosyan is going to give up. I am sure it is not going to happen because the descents of Musaler are very stubborn. He will speak out soon. I am admired by my people and wish to express my deepest gratitude to them. The same people, who had witnessed April 12, March 1 gathered here again. This means that the will of people cannot be broken. And I would advise the ones, who are trying to break their will, must quit this idea because it is impossible to stop the people. I am sure that the policemen cannot beat the people on the mourning day,” said Sargsyan. “We shall join our friends near the Statue of Myasnikyan in a few minutes. We demand that the authorities release the political prisoners. I don’t care whether the President-Elect swears an oath or not. I can say one thing for sure: we shall not surrender. Even if they arrest everybody, there will be a person to lead the people,” said one of the protesters. Davit Shahnazaryan said he is not an organizer and people came because they wanted to come, besides, the actions of the police and the government are illegal. Nerses Nazaryan left but at that time more groups of police arrived at the square, the police blocked the way of pedestrians walking down the streets to the square. The participants of the action which lasted for about an hour and a half started leaving the square, although the policemen used force when people were already leaving. They arranged to meet in the evening at the Republic Square where at that time the festival “Colorful Sky” would be held and balloons would fly.
People especially were angry about the fact that the inauguration was held on the 40th day of the March 1 events. People thought that the inauguration should have been cancelled. “Oh, my girl, they shouldn’t have organized such a thing on the 40th day of the death of victims. When they need it they can violate the Constitution the way they want to. But today they are sayings that they cannot violate it. Is it the right day for the military parade or fireworks?” said Karen Petrosyan. Yesterday Alla Hovhannisyan, the mother of the killed 23-year old man Tigran Khachatryan also came near the Myasnikyan statue. She brought the photo of her son and was audibly telling that she wasn’t able to keep her son away from the idea of getting down to the statue. “He wouldn’t go to demonstrations ever but on that day he got downtown as they were saying that people were to be slaughtered at night. I told him, Tigran, don’t go please. He said that he would go down anyway. I was speaking to him till 8:30-9:00 p.m. He was telling he was pretty safe, standing near the fire, which was lit near the statue. On the next day my husband went to the morgue, where he found our son. They didn’t tell us why he died till the end of the investigation. But I saw a wound on his head,” the mother was telling. The policemen reported to the Colonel that they knew the young man. “They were standing in front of the Embassy on March 1, breaking the gates of the park and sitting on the trolley-bus. Boss, I know them. I saw them near the Opera too,” was quickly reporting the policeman. The Colonel said, “Take these young men to the department, talk to them and release them.” We asked the policemen hat was the reason of detaining these young men. The police officers didn’t answer. However, a bit later they were released. And on the evening of April 9 the workers were preparing the stage of the Liberty Square for a concert. And the devices for the fireworks were being equipped in the Shahumyan square.