Yesterday it became clear that the Armenian National Congress has decided the day of the next rally, which will take place on June 30. ANC has already sent a notifying note to the city hall. It was no accident that the day of the next rally was declared after the statement of ANC leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan at the office of the PPA. In written comments published by the “Haykakan Zhamanak” daily on Friday, Ter-Petrosian dismissed these statements, saying that they come from “individuals having a zero role in decision making” and “have no significance in this case.” “Therefore, until Serzh Sarkisian [personally] expresses his opinion it will be meaningless to say anything about that,” he said. “One should just keep in mind that dialogue is needed not so much by the opposition as the authorities,” continued Armenia’s first president. “In case of the failure of the dialogue, the Congress will not lose anything and will perhaps even gain from the political standpoint. The loser will primarily be the authorities.” “Let them engage in dialogue if they want to; if they don’t, they will be responsible for consequences,” warned Ter-Petrosian. The HAK leader did not specify what those consequences could be. Nor would he say whether his opposition bloc is ready to intensify periodical anti-government demonstrations in Yerevan and try to step up pressure on the government. Ter-Petrosyan once again urged, threatened and requested Serzh Sargsyan to give a positive response to the suggestion of starting a negotiation in the framework of delegation. It means by setting a date for the rally on June 30 Ter-Petrosyan once again gives an opportunity to Sargsyan by leaving the response of Sargsyan close to June 30. According to the currently circulated rumors Sargsyan has already responded to Ter-Petrosyan but has refused to negotiate in the format of delegations. The sources standing close to the authorities find it possible that Sargsyan will speak about the importance of the dialog with the ANC and his efforts in that direction during his June 22 speech planned in PACE. According to the same sources, the meaning of Sargsyan’s speech will be the reference that the government is ready to start a public dialog (which they have brought up many times) and that they are against any step that would jeopardize this process. It means he will officially exclude the format of delegations during the negotiations. It is evident that such sharp statements on part of the ANC can be attempted to be covered by the government.
