Yesterday the Armenian National Congress officially confirmed Monday its intention to rally supporters on March 1 on the first anniversary of the deadly post-election clashes in Yerevan. The Armenian National Congress notified the City Hall of a March 1 rally in central Yerevan. The opposition intends to hold the rally either near the Matenadaran or in Northern Avenue. The rally will be followed by a march to the city downtown near Myasnikyan’s statute. Near the City Hall the marchers will lay a wreath to commemorate the 10 victims of March 1 unrest. Under that law, the municipality has to “accept” or “reject” the application in the next two days. And this will become another litmus paper, which will prove the sincerity of the government, which was declaring about its “love and devotedness” to its people during the last PACE session. Judging from the methods which the government has been using to intimidate or bribe people not to participate in rallies, it’s possible that the ANC rally will not be sanctioned. They may bring up some unsubstantiated reason. However, the ANC announced that regardless of the City Council decision the rally will take place.
