Yesterday’s rally of the ANC was quite crowded. The police stated that there were 5-6 thousand people gathered but it was evident that their number is much larger. Perhaps the number would be much higher if the police didn’t block the regional routes. The rally was almost over when the people arrived from Vanadzor to join the rally. There was a big crowd of people along Koryun street and on the sidewalks. On Mashtots avenue there were hundreds of people in front of Ponchikanots but the police wouldn’t let them cross the street and join the rally. The speeches of some of the ANC members were quite tense. So were the moods of the protesters. The number of the protesters grew due to the recent policies of the Armenian government. The rally also hosted the ones, who complained about the substitution of the Georgian plate numbers and the street traders. The moods of the participants of yesterday’s rally could clearly tell that the wave of discontent is significantly growing. Perhaps the events in the Arabic states also conduced to that. But today is February 19, which is a symbolic day. The previous three presidential elections took place on that day. “Let us denounce this day so that we don’t have any more rigged elections. It is because of the falsified elections that we have inflation and emigration of annually 100 thousand people and everything flows out of Armenia. Armenian men flow to Russia, a part of women flow to Turkey, business flows to Georgia and the young brains go to Europe. Armenia is an emptying state,” mentioned the chairman of the ANM Aram Manukyan. An ANC member Zoya Tadevosyan in her speech adverted to the inflation, which reached 50, 70 and even doubled for certain products during the past years. According to her inflation gradually grows and as a result of the economic policy of the government the economy is ultimately debilitated. “The slump of the economy started in 2004 by the policy of the Central Bank, which aimed at devaluating the currency, which was a slick attempt of becoming rich for the oligarchs. Only the pocketed money of private remittances in 2005-2010 amounted to 3 billion 200 thousand USD. And if we add to this the super profits due to the inflation then the policy of the government must be considered a fragmenting policy of the Armenian nation. The destroyers of the nation must be ousted,” stated Tadevosyan. The ANC spokesman Arman Musinyan in his speech passed along to the rally participants a piece of information from the street traders, according to which the city authorities had decided to ban the trade and business of small stores and stalls after 8 p.m. in order to activate the businesses of large supermarkets. “What is the actual purpose of this? The mid-class is the axis of any society and state because it is independent with its mentality and most importantly it is independent financially. The existence of this class for the current regime is unacceptable. This is a regime, which claims, “if you are weak – cream, if you are strong – humiliate.” Free way of thinking and independence are attitudes characteristic to the human kind and if they are persecuted by the current administration, the latter shows its inhumane behavior to them,” said Musinyan. In his speech the former prime minister of Armenia Hrant Bagratyan presented a few indexes. “Armenian economy has suffered great losses during the past three years, with GDP falling by 7%. The number of emigrants and alcoholics has sharply increased in the country," he said. Further, he said that Armenia’s agricultural output has also decreased by 15%. Bagratyan further said that with its GDP index per capita Armenia was the 193rd three years ago, while in 2010 it was the 139th and will be the 141st next year. According to him, the authorities are not thinking about doing something good for the country but rather what to do to prevent the situation from getting worse. At the same time, Bagratyan said, Armenia’s foreign debt has increased by 2.5 times during these three years. Compared to other countries in the region, the average salary in Armenia in 2010 has been the lowest, he added. Bagratyan has sent a letter to the Guinness Book of World Records calling their attention to the Armenian law on reducing the amount of benefit paid to pregnant women. He received an answer that the meaning of the law was obscure and incomprehensible. According to the economist, revolution is the only way to save the situation in the country though many do not share his opinion. "We must carry out a revolution for the sake of Karabakh," said Bagratyan. So they save 400 million dollars for their pockets”, he said. Then, Bagratyan dwelt on the need of revolutionary fight. “They say we do not need revolutionary struggle, because we have the Karabakh issue. We need revolutionary fight right for Karabakh. I have been in Egypt this year and in Tunisia. Now my vocabulary contains new words – to Egypt, to Tunisia, etc. this is our only salvation”. Addressing a rally held by the Armenian National Congress (ANC), Levon Zurabyan, who is the coordinator of the ANC, said the situation in Armenia is so bad that the state is unable to pay even the salaries of teachers and those employed at the police. Zurabyan, Central noted that large investors are minimizing assistance provided to Armenia. “The Lincy Foundation has suspended cooperation with the Armenian government, the Millennium Challenge program was frozen, whereas Russia refuses to grant credits despite official Yerevan’s requests,” Zurabyan said. He also said that a new phenomenon has recently emerged: the world has realized that there is no use of providing assistance to what he called “corrupted oligarchic regimes”. The example, Zurabyan explained, was the shutting down of the activities of the Lincy Foundation and the halt of the Millennium Challenges program. “Due to the overthrowing of the regime the resumption of the war becomes probable,” he said. “And according to the information we have, the authorities are seriously discussing how to attribute the economic collapse and the possible defeat during the war to the chaos kicked up by the opposition in the country,” said Zurabyan. Chairman of the ANC political council Aram Sargsyan said people believe the second and third Armenian Presidents stand behind the March 1 events. “Serzh Sargsyan’s milieu and the entire Republican Party of Armenia should realize those firing at unarmed people on March 1, 2008 should be arrested immediately. The authorities are capable of doing it if they really wish to. It is Sargsyan’s only opportunity to dissociate himself from Robert Kocharyan,” the oppositionist said. Aram Sargsyan also noted certain disagreement arose in Armenia’s ruling camp when Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev and Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev unexpectedly left the Astana Summit. As to former president Kocharyan, he is an executor of Russian PM Vladimir Putin’s will, he added. “In its congress the ARF party demanded the resignation of the foreign affairs minister of Armenia. And they spoke of the resignation of Serzh Sargsyan in the latter’s presence. The Prosperous Armenia stated that its goal is to gain 50+1% of the ballots in the upcoming elections. Robert Kocharyan was received by Dmitry Medvedev. And Kocharyan started to remind everybody that he is the man and that he is the founder of the Prosperous Armenia and the RPA. He claims that he is so much higher than any party. He is the arbiter.” Speaking at the rally, Stepan Demirchyan, chairman of the oppositional People’s Party of Armenia, stressed elections were rigged in Armenia for many times. The republic is faced with unresolved domestic and external problems, as people are deprived of a possibility to make choice and maintain their position, he added. Serzh Sargsyan must dissociate himself from former President Robert Kocharyan, the member of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) stated. “And currently we have a very difficult social-economic situation in the country. We have an unhealthy moral-psychological situation and this is a consequence of continuously rigged elections. We should all bring an end to this,” said the chairman of the People’s Party of Armenian. In the end as usual the RA first president Levon Ter-Petrosyan made a speech, after which the participants of the rally marched to the Republic Square and Northern Avenue. The next ANC meeting will take place on March 1.
