YEREVAN—On Oct. 16, thousands turned out for a rally, organized by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, in opposition to the protocols and pledged to step up efforts to ensure that the agreements are not ratified in parliament, reported Yerkir Media.
The rally at Charles Aznavour square in central Yerevan attracted a cross-section of the population and organizers said that the popular movement against the protocols was growing.
The ARF was joined by 12 other parties including the Heritage party, which, along with the ARF, is an opposition voice in Parliament.
ARF Supreme Council of Armenia chairman Armen Rustamian was critical of Armenian President Serge Sarkisian and his administration for signing the protocols and emphasized that his party’s aim was to defeat the protocols.
In direct reference to calls for Sarkisian resignation by Armenia’s radical opposition, the Armenian National Congress, led by former president Levon Ter-Petrosian, Rustamian said that asking for the president’s resignation is easy, but actively working against the protocols is a step the Ter-Petrosian and his supporters have not taken.
He went on to suggest that by sitting idly aside, Ter-Petrosian and his Armenian National Congress have further proven their collusion with the authorities.
Also speaking at the protest was ARF Bureau member and chairman of the party’s parliamentary bloc Vahan Hovanessian. He urged that efforts to defeat the passage of the protocols should be stepped up.
He also added that people had sent a clear message, which, he said the authorities had heard. If, he said, the authorities ignore that call, then the people will rise up and change them.
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