Armenia’s opposition led by former president Levon Ter-Petrosian struck a
defiant note on Friday after authorities refused to authorize their widely
anticipated rally planned in one of Yerevan’s central squares on June 20.

Ter-Petrosian and his opposition allies formally notified the Yerevan
municipality on Tuesday about their intention to rally supporters in Liberty
Square for the first time since the bloody dispersal of post-election street
protests on March 1.

In a statement issued late on Thursday, Yerevan’s authorities announced their
decision to reject the opposition bid for the rally and a subsequent march
through central streets of Yerevan at the same time offering another venue, a
small square adjacent to Hrazdan Stadium, on the same day and at the same hour
as stated in the notification paper.

The opposition leader’s top aid Levon Zurabian told RFE/RL that they would be
filing another application for a rally in Liberty Square or otherwise in the
area adjacent to the nearby Ancient Manuscripts Museum, Matenadaran, and would
appeal the municipality’s decision in court if rejected again.

Kamo Movsisian, a municipality official in charge of culture and youth affairs,
told RFE/RL on Friday that the municipality is going to hold a children’s event
in Liberty Square on that day. The municipality claims the series of ‘Little
Yerevanian’ events have been in progress in Liberty Square since June 9
following an earlier instruction by Mayor Yervand Zakharian. The event on June
20, according to the municipality, is expected to start at 11 am and last till 9
pm.

Movsisian gave assurances that the event had been scheduled in advance as part
of the “children’s protection month”.

“This is one of the arrangements planned in advance. Thus, this year we also
plan arrangements dedicated to the celebrations of the 2790th anniversary of the
city of Yerevan and have a number of programs including not only ‘Little
Yerevanian’, but also a book festival, a dance festival, and there is a decision
of the mayor in connection with the ‘Little Yerevanian’ event,” Movsisian said.




He also added that kids in the square will be offered a chance of attractions
and entertainments at very affordable prices that day.

The municipality also explained that its decision to ban the opposition march
through Yerevan’s central thoroughfares was based on a police conclusion that
the route chosen by the opposition lies through major public transportation
sections and that if staged the march would result in major traffic congestions
along the roads where traffic is hampered by large-scale construction work as it
is. Police also said that such a march “would pose a threat to the lives and
health of the participants themselves, disturb public order and result in
restrictions of the constitutional rights of other members of the public.”

Armenia’s opposition had stated on numerous occasions about its plans to hold a
rally in Liberty Square that day regardless of the municipality’s decision.

Zurabian called the offer of the city authorities to stage a rally near Hrazdan
Stadium ‘a mockery’.

“We immediately took it as a mockery. They might as well have offered us to
rally near the Sovetashen dump outside the city or at another similar place. It
is an obvious attempt to deride us, naturally it is unacceptable to us,”
Zurabian said.

Zurabian said they had decided to give another chance to the authorities to show
respect for people’s right to assembly, but said they would go ahead with their
planned rally even if the matter is not resolved by June 20.

Armenian lawmakers earlier this week eased some of the restrictions on freedom
of assembly under pressure from the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly
and other international bodies. However, the restrictions imposed by them in
conditions of the state of emergency in the wake of the suppression of
post-election opposition protests still remain effective until the new
amendments are signed into law by President Serzh Sarkisian.

By Ruzanna Stepanian