Armenia protesters threaten political unrest

Yerevan. Around 6,000 protesters rallied in the Armenian capital on Friday, calling for early elections in the ex-Soviet state and threatening political unrest if their demands are not met. The rally's leaders, angered by the arrest last month of an activist accused of fighting with police, promised more radical demonstrations if he was not released soon, AFP reported.

"We will be on the road to activating protests and mobilising the people to force the authorities to hold early elections," Levon Ter-Petrosian, a former president who leads the Armenian National Congress opposition bloc, told demonstrators. Dialogue between the opposition and the authorities began recently for the first time since 2008, when 10 people died when protesters and police clashed after disputed presidential elections. But the talks were suspended after the activist's arrest, and in an indication of continuing enmity, an opposition newspaper editor who was briefly jailed for his involvement in the 2008 violence told the rally to prepare for a potential uprising.

"A revolutionary situation has been created in Armenia. Everyone must be ready," opposition journalist Nikol Pashinian told protesters. The opposition bloc is trying to keep up the pressure on the coalition government led by current President Serzh Sarkisian after winning political concessions this year following a series of street protests. But the number of people attending the rally however was significantly smaller that the post-election protests in 2008, and analysts have suggested that widespread political unrest is currently unlikely.

The next parliamentary polls are due to be held in the small Caucasus country in 2012, with presidential elections in 2013, and the authorities have repeatedly rejected calls to hold them earlier.

Source Publication: Focus Information Agency
Source: http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n259135

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