Translated material
Dancing in the dark
The Armenian opposition found a “Maidan” in Yerevan
Anyone who talks about the lack of democracy in Armenia should be taken for an internship in Russia - for example, to some “March of Dissent”. On the second day after the presidential elections in Armenia, the revolutionary spirit remains in the country's capital : supporters of the first president of the republic, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, still refuse to recognize the preliminary voting results, according to which their leader was approximately half as much as the current Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan. The opposition demands a fair, in its opinion, recount of votes or new elections. Which can only take place after the punishment of everyone who is guilty of violations and falsifications. Last night, supporters of Levon Ter-Petrosyan declared a permanent rally on Theater Square, and as darkness fell, the first porcini tents appeared in the crowd in front of the Opera building.By the time the report was delivered, there were still several thousand people in the square, dancing to folk music flowing from the speakers, waving national flags and setting off fireworks. What was happening would most closely resemble a holiday, if not for the abundance of patrol cars and police buses scurrying around to transport detainees, waiting in the wings at the nearest large intersection. The rally on Teatralnaya Square is unauthorized, and a police attack on the tent city could be launched at any moment. One of Serge Sargsyan’s closest aides in the Republican Party, Eduard Sharmazanov, has already explained that “we must distinguish democracy from mass unrest.”
Early on Thursday morning it was hard to believe that Yerevan continues to be the scene of turbulent political events. Parents escorted their children to school, cafes and ticket offices opened, and instead of a column of buses with riot police, a lone police car stood at the fence of the republican parliament. The foot of the Matenadaran and the square in front of the Opera, where rallies of thousands raged the day before, remained deserted.
The picture was restored by half past three. Buses with riot police again lined up along the sidewalks of Baghramyan Avenue, separating the parliament and presidential administration buildings from each other. This time, the riot police were no longer smoking complacently on the street, but sat in buses in full gear and with determined faces, ready to go at any moment to quell “mass riots.” Right there in the alley there were trucks filled with internal troops and even an ambulance with a red cross on its protective side. Two paddy wagons and several cars of the police authorities returned to the Place de France, among which someone’s wide Hummer stood out.
People were already gathering at the Opera. At first there were noticeably fewer people than the day before, and, on the contrary, there were significantly more policemen. The speakers and microphones of the rally had not yet started working, but the police “swearing machine” was working in full force next to the jeep with windows barred against cobblestones and sticks. A policeman with a megaphone calmly explained to the crowd that they were in the square illegally. Those gathered contemptuously ate the seeds and compacted themselves.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, as promised, the rally began. By this time, about 30 thousand people had gathered in the square. The leaders took their usual place on the improvised podium - the top landing of the stairs encircling the façade of the building facing the square. This time, along the perimeter of the podium, a cordon stood out very clearly in the crowd - men dressed in civilian clothes, not particularly young and strong, like Armenian cognac. Yerkrapah, the union of Karabakh war volunteers, announced its support for Levon Ter-Petrosyan a few days ago.
A group of high-ranking police officers made their way through this cordon to the leaders, who, it must be understood, informed the “headquarters” about the illegality of the event. The conversation was brief - amid the whistling and hooting of the ever-dense crowd, the police were asked to leave. “We told them that the actions of the authorities were illegal, and the police should have done their job during the elections on February 19, stopping violations, and not standing on the sidelines like modest brides!” - one of the leaders explained into the microphone.
As always, Levon Ter-Petrosyan came out to Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” and joked that it was he and his comrades who ordered such sunny weather. The sun really warmed like spring yesterday until it set. The head of the “Impeachment” bloc, Nikol Pashinyan, immediately announced that it had been decided to make the rally indefinite, that he himself and some of the leaders would remain here overnight and beyond, until the government does what is required of it, that is, recounts the votes and will not punish the guilty. The people in the square began chanting the word “Now!” - because the prospect of standing in the square for weeks did not smile on anyone, even among the most desperate supporters of Levon Ter-Petrosyan. “We fought against this government for ten years, now we are ready to stand here for ten years!” - at the risk of being misunderstood, shouted Mr. Pashinyan, nicknamed the “voice of the revolution.”
“We will not stand for ten years. If the government doesn’t do the job it’s supposed to do, we’ll go and do it ourselves,” the mustachioed Sasun Mikaelyan, one of the heroes of the war in Karabakh, who fought in the suicide squad who responded to the famous call of the legendary Vazgen Sargsyan, who later died during the execution, consoled the people Armenian parliament in 1999. Oppositionists constantly and quite unequivocally link this terrorist attack with the names of outgoing President Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan. “Those who know the history of Armenia know that its people have always had to fight,” Mr. Mikaelyan continued. - But all our leaders, including Vazgen Sarksyan, had to fight with external enemies. And now our own elite is doing nasty things to us. We didn’t win in Karabakh so that now some shaven-headed Karabakhites would beat our women at polling stations.”
The square stigmatized the Catholicos, who hastened to congratulate Serzh Sargsyan on his victory in the presidential elections, although not only the Catholicos, but also Russian President Vladimir Putin and a group of OSCE observers congratulated him on his victory. Only the US State Department expressed concern about the quality of the elections and praised the opposition for their law-abiding nature.
Law-abiding oppositionists laughed out loud when Nikol Pashinyan compared two protocols from one of the polling stations: Ter-Petrosyan was the winner in the first, Serzh Sargsyan was the winner in the second, and in the first case the other seven candidates had several votes each, and in the second There are almost none of these voices left. “They stole votes even from their allies!”
Then the deputy chairman of the “Land of Law” party, Geghine Bisharyan, unexpectedly appeared on the podium and announced that her party had achieved a recount of votes in a hundred precincts (out of about 2000). They tried to whistle her: the fact is that the leader of the “Land of Law” Artur Baghdasaryan first promised an alliance Ter-Petrosyan, and then abandoned him and took third place in the elections. But the whistling was still drowned out by a multi-voiced cry: “Unity!”
From time to time, the leaders called a break so that people could dance to folk music. “These songs are like marches, like “Get up, huge country!” “our heroic war songs,” my elderly neighbor explained to me. The marches were quite suitable for dancing, which turned out to be possible even in a dense crowd right at the foot of the podium. - Look how people dance! Can you imagine that some of them did not come here of their own free will? Or would I vote, like others, for 5000 drams? (less than $20 - Ed. )" It was impossible to imagine.
“We demand from television that it show our rally and give Levon Ter-Petrosyan the opportunity to speak! - shouted one of the speakers, replacing each other, like cartridges in a revolver drum. - Otherwise, Serge has already announced that we have gone wild here and lost our human appearance. The animals are the ones who beat and kidnapped people from polling stations!”
Finally, at dusk, Levon Ter-Petrosyan came to the microphone. “These words of mine are addressed to you, Serzhik Sargsyan,” he began, as if speaking to an opponent’s billboard mounted on one of the surrounding roofs. — That’s exactly what my passport says, I know for sure, because it was I who signed the decree on your appointment as Minister of Defense (in 1993. — Ed. ). Stop ruining people’s holiday!”
The crowd froze in anticipation of the promised “important event” that Mr. Ter-Petrosyan announced yesterday. “I inform you that Deputy Minister of Defense Lieutenant General Manvel Grigoryan and another deputy, Gagik Mikaelyan, are negotiating with the Chief of the General Staff of the Ministry of Defense Seyran Ohanyan. “I am confident that the military will stand next to its people, and the army will not interfere in politics.” The square began to chant the spoken names. After the death of Vazgen Sargsyan, Manvel Grigoryan actually headed the Yerkrapah volunteer union and almost brought its members to the streets after the shooting of parliament - according to one version, at that moment the authorities offered him a position in the ministry. Now the general actually supported the opposition. But Seyran Ohanyan, who was Nagorno-Karabakh's defense minister this spring and is now considered a likely candidate for the post in Armenia, has until now been known as a strong supporter of Serzh Sargsyan.
Previous rallies began to disperse after Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s speech and darkness fell. Yesterday's rally continued. People of businessman Khachatur Sukiasyan, who supports the opposition, appeared on the square. They brought with them the first tents, which they immediately began setting up. Dancing and speeches continued until the evening. A boycott of classes at institutes and a continuation of the rally were planned for Friday. The organizers asked people to categorically avoid any initiative and illegal actions, and to behave only in accordance with the general plan.
The general plan for now is to wait until the next day. It is unknown how long the fuse for the residents of the tent city and the patience of the authorities and police will last. It is also unknown what resources Levon Ter-Petrosyan actually has in case of an attempt to disperse the meeting on Theater Square. The main resource of the opposition is the leader himself: if not for him, one could confidently assume that people would eventually get tired of even dancing and disperse on their own or with the help of police batons.
The city around the square continues to live normal life. “There’s still no chance, in extreme cases, Serge will bring Karabakh special forces,” the supporters of stability shrug their shoulders. “Levon is too stubborn a guy to just let the whole thing go,” the revolutionaries are sure.