Armenian opposition broke off negotiations with the authorities until release of their activist

Armenian National Congress broke off its participation in the dialogue with the authorities of Armenia and will return to the negotiating table only after alteration of preventive punishment for activist Tigran Arakelyan. This was reported by Levon Zurabyan, coordinator of ANC, leader of the delegation of oppositionists at the negotiation.

On August, 9, seven young activists of ANC were detained in the center of Yerevan. The arrest took place at the moment of negotiation between the ruling coalition and extraparliamentary Armenian National Congress which started in the middle of July. On August, 12, three activists were released on their own recognizance. On August, 19, the court decided to release three more activists. However, a motion of alteration of preventive punishment for Tigran Arakelyan was declined.

Today leader of the delegation of ANC at the negotiation Levon Zurabyan declared that the authorities were using Tigran Arakelyan’s arrest as an instrument of pressure upon the opposition.

“By such a behaviour the authorities confirm the fact that Tigran Arakelyan is a political prisoner and the dialogue between the ruling coalition and ANC is turning into a haggle”, Zurabyan remarked at a press conference held in Yerevan on August, 26.

The seventh meeting between the ruling coalition and Armenian National Congress appointed for today failed because the oppositionists did not arrive.

Head of the delegation of the ruling coalition David Arutiunyan estimated ANC’s behaviour as a political demarche. “I consider such actions of the opposition at least strange. We do not have the kind of relations when one does not warn that a delegation or some of its members will not come to a meeting. It is a political demarche and that is a pity. We have not allow ourselves anything like this”, Arutiunyan said.