National Unity will do its best to prevent riots on April 9, party's leader says

"Robert Kocharian and Serzh Sargsian want to bring the civilized nation back to the Middle Ages! What was in 1937? Then everything was decided by threes, and now everything is decided by the two," Artashes Gegamian, leader of the National Unity party and deputy of the National Assembly, said a press conference on April 6.

He reported that 127 members and activists of the party were arrested on April 4 and 5. There are leaders of National Unity territorial branches among them. The party's statement was issued at the press conference. It is addressed to ambassadors of the Council of Europe's Member States as well as to the US ambassador in order to inform them of the mass detentions of opposition activists. The statement also reads that law enforcement agencies blocked the roads leading to Yerevan in defiance of the Constitution, in particular, Article 26, which stipulates the citizens' right to freedom of movement and participation in the meetings and manifestations.

Artashes Gegamian denounced the behavior of those people who threw eggs at the voters of National Unity gathered to meet with him [on April 5] and attacked media representatives.

He did not rule out the possibility that authorities are able to provoke mass riots on April 9, during the forthcoming meeting with voters of National Unity and the Justice bloc. "The authorities are exhausted. They have no choice but to provoke mass riots. But we will do everything we can to prevent it," Mr Gegamian said.

Editors note: See also the article "Opposition activists arrested in Armenia".