“It is hard to answer why it wasn’t successful. Probably the result was not planned. Proper preparation work hadn’t been done,” Artak Zeynalyan, a member of the Republic Party executive committee, commented on the events of April 9 during a conversation with www.aravot.am. He assured that the Republic Party participated in Raffi Hovhannisyan’s movement that day, but it didn’t stand out, because it wasn’t on the platform. In Artak Zeynalyan’s words, “We clearly followed the orders. We were not going to mount the
platform and take it. It was not ours. Our mission there was to be the people, and we were the people that day, we participated. There was a commander, and he decided what to do. All that belonged to him, to the Heritage Party.” Artak Zeynalyan didn’t wish to talk about the criticism of Raffi Hovhannisyan. “Regardless of what I think of that, I will abstain from giving any assessments for the moment.” As for the police’s actions, according to Artak Zeynalyan, their actions were not in accordance with the law. “Their actions were illegal, and I share the assessments of the Human Rights Defender. It coincides with my assessment. What happened was illegal, and police officers behaved like a unit of a junta that had seized power. They behaved exactly like that. If the authorities had been officials elected in accordance with the law, they wouldn’t have had any fear, since they were the majority, and those few people who were going to organize a march along Baghramyan Street wouldn’t be the mass of people that could threaten them. They confirm that they are what I have just said – people who have seized power.”
Hripsime JEBEJYAN
