Epress.am News from Armenia
The Armenian National Congress rally and march wrapped up late on May 31. Present at the rally at Liberty Square were Sasun Mikaelyan and Nikol Pashinyan, both of whom had been released from prison only days earlier on an amnesty declared by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and approved by parliament. Both men are opposition members who were controversially charged in connection wit the events of Mar. 1–2, 2008, when national and military forces called in to disperse mass protests against alleged electoral fraud resulted in 10 dead and many more wounded.
The rally was presided over by Pashinyan, who is also the chief editor of local daily Haykakan Jamanak (“Armenian Times”). The last time Pashinyan MC-ed a rally was in Feb. 2008.
