Unlike on Mar. 1, 2008, No One was Shot After 1996 Presidential Election: Opposition Leader

Armenian National Congress (HAK) leader Levon Ter-Petrossian on Monday responded to questions sent by journalists and members of the public via email, SMS and Twitter at an outdoor Q&A session held in Liberty Square where opposition supporters have been staging nonstop rallies since Friday.

Soon after the “open press conference” began, HAK spokesperson Arman Musinyan announced that they had received 400 questions since Sunday. Ter-Petrossian declared that he responded to 39 out of what had later become 500 questions, “less than 10%,” but if the people agreed to this format he would gladly continue responding to questions at such outdoor gatherings.

One of the questions directed to Ter-Petrossian was as follows: “Many compare Mar. 1, 2008, with Sept. 26, 1996 [when supporters of unsuccessful presidential candidate Vazgen Manukyan protested the presidential elections outside the parliament building]. What would you say to this?”

“The comparison is appropriate only in one case: both events took place after elections. The comparison ends there. That which happened in 2008 was unprecedented.

“[In 1996,] Vazgen Manukyan came into parliament and said [to this supporters outside] if I don’t return in 20 minutes, come after me. At that time, all the police forces reported to [then prime minister] Serzhik Sargsyan. Then he changed his name. In his passport, he is Serzhik Sargsyan. When they [protestors] had approached the gates, Serzhik approached me, he said, boss, we have to shoot. I said, under no circumstances. But when it became known that the parliamentary speaker was kidnapped and subjected to lynch law, Sargsyan said we have to shoot — I said, only in the air. In the process, no one received any gunshot wounds. Whoever makes comparisons [between the events of 1996 and those of 2008] are the attorneys of those murderers,” he said.