Epress.am News from Armenia
Today, the parents of soldiers, who died during their military service in times of peace, agreed to move their protest across the street from the Presidential Palace. For a long time, the parents were not giving in to the police officers' requests to move, claiming that no one heard them from there.
Gohar Sargsyan, who lost her son Tigran Ohanjanyan in 2007, received a phone call from Yerevan Police Chief Ashot Karapetyan, who asked her to move away from the Presidential gates. When Ohanjanyan refused, the Police Chief threatened to implement “appropriate measures”. Angry at the Chief's words, the parents stood in front of the gates for a few more minutes, and eventually went to the sidewalk across the street. Epress.am journalist spoke to Hovsep Muradyan, who lost his son Arman Muradyan in 2013, who explained that they decided the move to avoid unnecessary scuffles with the police, because they saw a guest was coming to the Presidential Palace and the police were waiting to forcefully push them away from the gates. Recall, that during previous protests, police would not restrict them from the entrance, only limiting them from the gates.
Five minutes after the parents went across the street, the palace gates opened and an OSCE office car entered; the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk was meeting with President Serzh Sargsyan.
Before nearing the Presidential Palace, the parents of the dead soldiers rallied across Baghramyan Ave., stopping in front of the British embassy, then continued in front of the National Assembly gates. That is when an official visitation was taking place at the National Assembly; the guest was Cypriot House of Representatives Speaker Yiannakis Omirou.
Note, that the parents have been protesting in front of state bodies for years and stating that they do not believe official explanations to their children’s deaths, and are demanding fair investigations into the cases.
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