ArmInfo. The initiative "Take a step" for 14 days of its march through the regions of the republic to Yerevan in protest of the future premiership of Serzh Sargsyan made 320 thousand steps. The leader of the movement, MP Nikol Pashinyan stated this at a rally in Yerevan's Liberty Square.
"During these 14 days that we walked through the regions of the republic and the streets of Yerevan, we saw poverty and devastation, disappointment and hopelessness." In the eyes of the people we saw hatred for Serzh Sargsyan and his Republican Party, these people asked us to get rid of the ruling regime. It turns out that in this case the RPA gets hundreds of thousands of votes even in bribes with the help of bribes. And because the people are in captivity of Serzh Sargsyan, he is broken and disappointed. The ruling regime treats the people in the way they treated the Nazis in concentration camps but I apologize to the people for leaving him alone with the mafia of Serzh Sargsyan, but today I am determined, I will be with the people until the last in order to get rid of him from Serzh Sargsyan and his henchmen, "Pashinyan said, urging people also stand up and fight for their rights.
Further Pashinyan included a record with Serzh Sargsyan's statement from 2014, where he said that he does not pretend to be prime minister in 2018 and considers it incorrect when the same person is at the helm of the government three times in a row. However, the people began to chant "Traitor, Traitor!", Drowning out Sargsyan's voice, and Pashinyan's attempts to pacify the protesters to hear Sargsyan's words again did not succeed.
"For whom the people of Serzh Sargsyan accepts, when after such a statement he again claims for power, moreover, he privately privatized the government dachas in the center of Yerevan where all the leaders of Armenia lived, but none of them dared to privatize them." Sargsyan, eastern sultan or Ilkham Aliyev's laurels do not give him peace? " continued Pashinyan, stressing that the authorities treat the people as farm laborers, at the expense of their labor illegally and permanently profiting. "Sashik (brother of Serzh Sargsyan) is illegally entering the share of any business project in Armenia, but I am confident that the people who have liberated their lands from Azerbaijan will be able to liberate themselves in their homeland," the deputy said.
He further stressed that Serzh Sargsyan is the most failed politician of the third Republic of Armenia, since only under his rule the Armenian side had territorial losses. "During the April war it became clear what problems are in the Armed Forces, and only after the territorial losses, the army and the border were equipped with the appropriate equipment and weapons, but not at the expense of the state, but from private donations," Pashinyan said, adding that the people and the opposition must do their utmost to prevent Sargsyan's return to power.
Pashinyan noted that over the past few days, three opposition initiatives have consolidated their efforts to fight the Serzh Sargsyan regime: "Give your heart to Serzh", "Take a step" and the "For the sake of the state of Armenia" front. At the same time, Pashinyan urged all other opposition forces to leave discrepancies aside and come to the Freedom Square. He specifically appealed to his colleagues from the "Yelk" bloc - the "Enlightened Armenia" and "Republican" parties, which did not adhere to Pashinyan's shares. He also urged them to come to Freedom Square and join the people.
Further, Pashinyan outlined the future strategy of the struggle: "On April 17, we must block the building of the National Assembly and prevent a meeting at which the voting on Sargsyan's candidacy will be held." Tomorrow we must block the office of the Republican Party where the RPA Council meeting will take place, at which Sargsyan officially will be nominated for the post of prime minister, "Pashinyan said, emphasizing that the fight should be non-violent, even if violence is applied to the protesters. "You must remember that among policemen we do not have enemies, but even if violence is applied against us, we must unite and not allow to separate and disperse us," the oppositionist explained.
He also promised that he would not leave the Freedom Square for a moment and urged the people to follow his example. Pashinyan noted that the fight would be diversified, up to the blocking of traffic and buildings of various state structures.
Further, he called the procession to move to the French square and block the street traffic on this site, and then descend along Mashtots Avenue, in turn blocking traffic on various crossroads.
The police also issued a statement, stressing that until now did not interfere in the situation, as the opposition's actions were peaceful. She urged the opposition to once again adhere to peaceful methods of struggle.