Opposition party Lusavor Hayastan pays homage to March First victims

YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. The opposition Lusavor Hayastan (Luminous Armenia) party paid tribute to the victims of the March 1, 2008 events today at the A. Myasnikyan statue in Yerevan.

The area nearby the statue was one of the main gathering points of the 2008 post-election protests, where clashes took place.

MP Edmon Marukyan, President of Lusavor Hayastan, told reporters today that since 2008 the first day of spring has become a day of mourning for them.

“As politicians, we are doing everything in order for a March 1 not to be repeated, and for this we must built such a state governance system so that never again a government will come to power with such violence, so that impunity doesn’t exist. Now we have a situation when this all is becoming subject to scrutiny, and we are closely following for those who committed the murders of the 10 victims to be revealed, the circumstances of these crimes, meaning this all must be raised completely,” he said.

He expressed hope that the March 1 case will be completely revealed.

“The government claims that the March 1 case is revealed. I hope that we will see the organizers, murderers and circumstances also in court, and the society will go for reconciliation,” he said.

An active criminal investigation is currently underway into the case.

The March 1 events colloquially refer to the 2008 post-election unrest in Yerevan, when clashes between security forces and protesters left 10 people, including two security officers dead. The unrest spanned from late February until late March. The events are known simply as March First because it was on this day when police troops violently dispersed protesters in downtown Yerevan.

The protests were led by First President of Armenia Levon-Ter Petrosyan, who according to official results of the election lost to Serzh Sargsyan. Ter-Petrosyan's supporters believed the election was rigged.

Robert Kocharyan was the outgoing president at the time. He is currently jailed pending trial.

Incumbent PM Nikol Pashinyan was a senior member of Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s political party at the time and was coordinating the protests.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan