Opponents of foreign-language schools to require president not to sign the bill

A local advocacy group is planning to gather in protest against the presidential administration on Tuesday in an attempt to prevent the president from signing the bill that allows re-opening of foreign-language schools in Armenia.

The group called "We are against Re-Opening Foreign-Language Schools" will be joined by intellectuals and NGOs.

The protestors will hand in a petition, signed by hundreds, to the president, requiring him president not to sign the draft law that envisages amendments to the Law on Language and the Law on Public Education.

The amendments that envisage re-opening of foreign language schools in Armenia were approved by the parliament at an extraordinary session on December 22.

In a statement released today the group called on all those concerned with the issue to join the protest.

"Time has come for us to unite and express our real force and indignation," read the statement.

"Serzh Sargsyan should eventually see against what force have his prime minister and education minister fought all through this process, and whose protest he is going to ignore by signing that treacherous document," it added.

"Whoever they are, an academician, a musician, or a publicist, a writer, a director, a journalist, an artist or a lecturer, we all must be on Baghramyan 26 at that hour on that day, even not paying attention to whether or not our actions will bear any fruit."