Municipality may reject opposition's claim to hold a rally

The Yerevan Municipality discussed Wednesday the opposition's notice on planning a rally on Freedom Square on February 18.

Member of the opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC) Tigran Arakelyan left the discussion, saying that the municipality's decision to authorize sports and cultural events on Freedom Square had been made in violation of the law. He later discussed the ANC's notice with Gagik Baghdasaryan, an authorized representative at the Yerevan municipality.

"I don't find the decision is subject to any discussion at all. If you have a decision which was made after a prior notice I will discuss it. Any other decision is in conflict with Armenian laws and is not subject to discussion," Arakelyan said, adding that the municipality's decision to authorize other events on the same day had been made ahead of a 20-day prior notice period specified by the law.

Arguing with the oppositionist, Baghdasaryan said that he had received a recommendation to consider the notice on January 27, which is within the specified time limit.

"If you closely look at the dates, you will see that the notice was submitted to the mayor on January 25 but I received a recommendation to review it on January 27, so the 20-day period was not violated," he added.

In its notice dated January 25, ANC notified the Mayor's Office of its intention to hold a march on February 18. Baghdasaryan had found out from a meteorological service that weather conditions were not going to be favorable on that date, and said that in such a case, the law allows for rejecting the march too.

The municipality will publish its final decision by Thursday morning. It is very likely that the notice to hold a rally would be rejected. Asked by Tert.am whether there is any possibility for not rejecting the opposition, Baghdasaryan said the square will be used for other purposes on the specified date.

"I invited the organizers of the other event to the discussion to find out whether any other public event could be organized simultaneously. But their response was negative," he added.