The Armenian National Congress (ANC) will hold protests at Freedom Square at central Yerevan today, RIA Novosti reports.
The ANC is headed by Ex-President of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan, It was formed on August 1, 2008, and includes less than 20 political parties and organizations. The organization demands early parliamentary and presidential polls.
ANC coordinator Levon Zurabyan said that the protests will be decisive due to numerous people willing to arrive. He said that their dialogue with the government failed.
The latest protests of the ANC on September 23 saw about 5,000 people. Besides early elections, the protesters demanded the government to reveal facts of murders during protests on March 1, 2008.
Ter-Petrosyan lost elections on February 19, 2008, to President Serzh Sargsyan. Protests were organized at the Yerevan center on February 20, 2008. They turned into mass disorders on March 1-2, 2008, resulting in clashes with law-enforcers, 10 people died and about 200 were injured. Opposition demands release of Tigran Arakelyan, who was arrested on August 9, and stopping of persecution of seven ANC activists. The congress demands the ban for street trading in Yerevan to be lifted and construction of sky-scrapers to be stopped.
The ANC and the government held several rounds of talks. The congress stopped the dialogue saying that the government was violating earlier agreements on release of activist Tigran Arakelyan.
The ruling coalition of Armenia is headed by the Republican Party and includes the Prosperous Armenia and Orinats Yerkir Parties.
