21 February 2008, 17:06
Ter-Petrosyan's supporters accuse Armenian authorities of breaching their rights
Today, at the rally of the opposition in the capital of Armenia, the residents of Yerevan who voted for Levon Ter-Petrosyan complained that the authorities were encroaching on their rights.
"Even in those days, when Armenia was at war for Karabakh, I could freely walk along the streets. Yes, I felt cold and hungry - but those were years of war, and the award was our victory and freedom. And now, for already 10 years I'm just afraid not only to walk but also to speak," Magdalena Mikolyan told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
Magdalena said that she feared for the consequences of her interview but asked to bring her words to the readers: "I'm afraid of pressure. My pension today is 23,000 drams; it's not enough even to pay for municipal services. Tomorrow they'll cut off electricity, because my debt is 35,000 drams. I've repeatedly applied for social help, but they give us pittances of 3-5 thousand drams and forget about us. I voted for my president, but the authorities, having forged the election, push me back into misery by breaching my right to choose."
The woman burst into tears: "It's a shame to be a street beggar. I have higher education and my total work record is 35 years, I worked as a dispatcher at the 'Zvartnots' Airport. My father was a military, my mother was a teacher, and they had lived through Armenian genocide. Nobody would pay attention to this. Now, I even have no flat of my own. <...>
I treat the today's policy of the authorities as a pressure towards giving up Armenian citizenship.
My only President is Levon Ter-Petrosyan. I think that this national movement is directed towards recovery of human rights, the rights of every Armenian. We do not want to see Serzh Sarkisyan as our President. But they impose a stranger and dishonest person on us."
Author: Bella Ksalova, CK correspondent
