Armenian National Congress leader absent from wreath-laying ceremony

Following a religious service in commemoration of the victims of the tragic events in Armenia's capital on March 1, 2008, the participants marched to the monument to Alexander Myasnikyan to lay a wreath there.Representatives of the opposition bloc Armenian National Congress (ANC) and Heritage party attended the religious service held at Surb Sargis church in Yerevan.ANC Chairman Levon Ter-Petrosyan did not attend the service nor did he participate in the wreath-laying ceremony.Nikol Pashinyan, an MP of the ANC, was among the participants. "Why should not I attend an ANC-organized gathering and religious service," he said.
The issue will remain on the agenda as long as those guilty remain unpunished. The major culprits are "Serzh Sargsyan and Robert Kocharyan that seized power.""The responsibility for the March 1 events rests with the well-known persons that seized power in a coup," Mr Pashinyan said.With respect to a new parliamentary committee to investigate the March 1 events, he said: "What is of importance for me is that the March 1 issue cannot be removed from the agenda until the ones guilty have been punished under law."The victims' relatives are sure that Armenia's authorities are responsible for the murders. "We know why they are have gripped their chairs. Should they lose power, they will be jailed the next day," said Alla Hovhannisian, mother of one of the victims Tigran Khachatryan.Sargis Qloyan, father of Gor Qloyan, is sure that Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan are guilty of the bloodshed.   Read more... (249 words)

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