If the organizers of the October 27 1999 tragedy and the incidents of 12 April 2004 were punished, we would avoid the March 1 killings, said Stepan Demirchyan, Leader of the People's Party of Armenia, speaking at a rally in Liberty Square on 1 March.
"The country needs radical reforms. What we have now is poverty growth, migration, social polarization and unemployment. Meanwhile, the authorities are gaining benefits from all this. We appreciate the civil society's fight, but to restore the confidence in future, we must achieve a power change in the country. It is the only way out, and today's rally shows that we are able to do it," Demiorchyan said.