Buses Were Present, Administrative Resource Not: Simonian on Bringing People to the Rally

It is unserious to claim that the "Civil Contract" party transported its supporters by buses from point A to point B. This opinion was expressed today by the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Alen Simonian, during a discussion in the parliament regarding videos taken after the March 1 rally, showing how participants were returned to their regional places of residence on tourist buses and minibuses.

“When people standing in the square chant together ‘Nikol, Prime Minister’ and light up collectively, it is absurd to speak about the ‘Civil Contract’ transporting its supporters by buses from point A to point B,” said the Deputy Speaker.

However, Simonian did not deny that people were brought to the rally and taken back by buses, but emphasized that this does not constitute the use of administrative resources.

“Yes, there was some organization of transporting certain individuals. But one can only refer to this as the use of administrative resources if we send a bus from the Police of the Ministry of Defense or the National Assembly to bring supporters of the Civil Contract,” stated Simonian.

Simonian also noted that the Civil Contract has a significantly larger number of supporters in Armenia compared to the opposition forces. The organizers of the process did not allow passengers in the buses to answer journalists' questions.

When asked by a journalist where they came from to Yerevan, whether from Martuni, a man sitting in the bus replied, “Leave us alone, do you not feel disgust?”