Bowing to chants of “Now, Now” by thousands of protestors in Liberty Square, Levon Ter-Petrosyan and HAK leaders decided to launch one week of round-the-clock sit-ins next to Yerevan’s Opera House.

The rains only seemed to fuel the passion of the protestors who called on Ter-Petrosyan to take concrete measures rather than the periodic demonstrations that have been the hallmark of HAK of late.

Ter-Petrosyan called on supporters to maintain discipline in their ranks and to watch out for those sent to instigate trouble.

Young activists then proceeded to set up tents under the statutes of Hovhannes Tumanyan and Aexander Spendiaryan.

The list of demands by the opposition political alliance remains the same – parliamentary and presidential elections by the end of the year, exposing the culprits behind the March 1, 2008 deaths, reforms to the election code, the release of young HAK activist Tigran Arakelyan and the dropping of charges against others, a ban on high-rise buildings in downtown Yerevan, etc.

Ter-Petrosyan also said that HAK would be ready to enter into a dialog with the government during the protest actions.

Cutting his speech to just 30 minutes, Ter-Petrosyan chided the government for the lack of democracy and ongoing socio-economic problems in the country, lambasting Sargsyan’s promises to build a democratic and prosperous Armenia “in 20 years’ time.”