The ring round the ruling regime is getting tighter. Changes one cannot fail to notice are taking place in Armenia, Levon Zurabyan, Coordinator of the Armenian National Congress (ANC), told journalists Nov. 5.

“The situation is undergoing serious changes, which are the reason why the ring round the regime is getting tighter day by day. The ANC will address these changes on November 9, during a traditional rally,” he said. He pointed out that the ANC had decided to address human rights at the rally, but other issues were later put on the agenda.

“Of course, we are going to speak of human right, particularly of Nikol Pashinyan. However, we are also going to raise a number of issues, particularly the rapidly worsening socio-economic situation in the country. By our estimates, outflow of capital is reaching U.S. $1.5 billion. Moreover, the budget situation is most serious,” Zurabyan said.

“One more important indicators of the worsening socio-economic situation is emigration. A total of 23,000 people emigrated from Armenia in 2008, 25,000 in 2009, and 61,000 during ten months of this year,” the ANC coordinator said.

“The third aspect is the mounting pressure by the Council of Europe. The political prisoner situation is getting worse. The ruling regime is being pressed into thinking of releasing the political prisoners before the PACE session next January,” Zurabyan said. He also noted the dissolution of American and Russian criminal groups formed and sponsored by Armenia’s incumbent authorities. “It will inevitably ruin the ruling regime’s reputation and lead to its international isolation,” Zurabyan said.