The book-reading action planned in downtown Yerevan as part of the continuing “popular walks” on Wednesday fell through. Eyewitnesses say only a few people managed to read out books in a low voice, after which police began to take people to central Yerevan’s police station in cars.

“What was going on yesterday was a disgrace. I cannot describe it otherwise. An absurd disgrace,” Ruzan Khachatryan, the spokeswoman for opposition leader and Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s ally Stepan Demirchyan’s People’s Party of Armenia (PPA), told ArmeniaNow on Thursday. “Without any warning people were being taken to police headquarters for questioning only because they happened to be walking in or around Northern Avenue at that moment.”

Armenia’s first ombudsperson Larisa Alaverdyan, who together with her fellow lawmakers from Heritage Party’s parliamentary faction was at the scene, says more than four dozen people were brought to the police precinct of Yerevan’s Kentron district that night.

“This data was provided to us at the Kentron Police. People who were simply on a stroll though that part of the capital had been rounded up and brought to police. All of them were released later, however that artificially and demonstratively created situation not only infringes on people’s rights, but also stirs up the situation,” Alaverdyan told ArmeniaNow.

The situation, which was “stirred up” still before the bloody events of March 1, took an interesting turn after the silent mourning march of March 21 (the first day after the state of emergency was lifted), as “popular walks” became the name to call such protest actions.

“Popular walks” was a response to the controversial legislative amendment (to the law “On holding meetings, public rallies, marches and demonstrations”) passed overwhelmingly (90 votes to 6) by Armenian lawmakers at a special meeting on March 17, which expanded opportunities for the authorities to refuse to sanction mass events, including public rallies, marches and demonstrations. At the suggestion of one Republican faction member, the amendments came into effect not within ten days as is foreseen by the routine procedure, but already the following day.

The apparent goal of the legislative “amendment” adopted on the threshold of the end of the emergency rule was to silence dissenting voices that could take to street protests and marches again.

“Solutions are not given to problems through pressures, as pressures only bring about new tensions,” says Artur Sakunts, head of the Vanadzor-based regional branch of the Armenian Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly. “These actions are outside the legal, human-rights and political frameworks. As a result, people had to find new options.”

As a “new option”, every day beginning March 22, at 6 pm. groups of people go into the streets in downtown Yerevan as part of the launched “popular walks” – to take a stroll around the place, to have debates, to play chess or, how it was planned, to read a book, be it the Bible or some sci-fi literature.

“The parade of illegalities by the authorities is continuing,” says Ruzan Khachatryan, who says she will bring a complaint to court claiming that her right to walking had been restricted.

The PPA member says otherwise she will also apply to the National Assembly for a new amendment to be moved into the law in order to restrict “a person’s right to walk in the city”.

“They pass amendments that are beyond logic,” Khachatryan says. “I understand that changes have been introduced in the law, but in these same changes I haven’t seen anything outlawing walks, book- reading, for which an individual can be forcibly and without explanations put into a police car and taken to a police station.”

However, police officials say police are simply doing their job.

“We do our job,” Artyom Babayan, Chief of the Yerevan Police’s Criminal Investigations Department, explained to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “It is possible that some criminal on our wanted list is in that street, right? Is it possible to check that in those conditions? Impossible. That’s why there are corresponding divisions, places, regulated work.”

According to political analyst Aghasi Yenokyan, such “regulated work” will only fuel tensions instead of easing them.

“Such actions are aimed at creating an atmosphere of fear,” Yenokyan told ArmeniaNow.

He fears an escalation of tensions, since, he says, the daily “solutions” and repressions offered by the authorities to show that everything is under control do not produce a positive result.

“No doubt, the “popular walk” will continue, since it is impossible to change the situation with demonstrative violence,” Yenokyan believes. “And in this situation it is no longer important whether you are at fault or not, whether you break the law or not. I think that even the created absurd situation will not stop people from raising their voice of protest.”

Governing Republican Party of Armenia spokesman and MP Eduard Sharmazanov told ArmeniaNow that “perhaps there is discontent” in the country, but not “an atmosphere of fear”.

“I would advise everyone to be more correct. Only legal evaluations should be given to legal issues. If someone’s rights have been infringed upon, let them turn to court,” Sharmazanov said. “Armenia has one way – towards democracy. And democracy can be developed only in a country where there is law and order.”

Despite the authorities assertions of “establishing law and order”, on March 27, Human Rights Watch, a New York-based watchdog, urged the Armenian government “to lift new restrictions on freedom of assembly and cease detaining opposition supporters participating in peaceful protests,” saying that on March 25-27 police detained at least 80 participants of “popular walk” actions.

The Armenian government should allow peaceful demonstrations, not ban them,” said Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The new restrictions effectively punish peaceful demonstrators for the violence that took place on March 1”

HRW said that the latest restrictions on public assembly are “indefinite” and “violate Armenia’s obligation to respect peaceful assembly.” (Full text of the HRW statement is available at http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/03/27/armeni18366.htm)