Sksela — Rock for Freedom
With less than five or six months to go before next year’s presidential election, Serzh Sarkisian and Levon Ter Petrosian are not the only ones attempting to attract a following for the vote. As mentioned in a previous post, so too is the Sksela (It’s Started) youth movement, a loose grouping of young people hoping to establish themselves as the Armenian equivalent of other similar groups in the post-Soviet space.
Sksela first came to prominence in the run-up to the 12 May parliamentary election. In April, EurasiaNet published my article on the movement. Since then, however, interest in Sksela has waned and observers were never convinced they could mobilize significant numbers of youth in Yerevan, let alone Armenia, anyway.
Youth in newspaper hats stand on street corners and read aloud from Armenian dailies. Masked young people march by parliament yelling “Don’t Eat Too Much!” at deputies. It’s election season in Armenia, and with the parliamentary vote just over a month away, one unconventional youth group is waging weekly war on widespread political apathy.
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The group claims that its purpose is not overtly political, and, at first glance, for many passers-by, the February march through town that also aimed to “wake up society from its winter slumber” appeared to be just a celebration of the traditional Lenten holiday of Barekendan. But hidden among the color and noise which define every Sksela event, a political message is becoming more evident as the May 12 vote approaches.
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Some observers are already trying to make comparisons between Sksel a and Georgia’s Kmara (Enough) or Ukraine’s Pora! (It’s Time!), youth groups that played key roles in those countries’ respective 2003 and 2004 revolutions.
Interestingly, during the period of the parliamentary election, Sksela tried to hold an outdoor rock concert as part of their (unofficially) election-related activities. Rock for Freedom was to be funded by the British Embassy in Yerevan, but the Mayor’s Office refused to grant permission. Again, the reason for the refusal was undoubtedly political and a gross violation of the right to freedom of assembly.
Citing previously scheduled outdoor events, Yerevan’s city hall has refused permission for the group to hold an April 14 open-air rock concert, funded, like the February march, by the British Embassy.
Like other observers, Sksela organizer Kharatian is concerned that such decisions are directly related to the election and attempts by the authorities to prevent alternative groups from holding meetings or staging rallies.
If so, Kharatian argues, the decision is misplaced. “I wouldn’t say that we’re directly concerned with the election as we’ve existed informally as a group since 2003, ” he commented, “but there’s no doubt that the country is about to face a major challenge which is why we’ve become so active now.”
The group has applied for an alternative date, but has yet to receive a response, he added. A fresh refusal would demonstrate whether or not blocking Sksela events is “official policy,” he continued.
Critics however, contend that many youth are attracted to Sksela by the possibility of attending free concerts or meeting other young people with similar interests.
Now, as Armenia enters a new phase of elections, Sksela’s Rock for Freedom looks set to happen. From what I’ve heard so far from sources within the organization, the event will be held at the Velotrak, thus eliminating the need for receiving permission from the municipality. Instead, one supposes a lot more money is needed and it will be interesting to discover which organizations and diplomatic missions are funding Sksela for their activities leading up to the presidential election.
There’s probably not much time too, because it will soon be winter, and the type of activities usually held by the group will be harder to stage when it’s cold, raining or snowing. And with Christmas and the New Year occupying most Armenian’s minds more than an election, there are only two small windows of opportunity for potential activism before and after December and January. The possible return of Ter Petrosian might also “turn off” an already apathetic youth.
On the other hand, if Sksela can remain politically neutral in the unofficial and official campaign period and dedicate itself to involving youth of whatever political persuasion in non-partisan pro-democracy activities, then something very valuable would have happened in Armenia. For that, however, we shall have to wait and see, but in the meantime, Tirami Su posts some photos from today’s meeting to discuss the arrangement for the Rock for Freedom event.
- Published:
- 09.16.07 / 11pm by Onnik
- Category:
- Armenia Presidential Election 2008, Civil Society, Democracy, Youth
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