Sksela — Rock for Freedom

Via The Armenian Observer, Tirami Su and Bekaisa, and as mentioned here, the Sksela youth movement will be staging its Rock for Freedom concert on 7 October at 7pm in the Moscow Cinema’s Summer Hall. Bands playing include Empyray, Roxygen, Oaksenham and Impeachment-activist and former Lav Eli guitarist Mher Manukian.

As mentioned in the article I wrote on Sksela in April for EurasiaNet, the concert has been postponed until now because the Yerevan municipality refused to grant permission for it to be held.

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, Sksel a 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 Sksel a events is “official policy,” he continued.

According to Tirami Su, the event is sponsored by the British Embassy in Yerevan and marks civil society’s first attempt to stage activities ahead of next year’s presidential election. With some Sksela members sympathetic to the return of Levon Ter Petrosian to active politics, the event comes at a very interesting time indeed. Only time will tell if youth can finally become active in today’s political climate.