HIMA Youth Initiative
was one of the slogans of the Popular Movement (Armenian: Համաժողովրդական շարժում) launched after the Presidential Elections of February 19, 2008 which according to the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR): "Mostly met OSCE commitments and international standards in the pre-election period and during voting hours, serious challenges to some commitments did emerge, especially after election day.
"[1]Protests began when tens of thousands of supporters of the opposition presidential candidate Levon Ter-Petrossian took to the streets in downtown Yerevan on February 20 to denounce the declared election results and what they alleged to have been electoral fraud2.
When Ter-Petrossian asked the public to leave the square in order to come back the next day and continue their non-violent protest, the demonstrators started to chant en masse “HI-MA!
Later that day, police and security forces clashed with protesters, automatic weapons were fired, explosive devices were detonated, vehicles were set alight, and looting occurred.
The initiative was composed of high school and college students at different levels, graduates and post-graduates, as well as young university professors and other youth of diverse backgrounds.
These issues were the following: 1. release of the persons detained on seemingly artificial and politically motivated charges (political prisoners) 2. freedom of meetings, assemblies, rallies and demonstrations in both law and practice 3. freedom and pluralism of public television and radio on a daily basis, as well as other broadcast media; ending harassment by the tax authorities of opposition electronic and printed media outlets.
Post-election processes were accompanied with arrest and continuing detention of scores of persons, including more than a 100 opposition supporters and three members of parliament, some of them on seemingly artificial and politically motivated charges.
Most of the detainees are high-ranking members of opposition parties who ran Ter-Petrossian’s national and local election campaign offices.
One of them, Ararat Zurabian, was the chairman of the Pan-Armenian National Movement (HHSh), the country’s former ruling party of which the ex-President remains a member.
It was HIMA!’a goal to raise awareness of the issue of political prisoners and enhance the understanding of their civil rights among the general public.
actively spreads alertness of the violation of basic human rights through non-violent actions that are mainly targeted at government officials and parliament members behind these amendments.
The Armenian Tax Service had already sparked controversy when it inspected the books of the Gyumri-based TV station GALA last October shortly after the latter broke ranks to provide airtime to Ter-Petrossian.
include the live concert at the Northern Avenue, Downtown Yerevan, symbolically titled "Ticket to the Prison" ("Berdi Putevka"), performing serenades dedicated to freedom of assemblies and protests by the window of the Speaker of National Assembly, mock marches dressed in prisoners' uniforms and so on.
