YEREVAN, APRIL 7, NOYAN TAPAN. Participants of the forum of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) held in Yerevan on April 6 joined the rally of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) later on the same day. During the rally, they called on Armenian authorities "to release the political prisoners immediately". In the words of Executive Director of Civil Liberties Organization Ibuchukwi Ezike, by attending the rally, he saw "people struggling for justice". "I myself was a political prisoner and had no right to fair trial. I vowed to dedicate my life to the fight for justice, and I demand that the Armenian authorities immediately release the political prisoners," I. Ezike stated. President of FIDH Ms. Souhayr Belhassen declared that the whole world in the person of human right advocates from various countries arrived in Yerevan. "We are here to demand freedom of the political prisoners," she stated and started chanting "Azatutyun" ("Freedom" in Armenian). The Nobel Prize winner Shirin Ebadi from Iran underlined that the Armenian people are not alone in their struggle for freedom: 150 human rights advocates came to Yerevan. "We will form a kind of chain so that our voice could be heard throughout the world," she said, addressing the rally participants. According to Raji Sulani from Palestine, "those currently in power in Armenia will remain in the past tomorrow". In his words, it is necessary to globalize national movements. He concluded his speech with the words: "Freedom to Armenia, Freedom to Palestine". President of the French League of Human Rights Jean-Pierre Dupois declared that the French nation supports the Armenians' demands concerning both the Armenian Genocide and the issue of freedom. "We demand justice for the Genocide victims and freedom for the persecuted persons," he said.

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