Armed with the posters Paws off from Gala, our Favorite Child!; Authorities change, Freedom is eternal; Enemies of Freedom of Speech will be punished by the Law and, Public Ignorance, and that Day will come by the Damnation of God, the gathering organizers and participants left Asparez journalists’ club for the Theater Square in Gyumri.

The rally was appointed at 16:00. According to different calculations, despite the cold and windy weather, there were about 1000 people in the square. People from neighbor villages had arrived in Gyumri to take part in the gathering. A reporters’ group from Yerevan had arrived in order to support Gala.

Levon Barseghyan, the chairman of Asparez club opened the meeting on behalf of the headquarters of freedom of speech and Gala support. He briefly presented the recent events around Gala, repeating that the officials involved in this case will have to answer for it.

“I am glad that here we have everybody that considers himself free, that is not scared to protect his and others’ freedom, that has understood that people closing Gala TC yesterday closed A1+ and Noyan Tapan and tomorrow are going to dictate to them how to live, how to breathe, what to listen to, what to watch, and how to think. We are not going to permit closing of Gala – they will not manage to do it,” Levon Barseghyan said.

Among the participants were Hovhannes Margaryan from CofL, chairman of Democratic Homeland Petros Makeyan, editor of Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper Nikol Pashinyan, chairman of Freedom of Speech Protection Committee Ashot Melikyan.

Each speaker finished their statement with the exclamation Freedom to Gala!

Actually, while the rally in support of Gala was going on in the theater square, ARFP was celebrating the 117th anniversary of establishing the party in the theater building.

At the end of the meeting, Levon Barseghyan congratulated the coming New Year of the gathered people, promising “to bring black New Year over those closing Gala” if that rally and their protests had no influence. The last sentence was also awarded by the encouragement of the gathered people.

Yeranuhi Soghoyan, Gyumri