A friend said she talked with a policeman who had worked during the mass demonstrations last year on March 1 and 2. “He said that the policemen weren’t scared of the people protesting, but of the snipers they knew were stationed on the roofs of buildings,” she said. “The policeman said they did their best to stand with their backs up against walls, so that if the snipers started firing, they would be out of range.

“I also heard that soldiers from Karabagh, who will obviously be more loyal to the current leaders, are already in Yerevan for Sunday’s rally. And word has it they’ve passed out stun guns to the police. But I still don’t think they’ll take a chance and repeat last year’s beatings and murders. Europe is already watching closely, as word has it that if it’s proved that the army participated in last year’s March 1 events, the Europeans might declare the presidential election void. I’ve heard these kinds of threats before, and they’ve never been followed up on. This time, we’ll see.”