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HIMA! ((アルメニア語:ՀԻՄԱ’), which in English means "NOW!"), is a youth initiative in Yerevan, Armenia, advocating democracy and civil rights against the oppression of the authoritarian regime of Armenia’s former President Robert Kocharyan and his hand-picked successor, Serge Sargsyan. == Background == HIMA! is one of the slogans of the Popular Movement (Armenian: Համաժողովրդական շարժում) launched after the Presidential Elections of February 19, 2008 which “displayed an insufficient regard for standards essential to democratic elections”. The protests began when tens of thousands of supporters of 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. It was then and there that the catchword HIMA! was spontaneously born. 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! HI-MA! HI-MA!”, purporting that they wanted to continue their protest NOW! and without further delay. The protests continued peacefully at Freedom Square for the next 10 days, with many demonstrators camping out on the square in tents (2). Eventually, the slogan became widely popular due to the 24-hour-long protests at the Freedom Square and political marches during the period of February 21 thru March 1. Early in the morning of March 1, Armenian security forces violently dispersed the crowd. According to official information, 31 persons (police and protesters) were injured. Later that day, protesters re-gathered and disturbances took place outside the French Embassy and Yerevan City Hall. In the early afternoon, a large crowd gathered in this area. In the evening, serious unrest occurred: police and security forces clashed with protesters, automatic weapons were fired, explosive devices were detonated, vehicles were set alight, and looting occurred. According to official sources, tragically there were 8 fatalities, later increased to 10, and some 130 injuries. At around 22.30 hours President Kocharyan declared a state of emergency covering Yerevan city, which among other restrictions imposed a ban on rallies and gatherings and constrained media reporting to official information, de facto imposing censorship. According to official information, as of 19 March 106 persons were detained and formally charged in connection with the events of 1 March. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「HIMA Youth Initiative」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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