“We have learned about the graffiti by E-mail. Our friends have been doing it but it is not something discussed and decided – it’s a private initiative,” says Hima youth group member Narek.

“During the state of emergency and later, when everything was restricted, Hima was conducting little actions that were making the life active,” Vanine from Hima explains.

She says that Hima allows raising issues, expressing political activeness and not being party members. “We are not a political force, we are a civil union, a group that is not registered anywhere. It is rather an open forum,” Vanine tells. According to her, today ANC raises the issues they are concerned with – that’s why they are less active.

Mher Manukyan is not a Hima member. However, he writes songs for Hima band, sings with them and takes part in the actions.

He states that the songs written by him are not political but civil – they express their individual positions, “We do not praise a political force or direction.”

Hima members state that they are almost an opposition inside the opposition.

“For example, last autumn we were displeased that Levon Ter-Petrossian was not talking much about the Karabakh problem and was not blaming the authorities for that,” Vanine says. “However, when we met with Ter-Petrossian and Arman Musinyan, they explained everything, and now I realize that it was the right policy. Our country is in a very bad state in relation with the issue of Karabakh, and it is not worth exploiting this topic in the internal political struggle.”

Vanine is sure that foreign politics is the area where you should support incumbent authorities and not aggravate the complicated situation even more.

Vanine and Mher accept that Levon Ter-Petrossian is a role model for them and their friends. However, they don’t accept that they have been blindly and fanatically following the ANC leader.

“Levon Ter-Petrossian is a very charismatic person,” Mher explains. “He has got a lot to give people. Also he is a role model of an educated, strong thinker, a representative of the intelligentsia. After all, shouldn’t young people have somebody as a role model that they would strive to resemble?”

Mher has already written 7 songs for Hima rock band. They are planning to produce a CD and allot the income to the political prisoners’ families.

Also, Mher is planning to organize the concert of Hima band in September. But it is not being discussed yet – the members of Hima are on vacation.