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Armenia warns that demos may heighten tensions with Azerbaijan
Agence France Presse
April 19, 2004
YEREVAN, April 19 - Arnenia's foreign minister warned Monday that a
wave of protests sweeping the country in demand of the president's
resignation may lead to an escalation of tensions with neighboring
arch-foe Azerbaijan.
The protests have been held almost daily over the past two weeks,
and Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan said Azerbaijan may now feel
that Armenia's leadership is weakening and take a stronger line on
the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
"I am concerned that with the heightened political tensions,
Azerbaijan's position concerning Nagorno-Karabakh may become tougher,"
Oskanyan told reporters.
The mainly ethnic Armenian enclave is claimed by Azerbaijan but is
currently ruled by a self-styled independent government recognized
only by Armenia.
The two Caucasus countries held a war over the mountainous region
and have still not formally repaired their relations.
Earlier Monday, Armenia's President Robert Kocharian was quoted as
saying that the wave of opposition protests was a "misunderstanding"
and unlikely to continue for long.
"It is certainly a temporary phenomenon," he said in an interview
with the Russia's Izvestia daily.
The protests in Armenia, a nation of three million people, have
drawn comparisons with last year's "rose revolution" that ousted the
leadership in neighboring Georgia.
"Our opposition, under the impression of Georgia's events, has decided
to stage a similar situation in Armenia," the Armenian president told
Izvestia. "But our reality cannot be compared with Georgia's."
The Armenian opposition says that Kocharian rigged a run-off
presidential vote in March 2003 to secure a second term in office
and is demanding that he step down.
But despite the widespread discontent in Armenia over low living
standards, analysts say Kocharian is too strong, and the opposition
too weak, for the Georgian scenario to be repeated in Armenia, the
world's first state to adopt Christianity.
Last Monday, the police broke up an anti-government demonstration in
the capital Yerevan using water cannon and reportedly injuring dozens
of protestors.
mkh-bur/zak/rm
Armenia-politics-demo
Agence France Presse
April 19, 2004
YEREVAN, April 19 - Arnenia's foreign minister warned Monday that a
wave of protests sweeping the country in demand of the president's
resignation may lead to an escalation of tensions with neighboring
arch-foe Azerbaijan.
The protests have been held almost daily over the past two weeks,
and Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan said Azerbaijan may now feel
that Armenia's leadership is weakening and take a stronger line on
the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
"I am concerned that with the heightened political tensions,
Azerbaijan's position concerning Nagorno-Karabakh may become tougher,"
Oskanyan told reporters.
The mainly ethnic Armenian enclave is claimed by Azerbaijan but is
currently ruled by a self-styled independent government recognized
only by Armenia.
The two Caucasus countries held a war over the mountainous region
and have still not formally repaired their relations.
Earlier Monday, Armenia's President Robert Kocharian was quoted as
saying that the wave of opposition protests was a "misunderstanding"
and unlikely to continue for long.
"It is certainly a temporary phenomenon," he said in an interview
with the Russia's Izvestia daily.
The protests in Armenia, a nation of three million people, have
drawn comparisons with last year's "rose revolution" that ousted the
leadership in neighboring Georgia.
"Our opposition, under the impression of Georgia's events, has decided
to stage a similar situation in Armenia," the Armenian president told
Izvestia. "But our reality cannot be compared with Georgia's."
The Armenian opposition says that Kocharian rigged a run-off
presidential vote in March 2003 to secure a second term in office
and is demanding that he step down.
But despite the widespread discontent in Armenia over low living
standards, analysts say Kocharian is too strong, and the opposition
too weak, for the Georgian scenario to be repeated in Armenia, the
world's first state to adopt Christianity.
Last Monday, the police broke up an anti-government demonstration in
the capital Yerevan using water cannon and reportedly injuring dozens
of protestors.
mkh-bur/zak/rm
Armenia-politics-demo