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Robert Kocharyan: If they shoot at policemen I am forced to have recourse to the army
2008-03-01 23:14:00
ArmInfo. If the rioters are shooting at policemen I am forced to
have recourse to the army, President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan said
during a press-conference today late in the evening.
Explaining his earlier decision to impose state of emergency in
Yerevan, Kocharyan said that after being driven out of the Liberty
Square, the unsanctioned demonstrators moved to other areas of Yerevan
and went beyond political behavior. They started robbing and destroying
state and private property. But the most outrageous thing is that
they used arms against policemen. They are shooting at policemen
from behind cars thereby jeopardizing the lives of innocent people
nearby. 8 policemen have been wounded, one of them has received a grave
wound. After learning that the rioters were shooting at policemen,
he decided to impose state of emergency and to deploy armed forces.
According to Kocharyan, Levon Ter-Petrosyan and his entourage
"were very upset" by the circumstance that all the presidential
candidates responded to Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan's
proposal on cooperation. Besides, the weakening of the rally wave
made Ter-Petrosyan resort to provocation.
"Certainly, among his electorate there are people who joined him for
ideological reasons, but there are also people who are ready to do
everything, including robbery and firing at policemen", Kocharyan
said. He also said that the organizers of the disorders will be
severely punished.
Replying to ArmInfo correspondent's question, the president noted
that he considered it inexpedient to impose a curfew in the city
with a population of over a million people. "We have taken measures
giving citizens who don't take part in the disorders as less troubles
as possible", he said.
2008-03-01 23:14:00
ArmInfo. If the rioters are shooting at policemen I am forced to
have recourse to the army, President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan said
during a press-conference today late in the evening.
Explaining his earlier decision to impose state of emergency in
Yerevan, Kocharyan said that after being driven out of the Liberty
Square, the unsanctioned demonstrators moved to other areas of Yerevan
and went beyond political behavior. They started robbing and destroying
state and private property. But the most outrageous thing is that
they used arms against policemen. They are shooting at policemen
from behind cars thereby jeopardizing the lives of innocent people
nearby. 8 policemen have been wounded, one of them has received a grave
wound. After learning that the rioters were shooting at policemen,
he decided to impose state of emergency and to deploy armed forces.
According to Kocharyan, Levon Ter-Petrosyan and his entourage
"were very upset" by the circumstance that all the presidential
candidates responded to Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan's
proposal on cooperation. Besides, the weakening of the rally wave
made Ter-Petrosyan resort to provocation.
"Certainly, among his electorate there are people who joined him for
ideological reasons, but there are also people who are ready to do
everything, including robbery and firing at policemen", Kocharyan
said. He also said that the organizers of the disorders will be
severely punished.
Replying to ArmInfo correspondent's question, the president noted
that he considered it inexpedient to impose a curfew in the city
with a population of over a million people. "We have taken measures
giving citizens who don't take part in the disorders as less troubles
as possible", he said.