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VoA: Armenian Gov't Declares State of Emergency Following Police Cla

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  • VoA: Armenian Gov't Declares State of Emergency Following Police Cla

    Voice of America
    March 1 2008

    Armenian Government Declares State of Emergency Following Police
    Clashes With Protesters

    By VOA News
    01 March 2008

    Armenian President Robert Kocharian has declared a 20-day state of
    emergency, following clashes between police and activists on the
    eleventh day of protests in the capital, Yerevan, over a contested
    election.

    News reports say at least one person died as police broke up
    Saturday's demonstration in the city center. Riot police fired tear
    gas and automatic weapons into the air to disperse thousands of
    protesters. Police and protesters had clashed earlier in the morning
    when police raided the city's Freedom Square to clear out
    demonstrators.

    Tens of thousands of activists have held large-scale daily protests
    in Yerevan, following the February 19 presidential election. They
    said the official results, which handed a landslide victory to Prime
    Minister Serzh Sarkisyan, were rigged.

    The top European vote-monitoring group, the Organization for Security
    and Cooperation in Europe, today condemned the government's use of
    force against peaceful demonstrators.

    Armenian opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian says he was placed
    under house arrest Saturday morning.

    Friday, Mr. Sarkisyan announced plans to form a coalition government
    with the leader of another opposition movement, the Rule of Law
    party. He signed an agreement with the party's leader Artur
    Baghdassarian appointing Baghdassarian the secretary of the
    Presidential National Security Council.

    The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe observers say
    the election mostly met international standards.
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