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ARMENIA: CIVILIANS DIE AS POLICE SUPPRESS DEMONSTRATIONS AND RIOTS
Reuters AlertNet
March 3 2008
UK
Reuters and AlertNet are not responsible for the content of this
article or for any external internet sites. The views expressed are
the author's alone.
(New York, March 2, 2008) ? The Armenian government should launch
a prompt and independent investigation into the use of lethal force
by security forces to quell demonstrations and rioting overnight on
March 1, 2008, Human Rights Watch said today. The violence occurred
after a 20-day state of emergency was declared by President Robert
Kocharian in response to an alleged threat to public order posed by
opposition demonstrators. Clashes between police and demonstrators
in downtown Yerevan, the capital, on the night of March 1-2 resulted
in at least eight deaths, according to the Armenian Health Ministry.
Military forces deployed in Yerevan helped suppress the protests and
riots. The ministry also reported that at least 131 people ?
including 57 police ? were injured, some of them seriously. Many
demonstrators have been reported missing, according to journalists
and other observers in Yerevan.
"The Armenian government should swiftly investigate whether the
police and army used lethal force against protesters in accordance
with international standards," said Holly Cartner, Europe and Central
Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "While the government has a duty
to maintain civic order, lethal force may only be used when strictly
necessary to protect life."
The protests began when tens of thousands of supporters of opposition
presidential candidate Levon Ter-Petrosian took to the streets in
downtown Yerevan on February 20 to denounce the declared election
results and what they alleged to have been electoral fraud. The
protests continued peacefully on Freedom Square for the next 10 days,
with some demonstrators camping out on the square in tents. Early
in the morning on March 1, Armenian security violently dispersed
the crowd.
Several demonstrators and eyewitnesses told Human Rights Watch that
violent clashes started late in the afternoon of March 1, after
demonstrators refused to abide by police instructions to disperse.
Police then shot tracer bullets, allegedly resulting in the first
casualties, including the death of a demonstrator.
Later in the morning of March 1, protesters gathered in front of the
French Embassy in downtown Yerevan. Their numbers grew substantially
during the day, as did the police presence. Observers reported that
police were equipped with rubber truncheons, electric-shock devices,
and water cannons, and that military personnel arrived in armored
personnel carriers. Several journalists present told Human Rights
Watch that angry masses of people prepared for a confrontation with
the security forces by arming themselves with stones, wooden sticks,
and iron bars. Another demonstrator explained that people used nearby
park benches and fences to find metal and wooden objects.
By about 5 or 6 p.m., tens of thousands of people had gathered near
the French Embassy. A demonstrator told Human Rights Watch that the
crowd wanted to march towards the home of Ter-Petrosian, who has been
under effective house arrest since police had cordoned off his home.
Demonstrators made a cordon around the rally area using cars and buses.
Violent clashes broke out, according to eyewitnesses, when a tracer
bullet apparently struck and killed a demonstrator. Angry demonstrators
cried for revenge and attacked the security forces. A local observer
who watched a video recording of the events told Human Rights
Watch that the video showed how demonstrators, demanding revenge,
placed the dead body of a man, apparently in his 50s, on top of a
car. Eyewitnesses reported that demonstrators then attacked police,
who retreated. One protestor told Human Rights Watch how a group of
young demonstrators chased police, set fire to police cars, and broke
shop windows.
Persons in the vicinity told Human Rights Watch that they heard weapons
being fired. A local source who watched video footage of the aftermath
of some of the clashes told Human Rights Watch: "I saw thick layers
of blood, parts of human bodies, several dead bodies...
at least eight police cars were on fire... a lot of wounded, who cried
for help and water, a lot of people with open head wounds, claiming
that they had been assaulted by police... I saw also wounded police,
a lot of blood, pools of blood."
"Police and security forces clearly faced an extremely difficult
situation," said Cartner. "But they are still obliged to adhere to
standards for the use of lethal force."
The United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms
by Law Enforcement Officials call upon law enforcement officials in
the dispersal of violent assemblies to use firearms only when less
dangerous means are not practicable and only to the minimum extent
necessary. Lethal force may only be used when strictly unavoidable
to protect life and only when less extreme means are insufficient to
achieve these objectives.
Human Rights Watch is deeply concerned by reports from journalists
and local observers that many demonstrators have gone missing. In the
current state of emergency, with an effective media blackout, relatives
have little access to information about their missing family members.
"Armenian authorities should promptly make the casualty list public,
as well as the names of those arrested and places of detention," said
Cartner. "The authorities should also not use the state of emergency
to unnecessarily restrict freedom of information."
Under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),
to which Armenia is a party, governments may limit certain ICCPR
rights only during a state of emergency that is declared during a
"public emergency which threatens the life of the nation." Limits on
rights and freedoms may only be to the extent strictly required by
the situation. Governments must at all times guarantee the right to
life, the prohibition against torture and ill-treatment, the right
to liberty and security of person, the right to a fair trial, and
freedom of thought, conscience and religion, among other rights. The
European Convention on Human Rights provides similar protections.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Reuters AlertNet
March 3 2008
UK
Reuters and AlertNet are not responsible for the content of this
article or for any external internet sites. The views expressed are
the author's alone.
(New York, March 2, 2008) ? The Armenian government should launch
a prompt and independent investigation into the use of lethal force
by security forces to quell demonstrations and rioting overnight on
March 1, 2008, Human Rights Watch said today. The violence occurred
after a 20-day state of emergency was declared by President Robert
Kocharian in response to an alleged threat to public order posed by
opposition demonstrators. Clashes between police and demonstrators
in downtown Yerevan, the capital, on the night of March 1-2 resulted
in at least eight deaths, according to the Armenian Health Ministry.
Military forces deployed in Yerevan helped suppress the protests and
riots. The ministry also reported that at least 131 people ?
including 57 police ? were injured, some of them seriously. Many
demonstrators have been reported missing, according to journalists
and other observers in Yerevan.
"The Armenian government should swiftly investigate whether the
police and army used lethal force against protesters in accordance
with international standards," said Holly Cartner, Europe and Central
Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "While the government has a duty
to maintain civic order, lethal force may only be used when strictly
necessary to protect life."
The protests began when tens of thousands of supporters of opposition
presidential candidate Levon Ter-Petrosian took to the streets in
downtown Yerevan on February 20 to denounce the declared election
results and what they alleged to have been electoral fraud. The
protests continued peacefully on Freedom Square for the next 10 days,
with some demonstrators camping out on the square in tents. Early
in the morning on March 1, Armenian security violently dispersed
the crowd.
Several demonstrators and eyewitnesses told Human Rights Watch that
violent clashes started late in the afternoon of March 1, after
demonstrators refused to abide by police instructions to disperse.
Police then shot tracer bullets, allegedly resulting in the first
casualties, including the death of a demonstrator.
Later in the morning of March 1, protesters gathered in front of the
French Embassy in downtown Yerevan. Their numbers grew substantially
during the day, as did the police presence. Observers reported that
police were equipped with rubber truncheons, electric-shock devices,
and water cannons, and that military personnel arrived in armored
personnel carriers. Several journalists present told Human Rights
Watch that angry masses of people prepared for a confrontation with
the security forces by arming themselves with stones, wooden sticks,
and iron bars. Another demonstrator explained that people used nearby
park benches and fences to find metal and wooden objects.
By about 5 or 6 p.m., tens of thousands of people had gathered near
the French Embassy. A demonstrator told Human Rights Watch that the
crowd wanted to march towards the home of Ter-Petrosian, who has been
under effective house arrest since police had cordoned off his home.
Demonstrators made a cordon around the rally area using cars and buses.
Violent clashes broke out, according to eyewitnesses, when a tracer
bullet apparently struck and killed a demonstrator. Angry demonstrators
cried for revenge and attacked the security forces. A local observer
who watched a video recording of the events told Human Rights
Watch that the video showed how demonstrators, demanding revenge,
placed the dead body of a man, apparently in his 50s, on top of a
car. Eyewitnesses reported that demonstrators then attacked police,
who retreated. One protestor told Human Rights Watch how a group of
young demonstrators chased police, set fire to police cars, and broke
shop windows.
Persons in the vicinity told Human Rights Watch that they heard weapons
being fired. A local source who watched video footage of the aftermath
of some of the clashes told Human Rights Watch: "I saw thick layers
of blood, parts of human bodies, several dead bodies...
at least eight police cars were on fire... a lot of wounded, who cried
for help and water, a lot of people with open head wounds, claiming
that they had been assaulted by police... I saw also wounded police,
a lot of blood, pools of blood."
"Police and security forces clearly faced an extremely difficult
situation," said Cartner. "But they are still obliged to adhere to
standards for the use of lethal force."
The United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms
by Law Enforcement Officials call upon law enforcement officials in
the dispersal of violent assemblies to use firearms only when less
dangerous means are not practicable and only to the minimum extent
necessary. Lethal force may only be used when strictly unavoidable
to protect life and only when less extreme means are insufficient to
achieve these objectives.
Human Rights Watch is deeply concerned by reports from journalists
and local observers that many demonstrators have gone missing. In the
current state of emergency, with an effective media blackout, relatives
have little access to information about their missing family members.
"Armenian authorities should promptly make the casualty list public,
as well as the names of those arrested and places of detention," said
Cartner. "The authorities should also not use the state of emergency
to unnecessarily restrict freedom of information."
Under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),
to which Armenia is a party, governments may limit certain ICCPR
rights only during a state of emergency that is declared during a
"public emergency which threatens the life of the nation." Limits on
rights and freedoms may only be to the extent strictly required by
the situation. Governments must at all times guarantee the right to
life, the prohibition against torture and ill-treatment, the right
to liberty and security of person, the right to a fair trial, and
freedom of thought, conscience and religion, among other rights. The
European Convention on Human Rights provides similar protections.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress