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TROOPS FLOOD ARMENIAN CAPITAL AFTER BLOODY CLASHES
Sydney Morning Herald
March 3 2008
Australia
Hundreds of troops flooded Armenia's capital today to enforce a state
of emergency after clashes between opposition activists protesting
against election results and government forces left eight people dead
and more than 100 injured.
The bloodshed was the worst political crisis to hit the strategically
located, volatile former Soviet nation in nearly a decade. An envoy
of Europe's leading security body rushed to Armenia to mediate the
conflict. The United States urged both sides to exercise restraint.
President Robert Kocharian declared the 20 day state of emergency
last night following a day of clashes between government forces and
demonstrators protesting against alleged fraud in the February 19
presidential election.
Police used tear gas and fired in the air to disperse thousands of
opposition demonstrators yesterday afternoon, after breaking up an
opposition tent camp earlier in the day.
Seven civilians and one officer were killed in the clashes, and at
least 131 other protesters and troops were wounded, officials said
today. The authorities accused the opposition of firing at police
and Health Ministry spokeswoman Russian Gevorkian said 16 troops
had bullet wounds, the Interfax news agency reported. The opposition
vehemently denied using weapons.
The demonstrators supported opposition presidential candidate Levon
Ter-Petrosian, who was being prevented from leaving his residence.
Ter-Petrosian called on his supporters to go home and refrain from
further protests while the emergency order is in place, but vowed to
continue efforts to force a new election once it is lifted.
"We shall not retreat. Acting within the law, within the framework of
the constitution, we shall struggle to the end, until the removal of
this hateful and criminal regime, this bandit and kleptocratic regime,"
Ter-Petrosian told reporters in his house in central Yerevan.
Hundreds of helmeted servicemen, wearing bulletproof vests and
wielding Kalashnikov assault rifles, patrolled the centre of a tense
Yerevan. Police closed several major streets where the violence
occurred. Troops were warning residents by loudspeaker not to gather
in groups.
Some streets were littered with the hulks of burned cars, many shop
windows had been broken and kiosks looted.
Ter-Petrosian finished a distant second to Prime Minister Serge
Sarkisian in the official results from the election. He appealed to
the Constitutional Court on Friday to overturn the results.
The bloodshed raised concerns about stability in this country,
which borders Iran and lies on a transit route from the energy-rich
Caspian Sea region to Western consumers. Europe's leading security
organisation, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe,
was sending an envoy to Armenia to mediate the crisis.
Western observers issued an overall positive assessment of the
election, but noted serious flaws, especially during the vote count.
The opposition says Sarkisian stole the election by resorting to
vote-buying, ballot stuffing and pressuring media to skew coverage
in his favour. Several opposition members said they were beaten on
election day to prevent them from monitoring the vote. The government
denies any wrongdoing.
Sydney Morning Herald
March 3 2008
Australia
Hundreds of troops flooded Armenia's capital today to enforce a state
of emergency after clashes between opposition activists protesting
against election results and government forces left eight people dead
and more than 100 injured.
The bloodshed was the worst political crisis to hit the strategically
located, volatile former Soviet nation in nearly a decade. An envoy
of Europe's leading security body rushed to Armenia to mediate the
conflict. The United States urged both sides to exercise restraint.
President Robert Kocharian declared the 20 day state of emergency
last night following a day of clashes between government forces and
demonstrators protesting against alleged fraud in the February 19
presidential election.
Police used tear gas and fired in the air to disperse thousands of
opposition demonstrators yesterday afternoon, after breaking up an
opposition tent camp earlier in the day.
Seven civilians and one officer were killed in the clashes, and at
least 131 other protesters and troops were wounded, officials said
today. The authorities accused the opposition of firing at police
and Health Ministry spokeswoman Russian Gevorkian said 16 troops
had bullet wounds, the Interfax news agency reported. The opposition
vehemently denied using weapons.
The demonstrators supported opposition presidential candidate Levon
Ter-Petrosian, who was being prevented from leaving his residence.
Ter-Petrosian called on his supporters to go home and refrain from
further protests while the emergency order is in place, but vowed to
continue efforts to force a new election once it is lifted.
"We shall not retreat. Acting within the law, within the framework of
the constitution, we shall struggle to the end, until the removal of
this hateful and criminal regime, this bandit and kleptocratic regime,"
Ter-Petrosian told reporters in his house in central Yerevan.
Hundreds of helmeted servicemen, wearing bulletproof vests and
wielding Kalashnikov assault rifles, patrolled the centre of a tense
Yerevan. Police closed several major streets where the violence
occurred. Troops were warning residents by loudspeaker not to gather
in groups.
Some streets were littered with the hulks of burned cars, many shop
windows had been broken and kiosks looted.
Ter-Petrosian finished a distant second to Prime Minister Serge
Sarkisian in the official results from the election. He appealed to
the Constitutional Court on Friday to overturn the results.
The bloodshed raised concerns about stability in this country,
which borders Iran and lies on a transit route from the energy-rich
Caspian Sea region to Western consumers. Europe's leading security
organisation, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe,
was sending an envoy to Armenia to mediate the crisis.
Western observers issued an overall positive assessment of the
election, but noted serious flaws, especially during the vote count.
The opposition says Sarkisian stole the election by resorting to
vote-buying, ballot stuffing and pressuring media to skew coverage
in his favour. Several opposition members said they were beaten on
election day to prevent them from monitoring the vote. The government
denies any wrongdoing.