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BAGHDASARIAN BLAMES TER-PETROSIAN FOR UNREST
Radio Liberty
March 4 2008
Czech Republic
Former parliament speaker Artur Baghdasarian joined Armenia's
leadership on Tuesday in blaming former President Levon Ter-Petrosian
for the post-election unrest that has left at least eight people dead.
In a joint statement with Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian and
Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) leader Gagik Tsarukian, Baghdasarian
said Saturday's deadly clashes in Yerevan between security forces and
opposition supporters had been "methodically and cruelly" planned by
Ter-Petrosian beforehand as part of his plan to illegally seize power.
"The [presidential] election became an occasion for Levon Ter-Petrosian
and a group of his supporters to manifest, in the most cynical
manner, their hatred, vengeance and malice towards their people and
state accumulated for ten years," the statement said, adding that
Ter-Petrosian and his allies "bear full responsibility for the acts
of vandalism and tragedy."
Baghdasarian, who was a major opposition candidate in the election,
also endorsed government allegations that the radical opposition
leaders stashed weapons and even drugs in Yerevan's Liberty Square.
Thousands of their supporters remained camped there for 11 days until
being forcibly dispersed by riot police on Saturday morning.
Baghdasarian's move was quite extraordinary given the fact that he
was close to withdrawing his candidacy in Ter-Petrosian's favor just
days before the February 19 vote. The leader of the Orinats Yerkir
Party eventually chose to stay in the race, prompting allegations of
"treason" from Ter-Petrosian. He went on to recognize Sarkisian's
victory in the disputed vote after being offered to join a new
coalition government which the president-elect plans to form in the
coming weeks.
"Had we joined Ter-Petrosian ... there would have been more victims
as a result of these mass riots," Baghdasarian told a joint news
conference with Sarkisian and Tsarukian.
Sarkisian said the Armenian authorities will track down all organizers
and participants of what they see as a coup attempt. "They all must
appear before the court and we must put an end to such attempts in
Armenia once and for all," he said. He would not say if he thinks
Ter-Petrosian too should be prosecuted.
"Ter-Petrosian and his supporters must realize that they bear full
responsibility for these events, including the deaths," Victor
Soghomonian, a spokesman for outgoing President Robert Kocharian,
said at a separate news conference. Soghomonian also defended the
use of force against opposition protesters in Yerevan, saying that
some of them were armed and opened fire at security forces.
Ter-Petrosian rejected the official version of events on Sunday, saying
that the police themselves provoked riots by firing at protesters and
killing at least seven of them. He said the use of force was aimed at
derailing his bid to have the Constitutional Court annul the official
election results.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Radio Liberty
March 4 2008
Czech Republic
Former parliament speaker Artur Baghdasarian joined Armenia's
leadership on Tuesday in blaming former President Levon Ter-Petrosian
for the post-election unrest that has left at least eight people dead.
In a joint statement with Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian and
Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) leader Gagik Tsarukian, Baghdasarian
said Saturday's deadly clashes in Yerevan between security forces and
opposition supporters had been "methodically and cruelly" planned by
Ter-Petrosian beforehand as part of his plan to illegally seize power.
"The [presidential] election became an occasion for Levon Ter-Petrosian
and a group of his supporters to manifest, in the most cynical
manner, their hatred, vengeance and malice towards their people and
state accumulated for ten years," the statement said, adding that
Ter-Petrosian and his allies "bear full responsibility for the acts
of vandalism and tragedy."
Baghdasarian, who was a major opposition candidate in the election,
also endorsed government allegations that the radical opposition
leaders stashed weapons and even drugs in Yerevan's Liberty Square.
Thousands of their supporters remained camped there for 11 days until
being forcibly dispersed by riot police on Saturday morning.
Baghdasarian's move was quite extraordinary given the fact that he
was close to withdrawing his candidacy in Ter-Petrosian's favor just
days before the February 19 vote. The leader of the Orinats Yerkir
Party eventually chose to stay in the race, prompting allegations of
"treason" from Ter-Petrosian. He went on to recognize Sarkisian's
victory in the disputed vote after being offered to join a new
coalition government which the president-elect plans to form in the
coming weeks.
"Had we joined Ter-Petrosian ... there would have been more victims
as a result of these mass riots," Baghdasarian told a joint news
conference with Sarkisian and Tsarukian.
Sarkisian said the Armenian authorities will track down all organizers
and participants of what they see as a coup attempt. "They all must
appear before the court and we must put an end to such attempts in
Armenia once and for all," he said. He would not say if he thinks
Ter-Petrosian too should be prosecuted.
"Ter-Petrosian and his supporters must realize that they bear full
responsibility for these events, including the deaths," Victor
Soghomonian, a spokesman for outgoing President Robert Kocharian,
said at a separate news conference. Soghomonian also defended the
use of force against opposition protesters in Yerevan, saying that
some of them were armed and opened fire at security forces.
Ter-Petrosian rejected the official version of events on Sunday, saying
that the police themselves provoked riots by firing at protesters and
killing at least seven of them. He said the use of force was aimed at
derailing his bid to have the Constitutional Court annul the official
election results.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress