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Armenia Rally Marks Deadly Riots

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  • Armenia Rally Marks Deadly Riots

    ARMENIA RALLY MARKS DEADLY RIOTS

    BBC NEWS
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/e urope/7918467.stm
    2009/03/02 10:06:24 GMT

    Thousands of opposition supporters in Armenia attended a rally on
    Sunday to mark the first anniversary of its worst political violence
    since independence.

    The protesters in the capital, Yerevan, demanded early elections and
    the release of "political prisoners".

    Opposition leader and former President Levon Ter-Petrosian said the
    government needed to change its methods and open a dialogue with
    the opposition.

    Last year's clashes between police and opposition activists left
    10 dead.

    They broke out after police tried to end protests by thousands of Mr
    Ter-Petrosian's supporters at the result of the presidential election,
    which saw him defeated by Serzh Sarkisian, then prime minister.

    More than 100 people were arrested during a state of emergency imposed
    after the violence.

    'Not frightened'

    During Sunday's demonstration, tens of thousands of protestors marched
    through central Yerevan carrying banners painted with the words
    "Freedom for political prisoners".

    Dozens of police officers looked on as people chanted "victory" and
    "freedom" and laid flowers where the worst clashes took place.

    "The authorities have drawn no conclusions from these tragic events
    and have done nothing to establish democracy in the country," Mr
    Ter-Petrosian told the crowd.

    "Despite constant pressure from the government, the people are
    stronger, are not frightened and are ready to continue the struggle,"
    he said, adding that another opposition rally would be held on 1 May.

    The BBC's Tom Esslemont in Yerevan says that one year after the
    violence, deep divisions remain in Armenian society.

    More than 40 people have received jail sentences and some are still
    on trial, including the former foreign minister, Alexander Arzoumanian.

    The government has come under mounting pressure to address what some
    organisations see as urgent human rights concerns, our correspondent
    says.

    Last week, Human Rights Watch said the authorities were conducting
    "politically motivated" trials against members of the opposition
    while failing to investigate the excessive use of force by police
    during the clashes.

    Yerevan's mayor had refused to sanction Sunday's protest, but decided
    at the last minute to allow people to gather peacefully.

    The president's office said Mr Sarkisian had lit candles at a church
    in memory of those killed last March, who included two police officers.
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