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American Chronicle
March 15 2009
Turkey Cannot Open Its Borders to the Heinous, Rancorous Tyranny of Armenia
Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
March 15, 2009 - If Turkey should be further democratized and
harmonized with Europe, then why should Turkey open its borders to
Armenia - a criminal tyranny denounced as such by the HRW in a lengthy
and devastating Report?
In four earlier articles entitled "Turkey´s Ongoing
Colonization: Only Reason for Recognizing Racist Armenian Tyranny"
(http://www.americanchronicle.com/ar ticles/view/94451), "Devastating
HRW on Armenian Tyranny Imposes Cancellation of the Gul ` Erdogan
Pro-Armenian Policy"
(http://www.americanchronicle.com/art icles/view/94453), "Recognition
of the Armenian Tyranny by Ankara Equals Colonization of Turkey by
Freemasonic EU ` US"
(http://www.americanchronicle.com/article s/view/94492) and "Turkish `
Armenian Rapprochement to Be Linked on Human Rights Conditions´
Improvement in Armenia"
(http://www.americanchronicle.com/ar ticles/view/94496), I republished
parts of the devastating HRW Report (the HRW Press Release issued on
the occasion of the Report publication a few days ago, the Contents,
the Summary, the Methodology, the Background, and the 2008
Presidential Elections).
I called for a master coup against the unrepresentative Erdogan gang
of high traitors, freemasons and besotted pseudo-Islamists, who
implement the Anti-Turkish colonial agenda of England and France; in
fact, the colonial powers imposed on the Freemasonic pupils Gul and
Erdogan the Turkish ` Armenian rapprochement.
In the present article, I republish the HRW Report chapter on the
Post-Election Protests and Violence. In forthcoming articles, I will
republish further parts of the devastating HRW Report on the Armenian
Tyranny.
V. The Post-Election Protests and Violence
http://www.hrw.org/en/node/80933/section /7
Overview
Prior to election day, Levon Ter-Petrossian had called on his
supporters to gather in Yerevan on February 20-when preliminary
election results would be known-for either a victory or a protest
rally depending on the outcome.[43]From February 21 a continuous
protest was installed on Freedom Square (also known as Opera Square),
on the north side of Yerevan city center. Daily, several thousand
protestors would gather to hear opposition leaders speak, and each
night a group of protestors stayed in front of the National Opera
House on Freedom Square, mostly in tents, their numbers varying from a
few hundred to just over a thousand.[44]
The authorities allowed the protest encampment and rallies for nine
days. Ararat Mahtesyan, first deputy chief of national police, told
Human Right Watch that although the demonstration was illegal-it was
being conducted without permission from the Yerevan city
authorities[45]-it was initially tolerated as the Central Election
Commission had not announced final results of the presidential
election, and police investigations into election day complaints were
still ongoing.[46]Ã?
The Yerevan mayor's office issued a statement on February 25 saying
the protests were unauthorized, "in violation of the law on assembly,
rallies, demonstrations and marches," and urging demonstrators to call
a halt to them.[47] Two days later the Armenian police issued a
statement urging an end to the unauthorized rallies, saying that "the
police are fully resolved and intend to protect the constitutional
order in the country and public safety within the bounds set for it by
the law."[48]
The authorities moved to suppress the protests on March 1, and in
several episodes of violent confrontation between law enforcement
officials and protestors, at least eight protestors and two police
officers were killed and more than 130 people were injured. President
Kocharyan announced a 20-day state of emergency under which all public
gatherings and strikes would be banned, and freedom of movement and
independent broadcasting severely limited. The events of March 1 are
described in detail below.
Armenia's International Legal Obligations on Police Use of Force
Governments are obligated to respect basic human rights standards
governing the use of force in police operations, including in the
dispersal of legal or illegal demonstrations. These universal
standards are embodied in the United Nations Basic Principles on the
Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials.[49] The Basic
Principles provide the following:
Law enforcement officials, in carrying out their duty, shall, as far
as possible, apply non-violent means before resorting to the use of
force and firearms. They may use force and firearms only if other
means remain ineffective or without any promise of achieving the
intended result.
When using force, law enforcement officials shall exercise restraint
and act in proportion to the seriousness of the offence and to the
legitimate objective to be achieved. Law enforcement officials must
seek to minimize damage and injury.[50]
With respect to the dispersal of assemblies that are unlawful but
non-violent, "law enforcement officials shall avoid the use of force
or, where that is not practicable, shall restrict such force to the
minimum extent necessary."[51]
The European Convention on Human Rights requires all states to
prohibit and prevent the arbitrary taking of life and the infliction
of torture or inhuman or degrading treatment especially by state
officials. Case law of the European Court has confirmed that police
authorities must prepare and carry out operations to minimize any risk
to people's lives, and to completely prohibit ill-treatment. Where
there is evidence that the police have taken a life or committed
inhuman or degrading treatment, the authorities must ensure that there
is an open investigation leading to the investigation and prosecution
of any police officer responsible.[52]
The Council of Europe's European Code of Police Ethics states that
"police shall use force only when strictly necessary and only to the
extent required to obtain a legitimate objective" and that "police
must always verify the lawfulness of their intended actions."[53]
A recent viewpoint issued by the Council of Europe's Human Rights
Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg, on impunity for police violence,
states that "illegal behaviour by policemen is particularly serious as
the very role of the police in a democratic society is to defend the
population against crime, including violent crime. When the law
enforcement forces themselves break the law, the whole system of
justice is derailed." Citing European Court of Human Rights case law,
the commissioner noted also that "[t]he use of force is justified only
in a situation of absolute necessity and should be practiced with the
maximum restraint."[54]Ã?
The statements Human Rights Watch took from demonstrators and
bystanders suggest that the first police action, in the early morning
of March 1 against the Freedom Square tent encampment, entailed
excessive use of force, without warning and in the absence, at the
start, of resistance. Although later protestors began throwing stones
at police from side streets near Freedom Square, one participant
described being beaten up by police who found him lying on the ground.
The events that unfolded later in the day were both more violent and
more contentious. Sections of the very large crowd gathered near the
French embassy appear to have been armed with metal rods, sticks,
paving stones, and even petrol bombs, and seem to have initiated some
of the clashes with police, such as at Yerevan City Hall on the
afternoon of March 1. On the other hand, participants' statements to
us show that police, in their actions that evening to end the
demonstration, opened with overly aggressive measures (tracer bullet
fire and teargas, and no verbal warnings to disperse), and used
excessive force against people who were not physically challenging
them. As protestors then responded with using force against police, at
least some of the fatalities appear to have occurred because police
discharged their firearms deliberately in circumstances where lethal
force was not called for, or through improper use of crowd control
measures, such as firing teargas canisters at close range.Ã?
Armenia's obligation to investigate all allegations of excessive use
of force by police is discussed below, in Chapter VI.
The March 1 Events in Detail
Early morning removal of protestors and protest camp at Freedom Square
On the night of February 29 to March 1, several hundred protestors
were on Freedom Square, staying in some 25 to 30 tents.[55] Police
moved against the protestors' camp early on the morning of March 1.
According to first deputy police chief Ararat Mahtesyan, speaking to
Human Rights Watch four weeks later, the police had arrived at the
square on March 1 to conduct a search, acting on information that
demonstrators had been arming themselves with metal rods, and possibly
firearms, in preparation for committing acts of violent protest on
March 1. Mahtesyan said that initially a group of 25-30 police
officers, including experts and investigators, were sent to do the
search of the protestors' camp. When the group tried to conduct the
search, the protestors turned aggressive and resisted police with
wooden sticks and iron bars, resulting in injuries to several
policemen. At that stage more police had to be deployed and had to use
force to disperse the crowd and support the group conducting the
search. According to Mahtesyan, this operation lasted for about 30
minutes and 10 policemen sustained injuries as a result.[56] Despite
Human Rights Watch's request, Mahtesyan did not provide any details
about these injured police and the nature of the injuries they
sustained.[57]
Several witnesses interviewed separately by Human Rights Watch
consistently described a different sequence of events in front of the
Opera House on the morning of March 1. According to them, sometime
shortly after 6 a.m., while it was still dark and as demonstrators
started waking, news spread that police were arriving at Freedom
Square. Hundreds of Special Forces police in riot armor, with helmets,
plastic shields, and rubber truncheons, started approaching the
square, in four or five rows, from Tumanyan Street and Mashtots
Avenue.[58] Police surrounded the square and stood there for a few
minutes.[59]
Levon Ter-Petrossian, who had been sleeping in his car parked at the
square, was woken up. According to the account he gave Human Rights
Watch, he addressed the protestors, some of whom by this time were out
of their tents, asking them to step back from the police line, and
then to stay where they were and wait for instructions from the
police. He also warned the police that there were women and children
among the demonstrators.[60]
Even before Ter-Petrossian finished his address, police advanced
towards the demonstrators in several lines, beating their truncheons
against their plastic shields. According to multiple witnesses, the
police made no audible demand for anyone to disperse nor gave any
indication of the purpose of their presence. They started pushing
demonstrators from the square with their shields, causing some to
panic and scream and others to run. Some demonstrators appeared ready
to fight the police, which was why, according to Ter-Petrossian, he
urged the crowd not to resist the police. Others were still in their
tents.[61]
Immediately afterwards, without any warning, riot police attacked the
demonstrators, using rubber truncheons, iron sticks, and electric
shock batons. According to Ter-Petrossian, a group of about 30
policemen under the command of Gen. Grigor Sargsyan approached him and
forcibly took him aside. When asked if he was arrested, Ter-Petrossian
was told that police were there to guarantee his safety and that he
was requested to cooperate.[62] Levon Ter-Petrossian was subsequently
taken home and effectively put under house arrest.[63]
Vahagn V., a 42-year-old economist who had spent the night on the
square in front of the Opera House, gave this account:
Without any warning police just started beating truncheons on their
shields, making loud noises that created chaos. In a minute or so they
started attacking from the side of Tumanyan and Mashtots. They
switched off the microphones and electricity. It was still dark. The
only lights I could see were small red lights that I thought were
flashlights, but they turned out to be from electric shock
devices. One of them touched me on the left hand and it burnt my
skin. They were attacking from all sides and beating people. Women
were screaming. We ran. It was complete chaos...[64]
At least two witnesses described to Human Rights Watch how police
ripped off the ropes supporting the tents and as the tents collapsed
the police continued assaulting, with their truncheons, people who
were still inside.[65] Gagik Shamshyan, a photo correspondent for
political opposition newspapers who attempted to photograph the raid,
was assaulted by police and then detained. He told Human Rights Watch:
Policemen in riot uniforms in helmets, shields, and truncheons were
beating the protestors�¦. They were also pouring
buckets of water on the tents and continued to assault with
truncheons. I was shooting photos and after making about 20-25 shots,
some policemen saw my camera's flash and about 15 of them attacked
me. One of them recognized me and instructed others to beat me
�¦ Another one grabbed my camera and hit me with
a truncheon on my back. I fell down and they continued to beat me with
truncheons and kick me. They handcuffed me and were pulling my hands
from behind. It was very painful ... Two of them grabbed me by my
jacket and dragged me for about 40 meters, with my face down on the
pavement. Another officer who recognized me shouted, "Beat him! He
writes bad stuff about us ..." [He] approached me and threatened to
gouge my eyes out, and even pushed his finger to my eye. I was
terrified ...[66]
Police kept Shamshyan on the ground for about 20 minutes, assaulted
him periodically, and then drove him to the central police
station.[67] He was later released.
A 54-year-old artist, Sanasar S., gave Human Rights Watch the
following account of what happened to him that morning:
There were at least as many police in riot gear as people gathered in
front of the Opera. Without saying anything police surrounded us and
attacked us with truncheons and electric shock devices. People
panicked and started running away. I ran together with about 20
protestors towards the Northern Avenue, chased by the riot police. At
the intersection of Pushkin Street and Mashtots Avenue about six of
them caught up with me. I felt a blow to my head and I fell on the
ground, losing consciousness. When I regained my senses I was
surrounded by police. Two of them were holding me on my feet as I
could not stand. My shoulder ached and my nose was bleeding.[68]
It turned out that Sanasar S. had sustained a broken arm. His
subsequent detention is described below in Chapter V.
Murad M., age 30, told Human Rights Watch that a police officer chased
him off the square and hit him on the head, causing him to lose
consciousness. "I momentarily lost consciousness after a blow on the
head, and fell ... When I came to my senses, my brother was carrying
me away from the square. My head was bleeding and my hat was all
covered in blood."[69] Murad M. required seven stitches on the right
side of his forehead. He sustained bruises to his right hand, back,
and legs. Fearing arrest, he refrained from going to a hospital and
instead sought medical assistance from a private doctor.[70]
Hovsep H., a 32-year-old designer, ran from the square with a group of
about one hundred others, with the police chasing them. The group
thinned out as some people split off, and was in a stop-and-go chase
with police for about an hour. At times the group threw stones at the
police. When police finally caught up with Hovsep H., he was
assaulted. He told Human Rights Watch:
I felt very tired and could not run anymore. I tried to get into an
apartment block entrance, but it was locked. Three or four police ran
after me. I felt really exhausted and decided to lie down and cover my
face with my hands to protect it. Policemen who were after me started
beating me. They were using truncheons and kicking me with their
boots. They were beating on my back, head, and kidney area. I felt a
huge blow on my head and I lost the feeling of reality, I could not
even feel pain anymore and it all felt like a dream. I don't remember
anything else, but when I regained my senses, my head was bleeding and
the jacket I wore was all bloodied. I was already in a police station
by that time.[71]
Hovsep H.'s experience of further ill-treatment in detention is
recounted in Chapter V.
As a result of the early morning police actions on Freedom Square, 31
people were officially reported to be injured, including six
policemen.[72]
The police claimed that after the demonstrators were dispersed they
found a stock of real and makeshift weapons, including "three guns, 15
grenades, two bullet cases and 138 bullets of various calibers,
plastic explosives, big number of makeshift weapons, syringes and
drugs."[73] All witnesses and victims interviewed by Human Rights
Watch claimed that the alleged arms cache was planted after the
demonstration was dispersed. The chairman of the ad hoc parliamentary
commission established to investigate the March 1 events told Human
Rights Watch in January 2009 that he had not seen any evidence linking
the arms cache to the demonstration's participants or organizers.[74]
Notes
43] OSCE/ODIHR, "Post Election Interim Report, 20 February
â?¬" 3 March, 2008." Addressing a mass rally in the
capital Yerevan on 16 February, Ter-Petrossian warned the authorities
that a rally planned by his supporters in Yerevan on February 20 would
turn into open-ended protests if the election was rigged. Reported by
Arminfo, February 16, 2008.
44] Human Rights Watch interviews with Vahagn V., Yerevan, March 13;
Hovsep H., Yerevan, March 26, 2008, Arsen A., Yerevan, March 28; and
Ararat Mahtesian, first deputy chief of the Police of the Republic of
Armenia, Yerevan, March 28, 2008.
45] Ã? According to legislation in force at the time, organizers
of mass public events had to notify the head of the community where
the event was being held at least three working days in advance. Law
on Conducting Meetings, Assemblies, Rallies and Demonstrations, 2004,
as amended by the law adopted on October 4, 2005,
http://www.legislationline.org/documents/act ion/popup/id/6628Ã?
(accessed January 16, 2009), art. 11. Ter-Petrossian's campaign
notified the Yerevan city government that it would hold a rally on
February 20 in Yerevan. However, the campaign did not lodge a
notification with the city government on the subsequent assembly in
Freedom Square from February 21 onwards. See OSCE/ODIHR,
"Post-Election Interim Report, 20 February â?¬" 3 March
2008."
46] Human Rights Watch interview with Ararat Mahtesian, Yerevan, March
28, 2008.
47] "Armenian capital's mayor urges protestors to stop unsanctioned
rallies," Arminfo (in Russian), February 25, 2008; and "Armenian
Officials Demand End To Election Protests â?¬" AFP," Dow
Jones International News, February 25, 2008.
48] "Armenian Police urges opposition to suspend rallies in capital,"
Arminfo (in Russian), February 27, 2008.
49] Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law
Enforcement Officials, adopted by the Eighth United Nations Congress
on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, Havana, 27
August to 7 September 1990, U.N. Doc. A/CONF.144/28/Rev.1 at 112
(1990).
50] Ibid., principles 4 and 5.
51] Ibid., principle 13.
52] See, for example, Nachova and Others v. Bulgaria, Application
No. 43577/98 and 43579/98, Grand Chamber Judgment of 6 July 2005
53] Council of Europe Committee of Ministers, Recommendation
Rec(2001)10 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the
European Code of Police Ethics (Adopted on September 19, 2001 at the
765th meeting of Ministers' Deputies),
http://www.legislationline.org/legislat ion.php?lid=4886&tid=155
(accessed September 1, 2008), paras. 37-38.
54] Thomas Hammarberg, "There must be no impunity for police
violence," Viewpoint of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human
Rights, December 3, 2007,
http://www.coe.int/t/commissioner/Viewpoints /Default_en.asp (accessed
December 3, 2007).
55] Ibid.; Human Rights Watch interview with Gagik Shamshyan, photo
correspondent for AravotÃ? and Chorrord Ishkhanutyun newspapers,
Yerevan, March 12, 2008.
56] Human Rights Watch interview with Ararat Mahtesian, Yerevan, March
28, 2008.
57] Ibid.
58] Human Rights Watch telephone interview with Sanasar S., March 1,
2008; Human Rights Watch interviews with Vahagn V., March 13; and
Arsen A., March 28, 2008.
59] Human Rights Watch interview with Levon Ter-Petrossian, Yerevan,
March 29, 2008.
60] Ibid. This was confirmed by all witnesses and victims of the event
interviewed by Human Rights Watch.
61] Ã? Ibid.; Human Rights Watch telephone interview with
Sanasar S., March 1, 2008; Human Rights Watch interviews with Vahagn
V., March 13; and Arsen A., Yerevan, March 28, 2008.
62] Human Rights Watch interview with Levon Ter-Petrossian, Yerevan,
March 29, 2008.
63] Ibid.
64] Human Rights Watch interview with Vahagn V., March 13, 2008.
65] Ibid.; Human Rights Watch interview with Gagik Shamshyan, March
12, 2008.
66] Ibid.
67] Ibid.
68] Human Rights Watch interview with Sanasar S., March 26, 2008.
69] Human Rights Watch telephone interview with interview with Murad
M., March 1, 2008.
70] Ibid.
71] Human Rights Watch interview with Hovsep H., Yerevan, March 26,
2008.
72] "Thirty-one injured as Armenian police disperse opposition rally,"
ArminfoÃ? (in Russian), March 1, 2008. The report quoted
Ministry of Health information.
73] Human Rights Watch interview with Ararat Mahtesyan, March 28,
2008. See also, OSCE/ODIHR, "Post Election Interim Report, 20 February
â?¬" 3 March, 2008," March 7, 2008,
http://www.osce.org/documents/odihr/2008/03/ 30090_en.pdf (accessed
June 10, 2008).
74] Human Rights Watch interview with Samvel Nikoyan, Yerevan, January
13, 2009.
Note
Picture: Garni Mithraeum, a temple dedicated to Mithra, the Iranian
god of the Ancient Armenians. Before being misunderstood and misused
by the Armenian state authorities and academia, Armenian History has
been totally falsified by the colonialist historians and philologists
of France and England, who projected in it a touch of Hellenism, one
of their fabrications that has never had any real effect in
Armenia. It was all geared in order to set up a false sense of Greek `
Armenian ` Western European Anti-Islamic, Anti-Ottoman, and
Anti-Turkish alliance which was a total catastrophe for all these
Oriental populations and a real success for the colonial elites of
France and England. Ancient Armenia is definitely a para-Iranian state
that, although constantly opposed to the Persian supremacy within the
wider Iran area, greatly contributed to the diffusion of Mithraism, a
totally Iranian religion, among the Greek speaking peoples of
Anatolia, the Aegean Sea and the Balkans, and further beyond
throughout the Roman Empire and Northern and Eastern European
territories out of the Roman imperial control.
http://www.americanchronicle.com/article s/view/94498
March 15 2009
Turkey Cannot Open Its Borders to the Heinous, Rancorous Tyranny of Armenia
Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
March 15, 2009 - If Turkey should be further democratized and
harmonized with Europe, then why should Turkey open its borders to
Armenia - a criminal tyranny denounced as such by the HRW in a lengthy
and devastating Report?
In four earlier articles entitled "Turkey´s Ongoing
Colonization: Only Reason for Recognizing Racist Armenian Tyranny"
(http://www.americanchronicle.com/ar ticles/view/94451), "Devastating
HRW on Armenian Tyranny Imposes Cancellation of the Gul ` Erdogan
Pro-Armenian Policy"
(http://www.americanchronicle.com/art icles/view/94453), "Recognition
of the Armenian Tyranny by Ankara Equals Colonization of Turkey by
Freemasonic EU ` US"
(http://www.americanchronicle.com/article s/view/94492) and "Turkish `
Armenian Rapprochement to Be Linked on Human Rights Conditions´
Improvement in Armenia"
(http://www.americanchronicle.com/ar ticles/view/94496), I republished
parts of the devastating HRW Report (the HRW Press Release issued on
the occasion of the Report publication a few days ago, the Contents,
the Summary, the Methodology, the Background, and the 2008
Presidential Elections).
I called for a master coup against the unrepresentative Erdogan gang
of high traitors, freemasons and besotted pseudo-Islamists, who
implement the Anti-Turkish colonial agenda of England and France; in
fact, the colonial powers imposed on the Freemasonic pupils Gul and
Erdogan the Turkish ` Armenian rapprochement.
In the present article, I republish the HRW Report chapter on the
Post-Election Protests and Violence. In forthcoming articles, I will
republish further parts of the devastating HRW Report on the Armenian
Tyranny.
V. The Post-Election Protests and Violence
http://www.hrw.org/en/node/80933/section /7
Overview
Prior to election day, Levon Ter-Petrossian had called on his
supporters to gather in Yerevan on February 20-when preliminary
election results would be known-for either a victory or a protest
rally depending on the outcome.[43]From February 21 a continuous
protest was installed on Freedom Square (also known as Opera Square),
on the north side of Yerevan city center. Daily, several thousand
protestors would gather to hear opposition leaders speak, and each
night a group of protestors stayed in front of the National Opera
House on Freedom Square, mostly in tents, their numbers varying from a
few hundred to just over a thousand.[44]
The authorities allowed the protest encampment and rallies for nine
days. Ararat Mahtesyan, first deputy chief of national police, told
Human Right Watch that although the demonstration was illegal-it was
being conducted without permission from the Yerevan city
authorities[45]-it was initially tolerated as the Central Election
Commission had not announced final results of the presidential
election, and police investigations into election day complaints were
still ongoing.[46]Ã?
The Yerevan mayor's office issued a statement on February 25 saying
the protests were unauthorized, "in violation of the law on assembly,
rallies, demonstrations and marches," and urging demonstrators to call
a halt to them.[47] Two days later the Armenian police issued a
statement urging an end to the unauthorized rallies, saying that "the
police are fully resolved and intend to protect the constitutional
order in the country and public safety within the bounds set for it by
the law."[48]
The authorities moved to suppress the protests on March 1, and in
several episodes of violent confrontation between law enforcement
officials and protestors, at least eight protestors and two police
officers were killed and more than 130 people were injured. President
Kocharyan announced a 20-day state of emergency under which all public
gatherings and strikes would be banned, and freedom of movement and
independent broadcasting severely limited. The events of March 1 are
described in detail below.
Armenia's International Legal Obligations on Police Use of Force
Governments are obligated to respect basic human rights standards
governing the use of force in police operations, including in the
dispersal of legal or illegal demonstrations. These universal
standards are embodied in the United Nations Basic Principles on the
Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials.[49] The Basic
Principles provide the following:
Law enforcement officials, in carrying out their duty, shall, as far
as possible, apply non-violent means before resorting to the use of
force and firearms. They may use force and firearms only if other
means remain ineffective or without any promise of achieving the
intended result.
When using force, law enforcement officials shall exercise restraint
and act in proportion to the seriousness of the offence and to the
legitimate objective to be achieved. Law enforcement officials must
seek to minimize damage and injury.[50]
With respect to the dispersal of assemblies that are unlawful but
non-violent, "law enforcement officials shall avoid the use of force
or, where that is not practicable, shall restrict such force to the
minimum extent necessary."[51]
The European Convention on Human Rights requires all states to
prohibit and prevent the arbitrary taking of life and the infliction
of torture or inhuman or degrading treatment especially by state
officials. Case law of the European Court has confirmed that police
authorities must prepare and carry out operations to minimize any risk
to people's lives, and to completely prohibit ill-treatment. Where
there is evidence that the police have taken a life or committed
inhuman or degrading treatment, the authorities must ensure that there
is an open investigation leading to the investigation and prosecution
of any police officer responsible.[52]
The Council of Europe's European Code of Police Ethics states that
"police shall use force only when strictly necessary and only to the
extent required to obtain a legitimate objective" and that "police
must always verify the lawfulness of their intended actions."[53]
A recent viewpoint issued by the Council of Europe's Human Rights
Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg, on impunity for police violence,
states that "illegal behaviour by policemen is particularly serious as
the very role of the police in a democratic society is to defend the
population against crime, including violent crime. When the law
enforcement forces themselves break the law, the whole system of
justice is derailed." Citing European Court of Human Rights case law,
the commissioner noted also that "[t]he use of force is justified only
in a situation of absolute necessity and should be practiced with the
maximum restraint."[54]Ã?
The statements Human Rights Watch took from demonstrators and
bystanders suggest that the first police action, in the early morning
of March 1 against the Freedom Square tent encampment, entailed
excessive use of force, without warning and in the absence, at the
start, of resistance. Although later protestors began throwing stones
at police from side streets near Freedom Square, one participant
described being beaten up by police who found him lying on the ground.
The events that unfolded later in the day were both more violent and
more contentious. Sections of the very large crowd gathered near the
French embassy appear to have been armed with metal rods, sticks,
paving stones, and even petrol bombs, and seem to have initiated some
of the clashes with police, such as at Yerevan City Hall on the
afternoon of March 1. On the other hand, participants' statements to
us show that police, in their actions that evening to end the
demonstration, opened with overly aggressive measures (tracer bullet
fire and teargas, and no verbal warnings to disperse), and used
excessive force against people who were not physically challenging
them. As protestors then responded with using force against police, at
least some of the fatalities appear to have occurred because police
discharged their firearms deliberately in circumstances where lethal
force was not called for, or through improper use of crowd control
measures, such as firing teargas canisters at close range.Ã?
Armenia's obligation to investigate all allegations of excessive use
of force by police is discussed below, in Chapter VI.
The March 1 Events in Detail
Early morning removal of protestors and protest camp at Freedom Square
On the night of February 29 to March 1, several hundred protestors
were on Freedom Square, staying in some 25 to 30 tents.[55] Police
moved against the protestors' camp early on the morning of March 1.
According to first deputy police chief Ararat Mahtesyan, speaking to
Human Rights Watch four weeks later, the police had arrived at the
square on March 1 to conduct a search, acting on information that
demonstrators had been arming themselves with metal rods, and possibly
firearms, in preparation for committing acts of violent protest on
March 1. Mahtesyan said that initially a group of 25-30 police
officers, including experts and investigators, were sent to do the
search of the protestors' camp. When the group tried to conduct the
search, the protestors turned aggressive and resisted police with
wooden sticks and iron bars, resulting in injuries to several
policemen. At that stage more police had to be deployed and had to use
force to disperse the crowd and support the group conducting the
search. According to Mahtesyan, this operation lasted for about 30
minutes and 10 policemen sustained injuries as a result.[56] Despite
Human Rights Watch's request, Mahtesyan did not provide any details
about these injured police and the nature of the injuries they
sustained.[57]
Several witnesses interviewed separately by Human Rights Watch
consistently described a different sequence of events in front of the
Opera House on the morning of March 1. According to them, sometime
shortly after 6 a.m., while it was still dark and as demonstrators
started waking, news spread that police were arriving at Freedom
Square. Hundreds of Special Forces police in riot armor, with helmets,
plastic shields, and rubber truncheons, started approaching the
square, in four or five rows, from Tumanyan Street and Mashtots
Avenue.[58] Police surrounded the square and stood there for a few
minutes.[59]
Levon Ter-Petrossian, who had been sleeping in his car parked at the
square, was woken up. According to the account he gave Human Rights
Watch, he addressed the protestors, some of whom by this time were out
of their tents, asking them to step back from the police line, and
then to stay where they were and wait for instructions from the
police. He also warned the police that there were women and children
among the demonstrators.[60]
Even before Ter-Petrossian finished his address, police advanced
towards the demonstrators in several lines, beating their truncheons
against their plastic shields. According to multiple witnesses, the
police made no audible demand for anyone to disperse nor gave any
indication of the purpose of their presence. They started pushing
demonstrators from the square with their shields, causing some to
panic and scream and others to run. Some demonstrators appeared ready
to fight the police, which was why, according to Ter-Petrossian, he
urged the crowd not to resist the police. Others were still in their
tents.[61]
Immediately afterwards, without any warning, riot police attacked the
demonstrators, using rubber truncheons, iron sticks, and electric
shock batons. According to Ter-Petrossian, a group of about 30
policemen under the command of Gen. Grigor Sargsyan approached him and
forcibly took him aside. When asked if he was arrested, Ter-Petrossian
was told that police were there to guarantee his safety and that he
was requested to cooperate.[62] Levon Ter-Petrossian was subsequently
taken home and effectively put under house arrest.[63]
Vahagn V., a 42-year-old economist who had spent the night on the
square in front of the Opera House, gave this account:
Without any warning police just started beating truncheons on their
shields, making loud noises that created chaos. In a minute or so they
started attacking from the side of Tumanyan and Mashtots. They
switched off the microphones and electricity. It was still dark. The
only lights I could see were small red lights that I thought were
flashlights, but they turned out to be from electric shock
devices. One of them touched me on the left hand and it burnt my
skin. They were attacking from all sides and beating people. Women
were screaming. We ran. It was complete chaos...[64]
At least two witnesses described to Human Rights Watch how police
ripped off the ropes supporting the tents and as the tents collapsed
the police continued assaulting, with their truncheons, people who
were still inside.[65] Gagik Shamshyan, a photo correspondent for
political opposition newspapers who attempted to photograph the raid,
was assaulted by police and then detained. He told Human Rights Watch:
Policemen in riot uniforms in helmets, shields, and truncheons were
beating the protestors�¦. They were also pouring
buckets of water on the tents and continued to assault with
truncheons. I was shooting photos and after making about 20-25 shots,
some policemen saw my camera's flash and about 15 of them attacked
me. One of them recognized me and instructed others to beat me
�¦ Another one grabbed my camera and hit me with
a truncheon on my back. I fell down and they continued to beat me with
truncheons and kick me. They handcuffed me and were pulling my hands
from behind. It was very painful ... Two of them grabbed me by my
jacket and dragged me for about 40 meters, with my face down on the
pavement. Another officer who recognized me shouted, "Beat him! He
writes bad stuff about us ..." [He] approached me and threatened to
gouge my eyes out, and even pushed his finger to my eye. I was
terrified ...[66]
Police kept Shamshyan on the ground for about 20 minutes, assaulted
him periodically, and then drove him to the central police
station.[67] He was later released.
A 54-year-old artist, Sanasar S., gave Human Rights Watch the
following account of what happened to him that morning:
There were at least as many police in riot gear as people gathered in
front of the Opera. Without saying anything police surrounded us and
attacked us with truncheons and electric shock devices. People
panicked and started running away. I ran together with about 20
protestors towards the Northern Avenue, chased by the riot police. At
the intersection of Pushkin Street and Mashtots Avenue about six of
them caught up with me. I felt a blow to my head and I fell on the
ground, losing consciousness. When I regained my senses I was
surrounded by police. Two of them were holding me on my feet as I
could not stand. My shoulder ached and my nose was bleeding.[68]
It turned out that Sanasar S. had sustained a broken arm. His
subsequent detention is described below in Chapter V.
Murad M., age 30, told Human Rights Watch that a police officer chased
him off the square and hit him on the head, causing him to lose
consciousness. "I momentarily lost consciousness after a blow on the
head, and fell ... When I came to my senses, my brother was carrying
me away from the square. My head was bleeding and my hat was all
covered in blood."[69] Murad M. required seven stitches on the right
side of his forehead. He sustained bruises to his right hand, back,
and legs. Fearing arrest, he refrained from going to a hospital and
instead sought medical assistance from a private doctor.[70]
Hovsep H., a 32-year-old designer, ran from the square with a group of
about one hundred others, with the police chasing them. The group
thinned out as some people split off, and was in a stop-and-go chase
with police for about an hour. At times the group threw stones at the
police. When police finally caught up with Hovsep H., he was
assaulted. He told Human Rights Watch:
I felt very tired and could not run anymore. I tried to get into an
apartment block entrance, but it was locked. Three or four police ran
after me. I felt really exhausted and decided to lie down and cover my
face with my hands to protect it. Policemen who were after me started
beating me. They were using truncheons and kicking me with their
boots. They were beating on my back, head, and kidney area. I felt a
huge blow on my head and I lost the feeling of reality, I could not
even feel pain anymore and it all felt like a dream. I don't remember
anything else, but when I regained my senses, my head was bleeding and
the jacket I wore was all bloodied. I was already in a police station
by that time.[71]
Hovsep H.'s experience of further ill-treatment in detention is
recounted in Chapter V.
As a result of the early morning police actions on Freedom Square, 31
people were officially reported to be injured, including six
policemen.[72]
The police claimed that after the demonstrators were dispersed they
found a stock of real and makeshift weapons, including "three guns, 15
grenades, two bullet cases and 138 bullets of various calibers,
plastic explosives, big number of makeshift weapons, syringes and
drugs."[73] All witnesses and victims interviewed by Human Rights
Watch claimed that the alleged arms cache was planted after the
demonstration was dispersed. The chairman of the ad hoc parliamentary
commission established to investigate the March 1 events told Human
Rights Watch in January 2009 that he had not seen any evidence linking
the arms cache to the demonstration's participants or organizers.[74]
Notes
43] OSCE/ODIHR, "Post Election Interim Report, 20 February
â?¬" 3 March, 2008." Addressing a mass rally in the
capital Yerevan on 16 February, Ter-Petrossian warned the authorities
that a rally planned by his supporters in Yerevan on February 20 would
turn into open-ended protests if the election was rigged. Reported by
Arminfo, February 16, 2008.
44] Human Rights Watch interviews with Vahagn V., Yerevan, March 13;
Hovsep H., Yerevan, March 26, 2008, Arsen A., Yerevan, March 28; and
Ararat Mahtesian, first deputy chief of the Police of the Republic of
Armenia, Yerevan, March 28, 2008.
45] Ã? According to legislation in force at the time, organizers
of mass public events had to notify the head of the community where
the event was being held at least three working days in advance. Law
on Conducting Meetings, Assemblies, Rallies and Demonstrations, 2004,
as amended by the law adopted on October 4, 2005,
http://www.legislationline.org/documents/act ion/popup/id/6628Ã?
(accessed January 16, 2009), art. 11. Ter-Petrossian's campaign
notified the Yerevan city government that it would hold a rally on
February 20 in Yerevan. However, the campaign did not lodge a
notification with the city government on the subsequent assembly in
Freedom Square from February 21 onwards. See OSCE/ODIHR,
"Post-Election Interim Report, 20 February â?¬" 3 March
2008."
46] Human Rights Watch interview with Ararat Mahtesian, Yerevan, March
28, 2008.
47] "Armenian capital's mayor urges protestors to stop unsanctioned
rallies," Arminfo (in Russian), February 25, 2008; and "Armenian
Officials Demand End To Election Protests â?¬" AFP," Dow
Jones International News, February 25, 2008.
48] "Armenian Police urges opposition to suspend rallies in capital,"
Arminfo (in Russian), February 27, 2008.
49] Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law
Enforcement Officials, adopted by the Eighth United Nations Congress
on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, Havana, 27
August to 7 September 1990, U.N. Doc. A/CONF.144/28/Rev.1 at 112
(1990).
50] Ibid., principles 4 and 5.
51] Ibid., principle 13.
52] See, for example, Nachova and Others v. Bulgaria, Application
No. 43577/98 and 43579/98, Grand Chamber Judgment of 6 July 2005
53] Council of Europe Committee of Ministers, Recommendation
Rec(2001)10 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the
European Code of Police Ethics (Adopted on September 19, 2001 at the
765th meeting of Ministers' Deputies),
http://www.legislationline.org/legislat ion.php?lid=4886&tid=155
(accessed September 1, 2008), paras. 37-38.
54] Thomas Hammarberg, "There must be no impunity for police
violence," Viewpoint of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human
Rights, December 3, 2007,
http://www.coe.int/t/commissioner/Viewpoints /Default_en.asp (accessed
December 3, 2007).
55] Ibid.; Human Rights Watch interview with Gagik Shamshyan, photo
correspondent for AravotÃ? and Chorrord Ishkhanutyun newspapers,
Yerevan, March 12, 2008.
56] Human Rights Watch interview with Ararat Mahtesian, Yerevan, March
28, 2008.
57] Ibid.
58] Human Rights Watch telephone interview with Sanasar S., March 1,
2008; Human Rights Watch interviews with Vahagn V., March 13; and
Arsen A., March 28, 2008.
59] Human Rights Watch interview with Levon Ter-Petrossian, Yerevan,
March 29, 2008.
60] Ibid. This was confirmed by all witnesses and victims of the event
interviewed by Human Rights Watch.
61] Ã? Ibid.; Human Rights Watch telephone interview with
Sanasar S., March 1, 2008; Human Rights Watch interviews with Vahagn
V., March 13; and Arsen A., Yerevan, March 28, 2008.
62] Human Rights Watch interview with Levon Ter-Petrossian, Yerevan,
March 29, 2008.
63] Ibid.
64] Human Rights Watch interview with Vahagn V., March 13, 2008.
65] Ibid.; Human Rights Watch interview with Gagik Shamshyan, March
12, 2008.
66] Ibid.
67] Ibid.
68] Human Rights Watch interview with Sanasar S., March 26, 2008.
69] Human Rights Watch telephone interview with interview with Murad
M., March 1, 2008.
70] Ibid.
71] Human Rights Watch interview with Hovsep H., Yerevan, March 26,
2008.
72] "Thirty-one injured as Armenian police disperse opposition rally,"
ArminfoÃ? (in Russian), March 1, 2008. The report quoted
Ministry of Health information.
73] Human Rights Watch interview with Ararat Mahtesyan, March 28,
2008. See also, OSCE/ODIHR, "Post Election Interim Report, 20 February
â?¬" 3 March, 2008," March 7, 2008,
http://www.osce.org/documents/odihr/2008/03/ 30090_en.pdf (accessed
June 10, 2008).
74] Human Rights Watch interview with Samvel Nikoyan, Yerevan, January
13, 2009.
Note
Picture: Garni Mithraeum, a temple dedicated to Mithra, the Iranian
god of the Ancient Armenians. Before being misunderstood and misused
by the Armenian state authorities and academia, Armenian History has
been totally falsified by the colonialist historians and philologists
of France and England, who projected in it a touch of Hellenism, one
of their fabrications that has never had any real effect in
Armenia. It was all geared in order to set up a false sense of Greek `
Armenian ` Western European Anti-Islamic, Anti-Ottoman, and
Anti-Turkish alliance which was a total catastrophe for all these
Oriental populations and a real success for the colonial elites of
France and England. Ancient Armenia is definitely a para-Iranian state
that, although constantly opposed to the Persian supremacy within the
wider Iran area, greatly contributed to the diffusion of Mithraism, a
totally Iranian religion, among the Greek speaking peoples of
Anatolia, the Aegean Sea and the Balkans, and further beyond
throughout the Roman Empire and Northern and Eastern European
territories out of the Roman imperial control.
http://www.americanchronicle.com/article s/view/94498