Eurasianet Organization
April 6 2004

ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES CARRY OUT PREEMPTIVE ROUNDUP OF OPPOSITION
ACTIVISTS
4/06/04

In an apparent effort to preempt an opposition campaign to force “the
departure of the illegitimate regime,” Armenian authorities have
conducted a roundup of opposition activists in recent days.
Opposition leaders vow to continue with plans to stage massive
protests designed to force the resignation of President Robert
Kocharian. Meanwhile, the building threat of political violence has
prompted a member of Armenia’s governing coalition to issue a call
for dialogue between the opposing political forces.

According to representatives of the opposition alliance, which
comprises the Justice bloc and the National Unity Party, at least 200
supporters have been arrested across Armenia since April 1. The
government has rebuffed efforts by opposition leaders to obtain an
explanation for the mass detentions. The opposition maintains the
government has no probable cause to make the arrests.

On March 31, the Armenian Prosecutor-General’s Office announced that
it was launching a criminal investigation into the opposition’s
protest plans. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
Officials have denounced the opposition for striving to foment unrest
in Armenia. According to a report by the Armenpress news agency,
approximately 40 opposition members are facing criminal charges for
“making public calls for a change in the constitutional order” of
Armenia.

On April 5, the two main opposition leaders – the Justice bloc’s
Stepan Demirchian and the National Unity Party’s Artashes Geghamian –
held a rare joint news conference, during which they confirmed their
intention to use mass protests as a means to unseat Kocharian. Both
opposition leaders insist the Kocharian administration stole the
presidential and parliamentary elections held in 2003. [For
background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. The first mass rally is
scheduled to be held April 9. Opposition leaders remain tight-lipped
about details concerning the protest in hopes of keeping the
government off balance.

At the news conference, Demirchian characterized Kocharian’s
administration as a “junta” that sought to “frighten the opposition”
into abandoning its protest strategy, the Noyan Tapan news agency
reported. A joint opposition statement assailed Kocharian for
ignoring a Constitutional Court recommendation, issued in the
aftermath of the contentious presidential vote, that urged a
nationwide referendum of confidence in the administration by April
16. “The [Kocharian] regime … rejected the well-known decision of
the Constitutional Court on the conduct of a referendum on a vote of
confidence,” the statement said. “There is only one way out, i.e. the
regime that has usurped power must go.”

If what occurred at a National Unity Party rally on April 5 is any
indication, Kocharian’s government appears prepared to use force to
confront any opposition protest action. At the rally, Geghamian as he
urged the crowd to join “the quest to overthrow Armenia’s
unconstitutional authorities,” the Arminfo news agency reported. As
he spoke, the opposition party leader was repeatedly pelted with eggs
hurled by people believed to be Kocharian partisans.

The rally was also marred by brawls, initiated by what local reports
described as thugs “with shaven heads.” Witnesses reported that a
sizeable riot police contingent was present, but did nothing to
intervene when goon squads clashed with opposition activists. The
apparently pro-government young toughs also went after journalists,
in particular photographers, smashing equipment and physically
assaulting many media representatives.

The Kocharian administration’s hard-line stance towards the
opposition is evidently sowing dissension in the ranks of the
government coalition in parliament. On April 5, the Dashnaktsutiun
Party (Armenian Revolutionary Federation), which is one of the three
coalition partners, issued a statement that expressed alarm that the
“internal political situation in the country is reaching a critical
point of open confrontation.”

The Dashnaktsutiun statement placed the bulk of the blame for the
rising tension on the “intolerant radical behavior of the
opposition.” But it also suggested that the Kocharian
administration’s efforts to exclude the opposition from the political
process had contributed to the creation of a confrontational
atmosphere. The statement went on to call on Kocharian to engage the
opposition in a substantive dialogue.

“There should be no winners and losers in this dialogue,” the
statement said. “Either we all win and ensure the rapid and stable
development of the country, or we all lose and face devastating
consequences.”

“It is necessary to effectively use this period [before the
opposition protests begin] for voluntary compromises,” the statement
continued. “Otherwise the entire responsibility for the confrontation
will fall upon those who will lose the opportunity to reach an
agreement.”