KARABAKH DENIES ROLE IN QUELLING RALLIES IN ARMENIAN CAPITAL

Mediamax news agency
16 Apr 04

YEREVAN

The government of the Nagornyy Karabakh Republic (NKR) made a
statement today denying reports that the law-enforcement units of the
republic headed by the chief of the NKR police, Armen Isagulov, were
involved in quelling the demonstration on Yerevan’s Bagramyan Avenue
on the night of 12-13 April.

The statement says that “the NKR government denies using the Karabakh
factor in Armenia’s domestic political life”, Mediamax reports.

“The NKR government is stating that the rumours about the involvement
of the republic’s law-enforcement bodies in the Yerevan developments
are wide of the mark and are being spread deliberately. Not a single
law-enforcement unit of the NKR was deployed outside the republic and
all members of staff, including the chief of the police, are
fulfilling their duties on the spot as usual,” the statement says.

“The NKR government is calling on all political forces and mass media
to refrain from spreading unverified reports, which may harm the
implementation of common national tasks,” it says.