THOUSANDS MARCH AGAINST ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT AHEAD OF VOTE

Agence France Presse — English
May 9, 2007 Wednesday 7:56 PM GMT

Thousands of Armenians marched through Yerevan on Wednesday demanding
the impeachment of President Robert Kocharian and warning of fraud
in parliamentary elections taking place at the weekend.

Organizers said more than 15,000 people took part in the march,
but police said the number was closer to 5,000.

Demonstrators rallied on a hill in central Yerevan before marching to
the headquarters of Armenia’s National Security Service to protest
against Tuesday’s arrest of opposition activist and former foreign
minister Alexander Arzumanian on money-laundering charges. Arzumanian
claims the charges are politically motivated.

Minor scuffles broke out between protesters and riot police surrounding
the building, but there were no reports of major injuries. After less
than an hour, the marchers moved on to Yerevan’s Freedom Square before
dispersing peacefully.

Organizers said thousands more would march after Saturday’s vote if
fraud is suspected.

"Many, many more will take to the streets if the vote is rigged," said
Aram Karapatian, the leader of the New Times opposition party, which
organized the march along with the Republic Party and Impeachment bloc.

Hundreds of Western observers have arrived in Armenia for Saturday’s
vote and the ex-Soviet country of three million is under intense
foreign pressure for the election to meet international democratic
standards.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress