Robert Kocharyan: It has always been prerogative of the state to apply
force within the law, including during post-election period
2008-02-16 20:18:00
ArmInfo. It has always been and is the prerogative of the state to
apply force within the law, including during post-election period,
President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan said in an interview to local TV
channels today.
Recently people have expressed growing concern with respect to the
coming election. Election is always followed by certain tension. The
task of the state is to keep the post-electoral processes in check. If
the election is followed by peaceful actions and demonstrations, the
state will have nothing to do but to see that everything goes well. But
if anybody tries to cause disorders, the state machinery will have to
put things in order and will apply force within the confines of the
law. "We have such a right and my duty as president is to prevent any
encroachments on the constitutional order. I have always complied with
my duties and to protect order is one of my duties," Kocharyan said.
"Stability is one of our key achievements. It is the basis of our
national welfare. And we will not allow a group of people to spoil our
work," Kocharyan said. He said that it was necessary to carry out
active explanatory work with people so as to prevent clashes and
confrontation. "Some people are using blackmail and are trying to prove
their own courage. However, our authorities are trusted and our law
enforcement system is strong. And this is also one of our
achievements," Kocharyan said.