Thousands occupy Armenia square
By Matthew Collins
BBC News, Yerevan
Story from BBC NEWS:
europe/7259553.stm
Published: 2008/02/22 17:56:51 GMT
Some 30,000 people have been holding a third day of protests in Armenia
against the result of a presidential election they allege was rigged.
The demonstrators have been occupying a square in the capital, Yerevan,
around the clock, and have set up a tent camp.
Official results gave victory to PM Serzh Sarkisian, and the
authorities insist the polls were democratic.
The protesters say outspoken opposition candidate Levon Ter-Petrosian
was the real winner.
The huge crowd of protesters in Yerevan’s Freedom Square raised their
fists in the air to show their determination to keep up the pressure on
the authorities.
Thousands of people broke off from the main rally to march through the
city.
They jeered and whistled at the security forces in riot gear who were
guarding the main government building and the prosecutor’s office.
Warning to crowd
Mr Sarkisian has warned the protesters not to cause any disruption.
He says that if they do break the law, the security forces will restore
order.
But Alexander Arzoumanian, a former foreign minister who is an
opposition campaigner, told the BBC he did not believe the authorities
would use force against the protestors.
"They are cowards," he said.
"They don’t have the courage to do such a thing. They would never have
the courage to come and attack such a powerful crowd."
Mr Arzoumanian said the demonstrations would continue as long as it
took to get rid of Armenia’s "corrupt government".
But Mr Sarkisian has described the protests as blackmail, and says he
is certain they will end in failure.